NBA players took a knee before kicking off the league’s reopened season

CNN Wire

Players with the New Orleans Pelicans and the Utah Jazz restarted the NBA’s season by kneeling during the National Anthem.

Moments ago just before tip off, the players, coaches and game officials all took a knee.

The players also wore black “Black Lives Matter” shirts during the anthem and during warm-ups, sending a clear message in support of the social justice movement.

See the moment

The NBA isn’t the first league to restart their season with players kneeling in support of the movement.

The WNBA, when the league began its season last week, dedicated the season to Breonna Taylor and the Say Her Name campaign. Outside of basketball, many MLB players also took a knee as their season resumed earlier this month.

All of these demonstrations come amidst unrest in the US, over the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, and mirror that of Colin Kaepernick during the 2016-17 NFL season.T

The deaths have caused ongoing protests throughout the country, and resulted in calls for racial equality, social justice and police reform in the US, among other demands.

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