‘Black Lives Matter’ will be on courts
As part of its ongoing efforts to address racial inequality, the NBA and the players union have agreed to have “Black Lives Matter” painted on the courts inside both sidelines of the venues at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex when it resumes the 2019-20 season on July 30, a person familiar with the details told USA TODAY Sports. That person was granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about internal matters publicly.
The person added the slogans will be painted on the side of the court in front of the scorer’s table and on the other side of the court in front of the broadcast booth.
The NBA and the NBPA had announced last week that it would pursue various initiatives involving racial equality amid ongoing protests more than a month following a string of incidents involving law enforcement killing Black people, including George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks, Breonna Taylor and Elijah McClain.
It is not clear if the NBA will allow teams to protest during the national anthem after having a rule established in 1981 that requires teams to “stand and line up in a dignified posture.” But NBA spokesman Mike Bass told USA TODAY Sports recently “that we will work in partnership with the players on important issues like this.”
It is not clear if the NBA will wear “Black Lives Matter” on the back of the players’ jerseys like teams in soccer’s Premier League have done, but NBPA President Chris Paul recently told The Undefeated that he likes that idea. Since George’s killing, NBA teams have held Zoom calls for guest speakers who specialize in social justice and racial issues.
Hawks turn arena into polling place
Georgia’s primary election exposed a myriad of issues of voting during a pandemic, beginning with long wait times and including malfunctioning equipment.
The problems, particularly prevalent in precincts used by Black voters, caught the attention of NBA stars such as LeBron James and a hometown team, the Atlanta Hawks.
On Monday, the Hawks and Fulton County announced that State Farm Arena will become a polling place to create Georgia’s largest-ever voting precinct. The venue’s large indoor spaces offers officials the ability to install hundreds of voting machines and to adhere to the CDC guidelines.
“State Farm Arena is an ideal solution to help us serve thousands of voters while maintaining social distancing requirements,” said Mary Carole Cooney, chairperson of the Fulton County Board of Registration & Elections. “We appreciate the Hawks for coming to us with this creative solution.”
Ballots can start being cast at State Farm Arena on July 20, when early voting for the Georgia runoff (Aug. 11) begins.
Officials anticipate using the arena for other election operations, such as counting absentee and mail-in forms.