Report: Some NBA players unhappy they couldn’t vote on return-to-play plan

Follow The Money discusses the news that a group of NBA players are showing concerns with returning to play this season, with a source saying that some Lakers and Clippers players are included in that group.

There are a “significant number” of NBA players disappointed they were not given a chance to vote on the NBA’s return-to-play plan, according to Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes.

Haynes also reports that some players feel the timing of the league’s potential resumption of play, amid such a significant Black Lives Matter movement, would not feel right.

“The unease about relocating to a quarantined campus during the COVID-19 pandemic was already viewed as hazardous and unnecessary to many players,” wrote Haynes. “But because of the George Floyd tragedy and the powerful movement for racial justice that’s sweeping the nation, some players believe it’s bad optics for a league comprised predominantly of black men to be sequestered in one location for up to three months merely to entertain the masses and ease the league’s economic burden, sources said.”

Additionally, Bleacher Report’s Taylor Rooks and Howard Beck are reporting a group 150-200 players are planning a conference call for Friday night, with Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving being the driving force behind it and “raising concerns over NBA’s bubble plan.”

These reports come two days after ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said there was a growing number of players questioning the return-to-play plan unveiled by the NBA last week, which would see 22 teams quarantined at Disney World.

Wojnarowski also reported that amid players’ discussions, there was also talk of a possible agreement made between the NBA and NBPA that would not make participation mandatory for players choosing to stay home.

Health is an issue highlighted by both Haynes and Wojnarowski — and one NBC’s Tom Haberstroh wrote about more in-depth on Friday. While players themselves are to be quarantined in the “bubble” of Disney World, the Florida site’s staff will not. Per Haberstroh, Disney workers have not been told to quarantine on campus, and daily testing for these employees would be “unlikely.”

This, at a time when COVID-19 cases in Orange County, Fla. — the county in which Disney World is located — have jumped again.

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