Garrett Temple will wear ‘Education Reform’ on the back of his jersey during Nets games in the Orlando bubble. It’s one of the 29 phrases players can choose from to feature on the back of their jerseys. The list was agreed upon by the NBA and NBPA.

Here’s Temple, a VP of the NBPA whose family helped integrate LSU, talking about why he chose ‘Education Reform’ on 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 in press conference with reporters Friday via Zoom Call. “There are so many different causes to tackle, unfortunately in our community. We in the Black community have been marginalized so much, there’s 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. It’s fallen by the wayside in most cases. The public school system isn’t nearly where it needs to be in a country as powerful as ours.

“Allowing people to be educated, allowing people to learn more things, maybe even changing some curriculum to make things more applicable to real-life scenarios, I think is something that really needs to happen. And give people more of an opportunity, once they get out of school, to use that education to make a better living for themselves and be contributors to society in an economic way. So education has been very important to me and my family. I know how much it can help and change someone’s life.”

Temple announced his choice earlier in the day in an interview with CNN.

The veteran has talked about the need for the NBA to use its platform in Orlando to keep the conversation about systemic inequality at the forefront. Players and people from around the NBA took part in protests following the killing of George Floyd by Minnesota police. Players have talked in public and private about trying to find ways to further the conversation and produce meaningful change.

Temple remains hopeful that the current unrest will produce some kind of tangible reform.

“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. “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.”

Other Nets said will have the following messages on the backs of their jerseys: Joe Harris said requested to have “Equality” as his first option and “Vote” as his second option. Caris LeVert will have Black Lives Matter on his jersey. Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot will have “Liberte’ on his jersey to represent France’s motto of “Liberté, égalité, et fraternité”, which translates to liberty, equality and fraternity.

CRAWFORD FOCUSED ON THE MOMENT, NOT NEXT SEASON

Nets GM Sean Marks intimated last week that Jamal Crawford and others in Orlando will be evaluated for potential roster spots on the 2020-21 team. Crawford has a relationship with Nets stars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. So there will be plenty of speculation about the 40-year-old signing with Brooklyn for next season.

Crawford, who joined the Nets on the court this week, says that the idea of playing with the Nets next year isn’t on his radar at the moment.

“I haven’t thought about it,” Crawford said in a press conference via Zoom call earlier this week. “If you have plans, God will tell you, ‘That’s kind of funny. Let me show you this.’ So for me I’m just trying to stay in the moment, not take any of it for granted and just really enjoy this process that I’m in right now. The future will be the future: But now I want to focus on what’s in front of me.”

Later this month, Crawford will play in an NBA game for the first time since April 2019, when he had 51 points for the Phoenix Suns.

His signing with Brooklyn was met with congratulatory messages from players around the NBA.

“It meant so much,” Crawford told reporters. “Obviously, having your peers’ respect is everything. I learned that a long time ago: that some people see you one way, some people see you another way, but having your peers’ respect is what’s really important. So for all those guys to tweet that and support it, it made me feel really good — thankful for it, humbled by it and really, really blessed.”

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