Giannis Antetokounmpo to don ‘equality’ on back of jersey for 2019-20 restart
Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo has elected to wear ‘equality’ on the back of his jersey for the 2019-20 season restart, along with his brother Thanasis.
The Milwaukee Bucks are starting to settle into their new surroundings after having arrived to Orlando and Walt Disney World late last week.
While the Bucks are slowly getting back to the task at hand, the broader issues that have bubbled towards the surface over the last few months are on the minds of all NBA players. And now Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo is among the latest to announce he will wear a league-approved social justice message when Milwaukee gets their season underway again against the Boston Celtics on July 31.
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Talking to reporters Monday afternoon, all of which you can find here via the Bucks’ YouTube channel, Antetokounmpo disclosed that he, along with his brother Thanasis, will be wearing ‘equality’ on the back of his jersey while in Orlando.
While Giannis didn’t disclose to why he chose that word over the other choices that players had available to the,, should they choose to wear a message, the reigning MVP immediately becomes the highest profile player to change the name on the back of his jersey going into Orlando.
Antetokounmpo’s long-time running mate, Khris Middleton, also announced yesterday that he will be wearing ‘Black Lives Matter’ on the back of his jersey and explained his decision to do so to ESPN’s Eric Woodyard:
"“I think it’s the most important thing to get people to realize that our lives do matter and that’s why I went with it,” Middleton said.”"
That follows veteran Bucks sharpshooter Kyle Korver’s decision to wear ‘Black Lives Matter’ on his jersey as he explained over the weekend, while reserve Bucks wing Pat Connaughton will also wear ‘equality’ on the back of his jersey, just like the Antetokounmpo brothers.
The Bucks certainly haven’t been shy in touching on topics that go beyond basketball and affect the lives of people of all colors, regardless of whether they’ve made it all the way to the NBA or not. That status certainly doesn’t preclude from experiencing acts of racism, social injustice and police brutality as Bucks wing Sterling Brown found out himself first-hand.
The organization has made a push to not only bring about awareness, but fight against the systemic racism that exists in Milwaukee and around the country, especially in light of Brown’s incident in particular. And Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry offered his support for any and all players to don a message on their uniform that they hold dear to them as he recently talked about ahead of the season restart:
"“At the end of the day, what I’m a big believer in is your freedom of expression. Your ability to say what you think and so I think if Giannis, or if any of the players believe in something, and want to express that, they should. So I’m in full support of that.”"
Sterling Brown’s becoming a valuable voice for change. dark. Next
Antetokounmpo certainly has his reasons for why he’s making such a move and it’s just the latest sign that the 25-year-old superstar is becoming, slowly but surely, more comfortable using his voice on matters off the court.