LeBron James explains why he isn't putting a slogan dedicated to social justice on his jerseys for the NBA's restart

• LeBron James said he wouldn't put one of the approved social justice slogans on the back of his jersey when games resume.
• James said the slogans didn't align with his goals and that he wanted to keep his name on the back of his jersey.
• Off the court, James has a school for at-risk youth and in June helped form an organization called More Than A Vote dedicated to combating voter suppression among African-Americans.

When the NBA season resumes, many players will have short slogans dedicated to social justice on the back of their jerseys instead of their last names. LeBron James won't be one of them.

James explained to reporters on Saturday that there wasn't anything he wanted to put on his jersey instead of his last name.

"I actually didn't go with a name on the back of my jersey," James said (via ESPN's Dave McMenamin). "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."

When the NBA and players union were discussing restarting the season, many players said they didn't want the games to take away the national focus on Black Lives Matter and social justice reform. Together, the NBA and players union came up with a list of slogans players could put on the back of their jerseys (they are also supporting other causes off the floor).

The terms players could put on the back of their jerseys are (via ESPN):

• 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

According to ESPN, as of last week, 285 of 350 players had decided to put slogans on their jerseys.

James' teammate Anthony Davis also decided just to put his last name on his jersey.

"I didn't know what to decide: Should I have a social justice message, or should I have my last name there? I just think my last name is something that is very important to me," Davis said. "Also, social justice, as well. But just holding my family name and representing the name on the back to go through this process and my name and people who've been with me through my entire career to help me get to this point."

The list of approved messages has been the subject of some criticism, with some players believing the list didn't reflect what they would have liked to put on their jersey.

"They gave us some names and phrases to put on the back of jerseys. That was terrible. It was just a bad miss, a bad choice," Philadelphia 76ers forward Mike Scott told reporters earlier in July. "They didn't give players a chance to voice our opinions on it; they just gave us a list to pick from. So that was bad, that was terrible."

Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown said he found some of the choices "limiting."

James was one of several Black athletes and entertainers in June to form a voting rights organization called More Than A Vote. The organization aims to encourage African-Americans to register to vote and combat voter suppression. James also opened a school in his hometown of Akron, Ohio, in 2016 for at-risk youth.

"I will not stop until I see real change for us as Black America, for African-Americans, for people of color," James told reporters on Saturday.

"I also believe I can do both, though. I can bring happiness to a lot of homes with the way I play the game and the way the Lakers are gonna play the game. And I will continue to push the envelope and continue to keep my foot on the gas on creating real change for us as people of color in America."

• Read more:
• LeBron James shared his support for an ESPN reporter suspended after saying 'f--- you' to a senator who criticized the NBA's relationship with China
• NBA stars are sharing their complaints of the Disney 'bubble' including disappointing food, boring rooms, and a lack of blankets
• Part of the NBA's restart format has already taken a hit before the games even begin