Houston Rockets: A suggestion for compromise to the NBA’s restart

The Houston Rockets will start things up soon but there are still many questions that need to be addressed for those who don’t want to join the bubble.

The Houston Rockets will likely be among the first of professional sports leagues based in H-Town to resume play within the next month or so.  The NBA has agreed upon the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex on the Disney World campus in Orlando, Fla. as the site of the isolated bubble that the NBA will maintain to finish out the season and possibly beyond depending on how long this pandemic lasts.

The league will be testing players every other day and are looking to get things started July 30 with training camp starting at the beginning of next month and the preseason being about a week before the eight-game season — for playoff seeding — starts.

The plan has been approved by the appropriate parties but there are still concerns that players have that need to be addressed and rightfully so.

We all have had our eyes — even more so now with the passing of George Floyd — the despicable acts of police brutality against African-Americans.  We’ve seen the protests — which include a melting pot of individuals supporting the cause — striving for a solution to social justice.

With sports on pause, vacations on hold and with people out of work, there has been little distraction for us all to see the plight of a serious problem in this country.  This has resulted in dignitaries and elected officials alike to work hard toward coming up with a solution to something that has been staring us in the face for goodness knows how long.

There have been many players that have expressed their concern for restarting games because it will take eyes away from the tireless strive for equality for all.

Former NBA guard/forward Stephen Jackson has been vocal as well as Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard in regard to their concerns.

There’s also a coalition of players that has been formed led by Avery Bradley and Kyrie Irving that are seeking answers on that the league will do about this.

On the flip side, Houston Rockets‘ guard Austin Rivers has said that the league can restart and can still bring about awareness of the Black Lives Matter movement with the enormous platform that it has.

I’d have to say that I totally agree with Rivers on this…

The NBA is a business that was not meant be dormant and it’s unchanging hands have a tremendous impact on the economy which streams into interconnected businesses owned by people from all walks of life.

I think the best way the NBA can meet this moment is to embrace the BLM movement during every game they play.

And I’m not just talking about a quick preempt like an advertisement but it needs the type of

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attention it deserves.  We need to see discernible facts on graphics across screens during telecasts, broadcasting teams talking about the issues at hand for a moment during intermissions, a call for action such as for nonprofit organizations that support these initiatives and live look-ins on protests — I’m positive they will continue with them going into their 22nd straight day — that are occurring.

I’m talking about a full-on blitz to ensure that the many voices that are out there risking their lives in this pandemic are heard.  The NBA platform is a HUGE one and I think those objectives can be met while balancing the needs of their advertisers, which certainly can tailor their message at times to the cause as well.

What I’m suggesting is a viable compromise for all parties involved and I also think that if players don’t want to join the bubble, they shouldn’t have to but they’d have to agree to partial pay which is fair considering the league has set an infrastructure in place to keep them safe.

It’ll be intriguing to see how the league resolves the concerns of many players but I’m confident that they will be able to.

Let’s go Houston Rockets…