NBA, NBPA establish the National Basketball Social Justice Coalition
The restart of the 2019-20 NBA season prominently featured social justice as a key component.
NEW YORK — The National Basketball Association (NBA) and National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) today announced the formation of the National Basketball Social Justice Coalition, an organization that will lead the NBA family’s collective efforts to advance equality and social justice. Through its mission to leverage the game’s influence to raise awareness, educate and advocate for meaningful reform, the Coalition will focus on action and change in several areas, including voting access and criminal justice system reform at the national, state and local level.
A group of five team governors, five players, and two coaches will lead the National Basketball Social Justice Coalition. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, NBA Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer Mark Tatum, and NBPA Executive Director Michele Roberts will also serve on the Coalition’s board. The initial board members are as follows:
NBA Board of Governors:
- Managing General Partner of Miami Heat, Micky Arison
- Steve Ballmer, L.A. Clippers Chairman
- Clay Bennett, Oklahoma City Thunder Chairman
- Marc Lasry, Milwaukee Bucks Governor
- Governor and Chairman of Sacramento Kings, Vivek Ranadivé
National Basketball Players Association:
- Carmelo Anthony, Portland Trail Blazers Forward
- Avery Bradley, Los Angeles Lakers Guard
- Sterling Brown, Milwaukee Bucks Guard-Forward
- Donovan Mitchell, Utah Jazz Guard
- Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota Timberwolves Forward
National Basketball Coaches Association:
- Lloyd Pierce, Atlanta Hawks Head Coach
- Doc Rivers, Philadelphia 76ers Head Coach
The creation of the Coalition represents another stride in the NBA and NBPA’s persistent endeavors to promote social justice. This builds on their mutual objective from the 2019-20 season restart in Orlando and extends the decades-long work by players and teams to tackle racial inequality, champion significant change, and encourage increased civic participation.
Throughout their time on the Orlando campus, players, coaches and staff participated in social justice programming organized by the league and union and accessed educational resources and expert speakers, including former first lady Michelle Obama, motivational speaker Eric Thomas and NBA legend and former United States Senator Bill Bradley, to help sustain momentum in addressing systemic inequities and creating meaningful change. Additionally, the jerseys from the opening weekend of the NBA restart, including those displaying social justice messages, were auctioned at Auctions.NBA.com to support a newly-created Player’s Justice Fund administered by the NBPA Foundation.
In early August, the NBA Board of Governors announced a $300 million initial contribution to establish the first-ever NBA Foundation dedicated to creating greater economic empowerment in the Black community and in October named the inaugural Board of Directors, which included Sacramento Kings Forward Harrison Barnes, New Orleans Pelicans Governor Gayle Benson, Philadelphia 76ers Forward Tobias Harris, Charlotte Hornets Chairman Michael Jordan, Atlanta Hawks Principal Governor Tony Ressler, NBPA Executive Director Michele Roberts, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and NBA Board of Governors Chairman and Toronto Raptors Governor Larry Tanenbaum.
The NBA and NBPA initiated a leaguewide initiative to boost civic engagement, increase voting access, and raise voter awareness ahead of the 2020 election. They enlisted 23 teams to use their arenas or practice facilities for voting-related activities, while all 30 teams worked to promote civic engagement. Working together with players, network partners and non-partisan organizations like I Am A Voter and When We All Vote, they aired advertisement spots during the postseason, took part in National Voter Registration Day, National Vote Early Day and National Black Voter Day, and disseminated voting, registration and census resources to teams and players. They also collaborated with More Than A Vote, NAACP Legal Defense Fund and Power The Polls to back the poll worker recruitment campaign “We Got Next”, which attracted 20,000 new poll workers, half of whom registered following a virtual event hosted by the league and union. This event included 40 first-time volunteers, President Barack Obama, and NBA legends during Game 1 of the 2020 NBA Finals.
