Jimmy Butler's request to wear no name on back of NBA jersey to be reportedly denied
There has been a lot of discussion regarding the Black Lives Matter movement and initiatives to support the same inside the NBA bubble. Several players will be wearing league-approved messages on the back of their jerseys. On the other hand, some players such as LeBron James and Anthony Davis have decided to skip the gesture.
Miami Heat's Jimmy Butler is one player who had something else on his mind. Butler wanted to leave the namespace on the back of his jersey blank. As reported by Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press though, the NBA is likely to turn down that request.
We'll have to wait and see how this plays out but everyone can certainly expect a reaction from Jimmy Butler if his request is turned down. Butler is one of the most vocal NBA players and that trait of his is unlikely to change inside Disney World.
Jimmy Butler gives reason behind unique NBA jersey request
It was during one of his media calls that Jimmy Butler had revealed the request that he had put forward to the NBA front office.
"I have decided not to [put a message on my jersey]. With that being said, I hope that my last name doesn’t go on there as well. Just because I love and respect all the messages that the league did choose, but for me, I felt like with no message, with no name, it’s going back to who I was. If I wasn’t who I was today. I’m no different than anybody else of color, and I want that to be my message in the sense that just because I’m an NBA player, everybody has the same rights no matter what. That’s how I feel about my people of color."
Given Jimmy Butler's good intentions, expect a considerable backlash from players and fans alike if this rather simple request in turned down by the NBA.
Also read: Black Lives Matter - James Harden, Jrue Holiday, and others speak about the movement from the NBA bubble
Players unhappy with NBA's list of approved social justice slogans
Several players have gone ahead and complained about the choice of slogans available for putting on the back of the jersey. LeBron James himself has said that he'll be wearing his own name because the things he had in mind weren't there on the NBA's list of approved messages.
Even Norman Powell had wanted to go with "Am I next?" on his jersey but will be going ahead with "Black Lives Matter" now.
Also read: NBA bubble update - Boston Celtics stars go head to head in a swimming race, while the LA Lakers take their turn fishing