These 10 Lakers will wear social justice messages on their jerseys

Several Los Angeles Lakers will take advantage of the league’s new rule allowing social justice messages on jerseys in place of players’ names.

While Los Angeles Lakers stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis previously announced that they would wear their last names on their jerseys this season, 10 of his teammates will bear various social justice messages on their backs instead. The NBA gave players a pre-approved list of slogans to choose from that represent major social justice movements.

Two starters — Danny Green and JaVale McGee — are planning to showcase social justice on their jerseys. Green will wear “How Many More,” a reference to victims of police brutality. McGee, who is African-American, will wear the words, “Respect Us.” They are the only ones on the team who will wear their respective slogans.

The most common slogan on the team, unsurprisingly, will be Black Lives Matter. Dion Waiters and Talen Horton-Tucker will use it along with Alex Caruso, who is white. As meaningful as it is for BIPOC athletes to be able to showcase racial justice movements, it’s great to see white players demonstrating their allyship as well.

Quinn Cook, Devontae Cacok and JR Smith will also use messages that directly make reference to police brutality. Cacok and Smith will wear “Justice Now,” a call for police officers involved in brutality incidents to face consequences in line with the severity of their actions. Cook has chosen “Say Their Names,” which is used to bring recognition to the victims of police violence.

Rounding out the list are Kostas Antetokounmpo and Markieff Morris, wearing “Peace” and “Education Reform” respectively.

Most of the Lakers who opted not to put social justice messages on their jerseys are still vocally in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. James and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope have both said that they think it is more important to continue using their voices for advocacy rather than simply putting it on their jerseys. Kyle Kuzma expressed a similar sentiment, saying that he didn’t want to use the “generic” phrases allowed by the league. Davis’s reasoning for keeping his name was to honor his family.

Players with large followings are doing the most good by using their platforms to speak about the issues that they are passionate about, but for lesser-known players, using their jersey is a meaningful way to have their message reach a wider audience during games. This shouldn’t be the end of the conversation about racial justice for the Lakers or the NBA, but it’s a solid starting point.