After an eventful day and an emotional meeting on Wednesday, NBA players at the Orlando campus have made plans to meet again on Thursday morning to further discuss their options for how to proceed with the postseason, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).
According to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link), the players’ meeting is set for 11:00 am eastern time. That means it will coincide with the Board of Governors meeting happening at the same time.
As we relayed earlier tonight, while most teams voted to finish the 2019/20 season, Lakers and Clippers players voted to boycott the rest of the playoffs. Star forwards LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard were among the loudest voices on that front, tweets Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times.
Since the results of that vote surfaced, reports have indicated that it was more of an informal polling and that no decisions have been finalized yet. However, those teams’ willingness to bow out of the rest of the season figures to put pressure on team owners as they determine their own plan of action on Thursday.
While a number of players hoped to leave Wednesday night’s meeting with a plan of action for next steps following the boycott of the day’s playoff games, the meeting “turned dysfunctional” after the coaches left, a source tells Pompey (Twitter link). One player tells Jeff Goodman of Stadium that there were “a lot of emotions in the meeting rather than coming up with a solution,” while another described it as “heated” (Twitter links).
“I think tomorrow will be better,” the first player said to Goodman. “I’m confident we will play, but tomorrow is a big meeting.”
This is a hard spot to be in as an NBA fan – I agree with the players’ decision to stand up for social justice but I also want to see them play the games. I also find it hard to believe that Lebron would give up the chance to win another championship.
Life is bigger than basketball bro.
Exactly. If they really want to support the sex offender that resisted arrest they need to shut it down permanently. Otherwise it just seems like they are sick of playing and living in the bubble
Lol what are you doing watching basketball in the first place? Larry Bird your favorite player?
What on earth does Larry bird have to do with anything? Do you dispute that the players have stated they are boycotting for Mr Blake who is in fact a violent sex offender with warrants for his arrest that was resisting arrest. What is it that I have wrong?
They are boycotting because of the way black people have treated by people in power in this country since it’s inception, not just because of Blake.
So, you have a lot wrong.
What’s more wrong is boner’s sly allegation of racism by using racism and an unrelated third party. And Blake is setting this thing off.
Larry Bird is my all-time favorite player! What’s wrong with that? He was better than Jordan, that’s for sure! BTW I am not white before you start pelting me!
LBJ doesn’t care about winning, he only cares about his brand.
Let them quit. No one cares what they do or say.
harden-west Im sure all James Harden thinks about is winning lol
Exactly. I love basketball but they are doing the right thing.
The worse case scenario is not finishing the playoffs/finals AND no actual social change coming out of all this.
My dream scenario is that the playoffs are delayed only a week or three and some new laws are passed to address the core issue.
No. They need to all retire from the game and shut the league down permanently. That would send a message. Anything less than that comes off as a weak ploy to get out of the bubble
American coaches at three NBA training academies in China told league officials their Chinese partners were physically abusing young players and failing to provide schooling, even though commissioner Adam Silver had said that education would be central to the program, according to multiple sources with direct knowledge of the complaints.
Theyll boycott over a man being shot cause he showed up where he wasnt allowed to be and resisted being arrested, with warrants related to charges of sexual assault, trespassing and disorderly conduct……..but won’t boycott for the league being linked to physically abuse of young players and not living up to their promise of education.
Yeah, the players don’t really have a moral leg to stand on.
I’d love for a player to explain why they boycott over Blake but not what was happening in China.
He’s a criminal, yes. Should have followed police instructions. The hype makes it seems like cops are just plugging every black guy they see
It’s because they are protesting about systemic police violence towards black men. You’re welcome.
Curtis you mean systemic police violent towards criminals who are resisting arrest, of all colors. There you go buddy I fixed it for you
Now if you want to argue that cops should not shoot violent criminals who are resisting arrest, go right ahead. Making it a race issue simply fits the agenda that the true numbers don’t back up
Astro’s I am not “arguing” anything. Dude wondered why the athletes weren’t upset about China and I explained why.
Then you started doing all that “there you go buddy I fixed it for you” stuff.
Amazing intellects around here.
Sure. But they’re not going to protest young players being abused AND them not receiving the education they were promised?
So its only things against black men? Not systematic injustices, especially within your own organization, against other minorities?
Seriously, would love to hear a player explain why they didn’t boycott over what was happening in China.
Would also like to hear a player explain why its JUST black people killed by police. Not Hispanics, Asians, etc.
