Former NBA player Stephen Jackson says the league is jumping the gun with it's return to action in July, claiming "now ain't the time."
Jackson says the return of the NBA will shift the conversation away from social justice and police reform: "I love the NBA man, that's my family," Jackson told fans in a video uploaded to Instagram. "But now ain't the time to be playing basketball y'all. Now ain't the time. Playing basketball is gonna do one thing, take all the attention off the task at hand right now and what we fighting for."
"Everybody gonna be worried about the playoffs, they gonna have that blasting all over the TV, and nobodies gonna be talking about getting justice for all these senseless murders by these police and nobody's gonna be focused on the task at hand," he continued. "None of these white owners have spoken up, none of 'em are taking a stand. Yeah, they might post a video when the season start of saying what we should do, but they ain't doing nothing."
Current NBA player Kyrie Irving has expressed similar sentiments, telling The Athletic, “I’m not with the systematic racism and the bullshit. Something smells a little fishy.”
“I’m willing to give up everything I have [for social reform]," he added.
[Via]