When regular season basketball tips off again, the Toronto Raptors and players from other NBA teams will wear social justice statements on their back of their jerseys. A number of players, including Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet and Norman Powell, have chosen to wear ‘Black Lives Matter,’ while Kyle Lowry opted for ‘Education Reform.’
In a series of photos shared to the team’s Instagram account, each Raptors player explained their message choice. In VanVleet’s case specifically, he calls for justice for Breonna Taylor.
As a team as well as from individual players, the Raptors have been outspoken about their support for the Black Lives Matter movement, and while most players around the league will also wear jersey messages, few teams have offered players’ explanations for their choices like this.
It’s definitely encouraging to see that the Raptors continue to make strong use of the platform they have. Here is the full list of Raptors jersey messages, with almost half of the roster choosing to wear ‘Black Lives Matter.’