Because of the whole slavery, not being allowed to vote, lynching thing, etc.
200 years ago, and nobody alive today took part in that. Time to stop blaming the great grand children and move on.
If the players are willing to forfeit the games and salaries, and then lead protests, and donate substantial cash to social reform programs with the understanding they could be destroying their platform and livelihood then by all means leave the bubble…BUT if they are leaving so they can go sit on the couch at home while sending out angry tweets and still expect to get paid then they need to stay and do their job. I highly most if not all players plan to sit at home tweeting about justice while fighting harder for their own salaries for games they refused to play then for human rights.
The truth hurts, these guys are multimillionaire athletes that are essentially abusing their ’employers (NBA)’ media power…really disappointing to see as a longtime fan…just imagine if we made these guys take a bus from Chicago to Detroit. Forfeit games you can forfeit the revenue that goes with holding NBA fans at ransom then too.
These guys are entertainers with an amazing talent. That said, if they’re not entertaining people, they’re just not that relevant.
They’re not expecting to get paid if they stop; nobody has said that.
You could be daring them to quit and be quiet, as a way of encouraging that.
See ya won’t miss you!
You’re in a room posting about NBA late in the evening. Your actions say otherwise. It’s apparent you will miss them.
I’m just here because it’s in the same app as the sports I actually like. How do you know the same isn’t true for him?
I don’t get it. People like Jackie Robinson and Hank Greenberg made change by playing sports not boycotting them. To waste their opportunity and only anger people sssms counter productive.
Those two you mention are heroes. Today’s athletes will sit at home and tweet stuff. They had a perfect platform to make their views known in the bubble. But little was done.
Did you want much done? If not then it’s an odd criticism.
Jesse Owens
Hank Greenberg? There were Jewish baseball players in the 1870s.,
There were black players in the 1870s too. Moses Fleetwood Walker. Jackie Robinson wasn’t first to play in the majors, he was just the one that stuck.
Yes, but Hank Greenberg faces a lot of anti-semitism as a player. That should not be dismissed just because others came before him. I still think he is a good example.
According to the article self appointed loud mouths Lebron and Leonard were the most vocal. Cool. They criticized the owners and said they need to do more. They screamed and shouted for their boy. Who was a bad dude who hurt people. ( no the 7 shots were excessive) Why doesn’t a 500 million type of guy like LeBron work with and FUND civil servant education and training, get them body cams and proper non lethal weaponry? Maybe fund a black movie telling the story? No it’s not his problem because it’s easier to Beast Tweet.
They don’t want nonlethal weaponry, cameras were already on, and there’s already schools for cops. The police have money.
Demands were made on owners in other countries, in soccer, and there is probably a desire to do more of that here. Owners are already losing a lot and will more in 20/21 probably, yet the valuations remain high.
Just cancel the season
Black lives matter, now go play.
Keep in mind that the players have already been paid in full for the season. If they boycott the rest of the season, they would only be forfeiting playoff shares, which are going to be much smaller than usual due to no fans in the stands. I’m sure some players are looking at this and wondering if staying in the bubble is really worth it to them, especially the multi-millionaires who have the most clout.
What they are risking, however is a violation of the CBA. If the players walk out on the rest of the playoffs, they violate the CBA and owners would have the right to rip the CBA up and reduce salaries next season based on the losses from the 2020 season and projected losses from the upcoming 2021 season. The CBA calls for a 50/50 revenue split. If the league stands to lose $5B in revenues between 2020 & 2021, the owners can legally pass half those losses onto the players and reduce their salaries accordingly but this can only be done if the players walk out. I hope the player reps drive this point home to the players in today’s meeting and if the players understand this and are still willing to walk out on the season then I’ll have a lot more respect for them as they will actually be risking future earnings. I’m not sure that the players truly understand this.
Some of you should really keep about sports. Cause your even worse at politics. The NBA is a business that has contracts with performers. For their special performance services. They have a right to stop work. It’s between them and the owners. That’s the American Way. That’s is the Democratic Capitalist system we live under. Wear a mask….
I assume you’re responding to Mantooth. I see your knowledge of business is affected by being overly attached to politics. The so-called right to stop work has to be covered in the contract they signed, the CBA. Otherwise they rely on owner charity.
The CBA beats the American Way, whatever you think that is, in front of a judge. They’re all millionaires.
But IDK what’s in the CBA, and probably things will not go that far. The players will finish.
With seven-game serieses, it will be the college football season lol.