While some players wonder whether resuming basketball will take away from the social justice movement, San Antonio Spurs guard Patty Mills is putting his money where his heart is.
"I'm proud to say I'm taking every cent from these eight games that we're playing, which for me will turn out to be $1,017,818 and 54 cents, and donating that directly back to Black Lives Matter Australia, Black Deaths in Custody and to a recent campaign that's called We Got You -- dedicated to ending racism in sport in Australia," Mills said in a video posted by the Spurs.
"So I'm playing in Orlando because I don't want to leave any money on the table that could be going directly to Black communities."
Mills, who is from Australia, has been vocal in his support of social justice and an end to racism.
When allies who stand up and speak out against racism, although a small gesture, this is one of many actions that have a tremendous impact on the person being targeted because they feel the support. It can also make whoever racially vilifies that person reconsider own behavior. pic.twitter.com/MqH3Fc1CqX
— Patrick Mills (@Patty_Mills) July 7, 2020
A number of NBA players have worried that games on TV will pull people away from the worldwide protests that have happened since George Floyd's death at the hands of Minneapolis police. Celtics guard Jaylen Brown said this week that he was against starting the season but will use the platform in Orlando to spread his message about social justice.
The league and the players' union have been working on plans to bring awareness to social justice issues, including having messages such as Black Lives Matter and Justice Now on the back of jerseys.