Bucks' Sterling Brown to Play in NBA Restart, Doesn't Disagree with Sitting Out

Milwaukee Bucks guard Sterling Brown said he plans on playing if and when the NBA season restarts in Orlando, Florida, even though some players have raised concerns that doing so will take away from the national focus on systemic racism and police brutality.

Eric Woodyard of ESPN shared Brown's comments in which he said "I don't disagree with guys that want to sit out; they're doing it for a good reason." 

"I feel like it's an opportunity for me to use more of our platform and our resources to continue to bring awareness and shine light," he continued.

That the 25-year-old suggested playing will allow NBA players to use a bigger platform to shine light on issues echoes a statement the NBA released. It said "a central goal of our season restart will be to utilize the NBA's platform to bring attention and sustained action to issues of social injustice," per Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium:

Brown's decision is all the more pertinent because he has an ongoing civil rights lawsuit against the city of Milwaukee.

In December, Woodyard reported that Brown elected to reject the city's $400,000 settlement offer. Brown said police officers tased him, used excessive force and targeted him because he was black during the January 2018 incident outside of a Walgreens store. What's more, released body-camera footage showed an officer stepping on his ankle while other officers mocked the idea of him filing a civil lawsuit.

The idea that some players may sit out because they are concerned with distracting from the current momentum against police brutality and systemic racism and playing amid a COVID-19 pandemic has been a major talking point in recent days.

Malika Andrews and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving and Los Angeles Lakers guard Avery Bradley formed a players' coalition in an effort to provide a voice for those with such concerns.

According to the report, the coalition is also looking for progress from the NBA in a number of areas, including improved hiring practices of black candidates for head coaching and front-office positions and more donations and partnerships with black-owned businesses and organizations.

If the season does resume, Brown's Bucks are on the short list of teams with realistic championship aspirations.

They are an NBA-best 53-12 and 6.5 games ahead of the defending champion Toronto Raptors, meaning they will be the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference barring complete collapse in their eight regular season games. The 6'5" forward is averaging 5.0 points and 3.7 rebounds in 14.9 minutes per game.