NBA will paint 'Black Lives Matter' on Orlando courts for upcoming return to the season

The league and players' union are focused on ways to incorporate a focus on racial equality into basketball's upcoming return

By Sophie Mann

Published: June 30, 2020 8:02am

Updated: June 30, 2020 10:33am

The NBA has announced that it will paint "Black Lives Matter" on the sidelines of each court at the Walt Disney World Resort that the league will use when it resumes the season in late July.

The WNBA is reportedly discussing similar plans for its own abbreviated season that will also begin this summer in Florida.

Players for both leagues have insisted that the battle for racial equality play a central role in basketball's upcoming return.

Several NBA players reportedly mulled over the possibility of sitting out the season to pursue social justice efforts full time.

Both the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association are brainstorming ways to use the NBA's platform to highlight racial equality, social justice, and police brutality.

It is possible that fans will see players in personalized jerseys when the league returns with messages that correspond with social justice initiatives currently in the news.

Several high-profile NBA players participated in the recent nationwide wave of rallies following the death of George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis.