NBA: Irving, Durant, Melo lead meeting as players mull not returning this season

Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving reportedly led a conference call involving about 80 NBA players as they discussed the possibility of not joining the season’s resumption in Orlando.

The all star guard was a “driving force” in the meeting, according to both Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN and Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Irving led a meeting which also involved teammate Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, and Donovan Mitchell.

Why players are hesitant to resume the season does not only concern virus-related issues.

Due to country-wide protests regarding systemic racism and the unlawful deaths of African-Americans at the hands of police, players seem to prioritize using their platforms to attract more attention for the matter, not minding skipping basketball for now.

Furthermore, a report by Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes detailed that players feel they didn’t have a voice when the NBA decided to resume play.

The NBA approved last week a plan to restart the season beginning on July 31st with 22 teams participating.