NBA

Chris Paul on NBA and NBPA's joint statement: 'What we're doing right now in our league is huge'

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On Friday, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Chris Paul spoke to the media after the NBA and NBPA released a joint statement in which the two sides announced the plan for a return to play, as well as the commitments the league has made to "further our collective efforts and actions in support of social justice and racial equality."

"What we're doing right now in our league is huge," Paul said. "I think for the young guys in our league to get a chance to see how guys are really coming together and speak and see real change, real action, because guys are tired — and I mean tired. When I say tired, we're not physically tired, we're just tired of seeing the same thing over and over again."

Paul revealed that he has spoken to the father of Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man who was hospitalized over the weekend after he was shot at seven times by police. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the Milwaukee Bucks decided to boycott Game 5 of their first-round series with the Orlando Magic in wake of Blake being shot.

"It's emotional. It's emotional, especially when you're a Black man and you know that — when [Bucks guard] George Hill spoke, he talked about being a Black man. He was hurt. He was hurt. We're all hurt. We're all tired of just seeing the same thing over and over again and everybody just expecting us to be OK just because we get paid great money.

"We're human. We have real feelings. I'm glad we got a chance to get in a room together to talk with one another and not just cross paths and say, "Good luck in your game today.'"

The President of the NBPA, Paul is reported as having played an integral role in uniting players. Thunder head coach Billy Donovan said that the "job that he has done throughout all of this is absolutely remarkable."

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