Heat's Jimmy Butler Explains Why He Wants Jersey Nameplate Blank at NBA Restart

The NBA and NBPA agreed to a list of social justice messages that NBA players could wear on the back of their uniforms during the league's restart, and while many players have chosen to do so, others are sticking with the display of their last name.

But Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler is hoping to take an entirely different approach and wants to leave the back of his jersey blank, per Clay Ferraro of WPLG:

"I love and respect all the messages the league did choose, but for me, I felt like with no message, with no name, it's going back to like who I was if I wasn't who I was today. I'm no different from anybody else of color, and I want that to be my message, in the sense that just because I'm an NBA player, everybody has the same rights no matter what. That's how I feel about my people of color."

Marc J. Spears of ESPN reported July 8 that 285 players out of 350 eligible players planned to display a message on their uniforms, with "Equality" as the top choice and "Black Lives Matter" the second most popular. 

Dave McMenamin of ESPN reported the full list of approved messages is as follows:

• Black Lives Matter
• Say Their Names
• Vote
• I Can't Breathe
• Justice
• Peace
• Equality
• Freedom
• Enough
• Power to the People
• Justice Now
• Say Her Name
• Sí Se Puede (Yes We Can)
• Liberation
• See Us
• Hear Us
• Respect Us
• Love Us
• Listen
• Listen to Us
• Stand Up
• Ally
• Anti-Racist
• I Am A Man
• Speak Up
• How Many More
• Group Economics
• Education Reform
• Mentor

A number of prominent players, however, have chosen to stick with their last name, including LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Joel Embiid. James told reporters his decision came down to not being able to pick out the specific message he wanted:

"It was no disrespect to the list that was handed out to all the players. I commend anyone that decides to put something on the back of their jersey. It's just something that didn't really seriously resonate with my mission, with my goal.

"I would have loved to have a say-so on what would have went on the back of my jersey. I had a couple things in mind, but I wasn't part of that process, which is OK. I'm absolutely OK with that. ... I don't need to have something on the back of my jersey for people to understand my mission or know what I'm about and what I'm here to do."

As of now, Butler is the only known player to request a blank space where his name or a message might go.