LeBron James in the Lakers jersey, March 11, 2020. - Marcio Jose Sanchez / AP / SIPA

While players will wear social justice messages on the back of their shirts when the NBA Championship resumes, Lakers star LeBron James announced Saturday that he has decided to stay "James".

"I won't have a message on the back of my jersey," said Lebron James during a press conference call. “I congratulate everyone who decides to put something on the back of their jersey. It's just something that didn't really match my mission, my goal. ”

The NBA resumes with the stated objective of “fighting racism” via @ 20minutesSport https://t.co/o3Iaabz8Uz

- 20 Minutes Sport (@ 20minutesSport) June 25, 2020

In preparation for the resumption of the NBA championship on July 30 in a "bubble" at Disney World in Orlando (Florida), the league has authorized players to carry messages from a list of thirty slogans, such as "Black Lives Matter ”,“ I Can't Breathe ”,“ Justice ”,“ Peace ”,“ Equality ”,“ Freedom ”or“ Anti-Racist ”.

LeBron James, who has often taken a stand against racism and the excessive use of force by the police in the United States, especially after the death of George Floyd, has suggested that he would have liked to have a say in these messages.

285 players will carry a message

“I would have liked to have had my say on what would have been put on the back of my jersey. I had two or three things in mind but I did not participate in this process, which is normal. That's completely understandable, said number 23 of the Lakers. I don't need to have something on the back of my jersey for people to understand my mission or know who I am and what I do. "

Like LeBron James, 17 players chose to keep their name on their jersey, while 285 chose their message from the list approved by the NBA and the players' union.

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