Fortitude

The National Basketball Association and the National Basketball Players Association agreed on a list of phrases that reference different social causes important to players that they can wear on their jerseys when they return to play at the end of this month.

For the first four games, the players can wear a jersey with their preferred phrase in the place of their name. After that, they can go back to using their name, or they can continue to have their slogan on their jersey above their uniform number but their name will be printed below it. Or they can choose to just stick with their name from the beginning.

The story has a list of the names, apparently taken from an ESPN report. Some of them are head-scratchers and may not be seen on very many jerseys, such as "Group Economics." Some would be excellent suggestions, such as "Mentor." NBA stars are held in high honor by a lot of young people, especially young men, and they could create and support programs that paired some of those youngsters who are in, say, poverty situations or in families without fathers, with adult men who could help them develop as empowered, responsible and dignified members of their community.

But as expected the league remains far too craven to offend its Beijing cash drawers. So "Uygher Genocide" is not on the list, nor is "Freedom for Hong Kong," "Remember Tiananmen," "End Nike Sweatshops" or any similar slogan.

One player said that the jerseys would allow the players who had taken an interest in the social justice causes to keep the spotlight on those causes. The concern among some had been that, once games resumed, the focus would go to scores, game performance, playoff chances and so on. But now, "With these jerseys, it (social justice) doesn't go away."

As long as it doesn't endanger the revenue stream, anyway.