National Basketball Coaches Association establishes a committee on racial injustice and reform

One of the positives about the NBA is how it responds to various issues. For instance, when the COVID-19 virus entered our stratosphere, the NBA was the first sports league to suspend play indefinitely.

Now, a week after George Floyd – a resident of Minneapolis — who died due to brutal police force, the NBA is once again stepping out in front of another crucial issue. As a result of these unfortunate events, the National Basketball Coaches Association (NBCA) has created a committee to help address the racial injustice taking place in several U.S. cities.

Over the weekend, all 30 NBA coaches participated in a Zoom call on Saturday. And several others participated in a committee meeting on Sunday. Secondly, the NBCA is planning a call on Tuesday to discuss how the new committee can take immediate action throughout the league. In addition to the formation of the National Basketball Coaches Association, the committee also released the following statement via CBS Sports:

“Our heartfelt condolences and prayers go out to the family of George Floyd.

As NBA coaches — both head and assistant coaches — we lead groups of men, most of whom are African American. We see, hear, and share their feelings of disgust, frustration, helplessness, and anger… The events of the past few weeks — police brutality, racial profiling, and the weaponization of racism are shameful. Inhumane, and intolerable. As a diverse group of leaders, we have a responsibility to stand up and speak out for those who don’t have a voice. Additionally, we must also stand up and speak out for those who don’t feel it is safe to do so.

Witnessing the murder of George Floyd in cold blood and in broad daylight has traumatized our nation. The reality is African Americans are targeted and victimized daily. As NBA coaches, we cannot treat this as an isolated incident of outrage. We are committed to working in our NBA cities. And with the help of local leaders, officials, and law enforcement agencies, we will create positive change in our communities.  We have the power and platform to affect change, and we will use it.”

Several big-name coaches make up this committee. This includes Gregg Popovich, Steve Kerr, Lloyd Pierce, Doc Rivers, and Quin Snyder. These gentlemen also contributed to the above statement. In other words, the National Basketball Coaches Association cares deeply about the events that unfolded over the past week.

This is definitely a step in the right direction. At the same time, let’s hope this won’t be the only group to step up to address an issue that has existed in our society for far too long.