The Miami Heat, like every other team NBA bubble, have the option to wear a social justice message on their jerseys. The Heat’s were revealed on Tuesday.
The Miami Heat, for the most part, have managed to be at the forefront of social justice movements, at least for the last 10 years or so. Well, we know for certain that they were one of the teams most involved during the Big 3 era.
They were that same team that posed in their hoodies in the wake of the Trayvon Martin murder. We all remember this famous photograph that LeBron James posted to his twitter.
#WeAreTrayvonMartin #Hoodies #Stereotyped #WeWantJustice http://t.co/tH6baAVo
— LeBron James (@KingJames) March 23, 2012
This time and as every team in the league had the chance to do, the Miami Heat will once again champion those types of causes.
As apart of the league’s cooperation with the players in order to be able to bring some sort of awareness to the issues facing the black and brown communities across America, they have agreed to let players choose a social justice message to replace their names on the backs of their jerseys in the NBA restart
That doesn’t mean all of them are going to do it though, that just means that the opportunity exists. You make that clarification for people like LeBron James, who says that you don’t have to see something on the back of his jersey to know how he feels about the cause.
The Miami Heat will wear social justice messages on the back of their jerseys in the NBA restart, like every other team. The messages were revealed on Tuesday.
You also have to include the fact that although the league agreed to let this happen, they did so on the condition that the phrases were cleared and narrowed down to a select few, as opposed to the players having free reign over phrases and the league having to clear each individual one.
Well, on Tuesday, the Miami Heat jersey message choices were revealed. Here they are, per the Twitter account of South Florida Sun Sentinel’s Ira Winderman.
Jimmy Butler lone Heat player to bypass social-justice jersey message . . . as his own statement https://t.co/KTcCdVHXaK
— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) July 14, 2020
While as mentioned, the choices were stock, so there isn’t anything too shocking of note here. The two choices, however, that most stood out to me were Andre Iguodala‘s and Jimmy Butler‘s.
Iguodala is a known investor in the tech industry, so to see the message of “group economics” really isn’t shocking. It’s more just really interesting how much his choice reflects on him as an individual and a person.
On Jimmy Butler’s choice to wear nothing, not even his own last name, on the back of his jersey, he said that it makes sense to him because he stands united with all people of color, according to Anthony Chiang.
Jimmy Butler said he will not wear a social justice message on his uniform. He also doesn't want his last name on the jersey either, since he stands united with all people of color.
— Anthony Chiang (@Anthony_Chiang) July 14, 2020
While it is a bit deep, it can be taken a few ways. Some may see it as him failing to stand up for a cause, choosing to essentially say “nothing” (as will be on his jersey) as opposed to simply saying something.
Some will identify with his choice, saying that by having a plain, regular, and blank jersey, he is insinuating what he says that he is, that he is equal to everyone else. As with anything, some won’t care one way or another as long as he shows up.
It’s a very tricky situation anytime something as polarizing as this subject is involved.
Hopefully, we hear more about why this was his exact choice moving forward, but these are the messages that will be on the back of the Miami Heat jerseys in the NBA restart. Tip-off is just around the corner!