The Miami Heat’s Jimmy Butler always wants to do things his way, but the NBA wouldn’t let him this time.
For the NBA restart, the league allowed players to choose from a pre-approved list of social justice messages for the backs of their jerseys (words and phrases like “Equality,” “How Many More” and “Black Lives Matter”). Players also had the option of having nothing at the top, with their number in the middle and their name underneath.
Those were the two options. Butler tried to choose option three: He wanted a jersey with no name and no social justice message — only his number.