NBA players hailed by pope for justice efforts

Pope Francis met with NBA players at the Vatican on Monday, lauding them as “champions“and saying he supported theirwork on social justice.

The five players — Marco Belinelli, Sterling Brown, Jonathan Isaac, Kyle Korver and Anthony Tolliver— were joined in the delegation by NBA players’ union executive director Michele Roberts and two other union executives, Sherrie Deans and Matteo Zuretti.

“We’re here because, frankly, we’re inspired by the work that you do globally,“Roberts told the pope during the meeting in the papal library.

The union said the players spoke about their “individual and collective efforts addressing social and economic injustice and inequalityoccurring intheircommunities.“Belinelli addressed the pope in Italian, and the group presented the pope with a commemorative basketball, a union-produced book highlighting efforts players have taken and an

Orlando Magic jersey.

“You’re champions,“the pope said. “But also giving the example of teammork, you’ve become a model, giving that good example of teamwork but always remaining humble ... and preserving yourownhumanity.“

The audience was held days before a book comes out in which Francis supports demands for racial justice, specifically the actions taken following the killing of George Floyd, a Black man who died in May. A police officer in Minneapolis pressed a knee against his neck forminuteswhile Floyd said he couldn’t breathe.

“I was there to support my colleagues in their daily struggle in theUnited States, and not just for that,“Belinelli said later Monday on Twitter. “I alsowent to show that athletes have an active responsibility in society and need to dedicate themselves toward changing things that don’twork. We athletes have a very big media platform and we’ve got to use it positively to reach where institutions are lacking.”