Milwaukee Bucks: Kyle Korver chooses Black Lives Matter for jersey message

With players having the option of wearing social justice messages on their jerseys in Orlando, Milwaukee Bucks wing Kyle Korver has opted for Black Lives Matter as his choice.

With many NBA headlines dominated on Saturday by LeBron James revealing his decision to forego the option afforded to players to wear a league-approved social justice message on the back of their jerseys when the season restarts, the decision on that same subject of one of James’ former teammates may have flown a little under the radar.

According to reporting from Yahoo! Sports’ Chris Haynes, Milwaukee Bucks veteran sharpshooter Kyle Korver has decided that his jersey will bear Black Lives Matter when he takes to the court in Orlando.

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Korver joins Pat Connaughton as the only other Bucks player to have had their decision publicly reported so far, with Connaughton opting to wear “Equality” on his jersey.

Korver’s choice of Black Lives Matter takes on additional relevance in the current climate due to how direct it is, though, particularly given some of the options players have been afforded having a more undeniably generic quality.

In total, players have the choice of 29 different messages, with international players also having the option of translating them into their own language. Those options range from incredibly clear, focused, and resonant messages that have been heard frequently over the past couple of months, such as Black Lives Matter, Say Their Names, and I Can’t Breathe, to vaguer options on the other end of the scale such as Listen, Stand Up, and Group Economics.

In other words, it’s not surprising that many players will have an issue with the symbolic tokenism that the jersey messages could come to represent.

Given the various causes LeBron James has lent his name to over the years, and the charitable work and good deeds that bear his name, it’s fair for the most famous player in the game to feel his words and actions will carry more weight coming from him wearing James on the back of his jersey, just as he has done at other moments of protest throughout his career. According to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, with the options provided not aligning with a couple of ideas the 35-year-old had considered for his jersey, James noted:

"“I don’t need to have something on the back of my jersey for people to understand my mission or know what I’m about and what I’m here to do.”"

The frustration of many players was also summed up by Boston Celtics wing Jaylen Brown last week:

"“I would like to see — because I think it can still happen — more options available to put on the back of our jerseys,” Brown said Monday in a video conference with reporters. “We understand anything vulgar our league doesn’t necessarily represent, but for histories and causes such as now, I think that that list is an example of a form of limitation. I think we should be able to express our struggle just a little bit more.”"

With some players set to take up the option, though, the decisions they make will really speak volumes. There are easy and what some may view to be diplomatic brand choices available for players who want to make a move for appearance’s sake, and there are more direct options that speak to the matter at hand.

Unsurprisingly, given his history over the past couple of years in terms of listening, educating himself, and owning up to the inherent privilege that he lives with every day as a white player in the NBA and a white man more generally, Korver’s decision sees him take a stand in no uncertain terms.

According to Haynes, Korver joins Zach Collins of the Portland Trail Blazers as the only two white players currently known to have committed to wearing Black Lives Matter in Orlando.

Haynes also relayed that Korver is an immensely popular teammate in Milwaukee, which isn’t news to Bucks fans, but also that his black teammates have particularly appreciated his words and actions in recent months.

"“Korver is one of the most well-liked players on the Bucks, and Black teammates have expressed their appreciation to him in the last few months for attempting to learn what it is that they go through, sources said.”"

Korver offered up his personal reasoning for choosing Black Lives Matter as his message in conversation with Marc J. Spears of ESPN’s The Undefeated on Sunday.

"“I just think that in this moment in time, this is the message. Anything I would ever hope to convey on the back of a jersey is represented in these three words,” Korver told The Undefeated in a text message Sunday.”"

It remains to be seen what other players will decide to do before games get underway, but Korver again deserves credit for using his platform and profile for good.