NBA, NBPA send players memo seeking ideas for social changes

MIAMI (AP) — NBA players are being urged to reach out to league and union officials to try and come up with ways to create “positive change” in communities around the country, a move that comes in response to protests in other sports about racial oppression and other social matters.

Players received a memo from the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association on Wednesday, one that announced that the league and the union, “working together, have begun developing substantive ways for us to come together and take meaningful action.”

A copy of the memo was obtained by The Associated Press. It did not remind players of the NBA’s rule saying players must stand for the national anthem, something that some athletes in other pro sports have chosen not to do in recent weeks in acts of protest.

“These ideas are based on the actions many of you have already taken or supported, including convening community conversations in NBA markets to engage young people, parents, community leaders and law enforcement in a candid dialogue,” read one excerpt of the memo, signed by both NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and union head Michele Roberts.

They also said the game should continue bringing “people together and build bonds of trust in our communities.”

The memo was sent on the same day that each player on the WNBA’s Indiana Fever roster took a knee and linked arms with a teammate during the playing of the national anthem that preceded the team’s playoff game with the Phoenix Mercury.

“Well, we thought it was important to …

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