#Nets’ Garrett Temple pushing social justice message at NBA restart

Nearly two months have passed since George Floyd was killed. The streets are quieter. Protests against racial injustice have shrunk from an unprecedented and unsustainable size and pace. COVID-19 has reclaimed dominance of the news.

With less than two weeks until the NBA season restarts in Orlando, Nets guard Garrett Temple participated in a call with roughly 30 players Thursday night, focused on how to ensure their platform to amplify the Black Lives Matter movement — and other related causes — isn’t overshadowed by the upcoming games, as teammate Kyrie Irving and others opposed to returning to play feared.

“Obviously, we want to keep the conversation going. That’s one of the main things that needs to happen. In this world, in America, things die down quickly,” Temple said on a Zoom call Friday night. “We want to talk to each other, talk to like-minded individuals about whatever issues we want to change and try to find tangible things we can actually do to create those changes to push policies in the cities that we’re in. I think us being on the court, pushing that, is gonna be great to have people watch us, but also we need to come out of here with some strategy in order to make some tangible changes.”

Temple, who spent time during the suspension of the season studying for the LSAT, said he plans to replace his name with the message of “Education Reform” on the back of his jersey.

“I’ve seen a lot of guys say putting stuff on their jerseys is really just window dressing and if that’s what they believe then that’s up to them,” Temple said. “There are so many different causes to tackle, unfortunately in our community. We in the black community have been marginalized so much in so many different things that need to change in order to allow us to get better chances. I think education is something that’s very much needed. The public school system isn’t nearly where it needs to be in a country as powerful as ours. … [We need to] give people more of an opportunity once they get out of school to make a better living for themselves and be contributors to society. … I know how much [education] can help and change someone’s lives.”

While Temple — the 34-year-old vice president of the National Basketball Players Association and first-year Net — had established a leadership position on the team prior to the coronavirus pandemic, the absence of veteran teammates like Irving, Kevin Durant, DeAndre Jordan, Wilson Chandler, has only strengthened a voice that was never silent.

Now, on a makeshift roster decimated by the coronavirus, the journeyman who has played for nine NBA teams and signed multiple 10-day contracts offers unique perspective for teammates sharing a court for the first time.

“We have less veterans here, and obviously with a couple new guys, trying to teach them the ropes, trying to teach them how we do things in the organization, it’s been great,” Temple said. “I’ve been a little more vocal, but I was vocal before as well. Just getting guys acclimated and telling them to use their voices as well.”

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Recent signees Lance Thomas and Donta Hall haven’t yet practiced with the Nets and remain in quarantine. … Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot also intends to have a social justice message stitched to his jersey, sporting either the entirety or abridged French motto of “Liberté, égalité, et fraternité,” which translates to Freedom, Equality, Fraternity.