Instead of a social justice message, Jimmy Butler wants his jersey to be blank
Players across the league are opting to replace their last names on their jerseys with a social justice message through the rest of the season.
Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler, however, is one of the few who is choosing not to pick an option from the league’s pre-approved list.
But that doesn’t mean he wants to keep his last name around, either.
“I hope that my last name doesn't go on there as well,” Butler said Tuesday, via ESPN. “Just because I love and respect all the messages that the league did choose, but for me, I felt like with no message, with no name, it's going back to like who I was. And if I wasn't who I was today I'm no different than anybody else of color and want that to be my message in the sense that just because I'm an NBA player, everybody has the same right no matter what and that's how I feel about my people of color."
According to ESPN, 285 of the 350 players participating in the restart have already chosen a social justice message for their jersey — which range from “Equality,” “Vote,” Freedom,” “How many more?” “Black Lives Matter,” and more.
Los Angeles Lakers stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis, however, have both opted to stick with their last names instead.
Butler was averaging 20.2 points, 6.6 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game with the Heat when the season was suspended, and will lead Miami into the restart later this month while sitting in fourth place in the Eastern Conference.
Though the 30-year-old is a professional athlete and a multi-millionaire with an incredible platform, Butler is still a Black man in the United States.
"I think it's important to know that we're regular human beings like everybody else," Butler said, via ESPN. "And the same stuff that everybody's going through right now in the world, we've dealt with before. It may not have been yesterday, but maybe it was 10 years ago, who knows? And for everybody to see how human we really are, and we hurt just like everybody else, and we have to deal with this just like everybody else — it's real.”
While he hopes to keep the back of his jersey blank, Butler has yet to get that wish approved by the league.
"Not just yet,” he said, via ESPN. “I'm hoping I get that opportunity though, I really am."
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