NBA playoffs to resume on Saturday after player boycott ends

Text and Photo: AFP

The NBA playoffs will resume on Saturday after a three-day hiatus due to the boycott of players in protest of the police attack on African-American Jacob Blake.

In a meeting held between players, coaches and team owners, "all parties agreed to resume NBA playoff games on Saturday, August 29," the NBA and the Players Association said in a joint statement Friday.

The NBA and the players, who on Thursday had agreed to end their boycott and this Friday returned to training, committed to a series of actions in favor of the movement for racial equality.

Among those measures is the creation of "a coalition for social justice (...) that will focus on a wide range of issues such as increasing access to voting, promoting civic participation and advocating for meaningful reform of the law. police and criminal justice,” the joint statement said.

Another of the agreed actions is that the owners of the teams who also own the arenas will convert these facilities into voting centers for the presidential elections on November 3, focusing on receiving people from vulnerable communities.

The NBA will also create and broadcast advertisements in each playoff game dedicated to promoting greater participation in local and national elections.

NBA players, who have held daily protests since the season reboot at Disney World (Orlando) on July 30, are hoping for more people within African-American communities to participate in the electoral process.

LeBron James, the Los Angeles Lakers superstar, and other athletes and celebrities created the 'More Than a Vote' association in June to encourage and remove barriers to people from the poorest communities in the country so that they can vote in November.

The NBA Foundation was also launched in early August, with team owners pledging to contribute $ 300 million over the next decade to support employment and professional development in predominantly African-American communities.