The Athletic: Are There Issues With Chris Paul as NBAPA President

Chris Pual is under more pressure now than at any point in his career. With the NBA set to resume in less than 45 days, a growing number of players are asking if it is in their best interest to restart the season.

Chief among those players is Kyrie Irving, who is helping urge a collation of players to sit out while combating systemic racism. Union members are also voicing their concerns over health and living conditions while in Orlando.

Any players who exercise their right to stay home will not be disciplined; however, they must let their team know by June 24th. On a recent podcast from The Athletic with Sam Amick and Ethan Strauss, it has been suggested that some players may not feel that those at the top of the union (including Chris Paul) may not have been looking out for everybody's well being.

Avery Bradley helped organize a Lakers-wide social media post recently: "If you ain't wit us, we ain't wit you."
The message was intended "for all those who have more financial power than us, but aren't taking a bigger stance when our community needs you," Bradley tells ESPN. https://t.co/C0bH2FJtyu
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 16, 2020

On Monday, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN was reporting, "There's not great enthusiasm among players in this league about going into the bubble, about all the things that are going to come with it, especially on the teams who are not competing for a championship."..." And it is certainly a sense you get in talking to players – good players in the league – more I would say here in the last week."

"And I do think on some level Kyrie has tapped into some of that.".. "And it's on a multitude of issues."

🎙️TAMPERING🎙️@sam_amick @SherwoodStrauss

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🏀and more!https://t.co/8iLk6Hcg2D pic.twitter.com/DB0RpKBloX
— The Athletic NBA (@TheAthleticNBA) June 16, 2020

Lakers guard Avery Bradley who is co-leading the coalition with Irving, wants to hear from owners, sponsors, and the league office on the importance of the black community before the restart. "Regardless of how much media coverage will be received, talking and raising awareness about social injustice isn't enough."

"Are we that self-centered to believe no one in the world is aware of racism right now?" "That as athletes, we solve the real issues by using our platforms to speak?"

Commissioner Adam Silver says the current situation is not ideal. "We are trying to find a way to our own normalcy in the middle of a pandemic, in the middle of essentially a recession or worse with 40 million unemployed, and now with enormous social unrest in the country."

Sources: NBA players have been informed that anyone who leaves the Orlando campus (without prior approval) will be subject to:

- 10-14 day self-quarantine
- Reduction in compensation for games missed
- Enhanced testing (deep nasal swab)
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 16, 2020

"And so as we work through these issues, I can understand how some players may feel, that it's not for them ... it may be for family reasons, it may be for health reasons they have, or it may be because they feel -- as some players have said very recently -- that their time is best spent elsewhere."

Per Sham Charania, anyone who leaves the campus without approval will face 10-14 days of self-quarantine, reduced pay for games missed, and deep nasal swab testing.