dozens of players held a conference call to talk about issues surrounding the reasons to resume, kyrie irving and dwight howard and others say now is not the time to play. with me steven jackson. thank you so much for being here. and i haven't had a chance to say it so condolences to you losing your dear friend. but talking about the nba, you say now is not the time to resume games. why? >> thank you. thank you. for the most part we've never had this moment. i've talked to several people who is fighting for this exact moment for 50 plus years. people around way before i was around. and they say they've never -- we've never had this moment. i think we need to take advantage of it. i totally -- the nba is my family. i have a lot of respect for them

. >> what a pretty play from kyrie irving. >> nba superstars kyrie irving and lebron james clashing over when to return to the court amid the fight for change across the country. why the brooklyn nets player says now is not the time to play and the other players standing by his side. >>> good morning, america. we hope everyone had a safe weekend. with amy and myself, we're happy to start our monday morning off with you. >> michael, we're happy to have you back. >> good to be back. >> nice, familiar smiling face for us this morning. >>> the protests were mostly peaceful over the weekend. in front of the white house, thousands gathering, praying and dancing after marching from the national museum of african-american history and culture. >> we want to get to the latest of the police killing of a black man in atlanta. rayshard brooks shot in the back as he fled the scene after officers tried to arrest him for drunk driving. >> the atlanta police chief has resigned, and the district attorney says they are working this investigation around the clock and will decide whether to bring charges wit

kyrie irving is on your side but absent from the call was lebron james. he believes that the nba could be a force for change while the games are being held and, steven, just imagine all of the idols and attention on the games next month and if they happen and the players, you look back through the years, they've had so many ways of expressing themselves and standing in solidarity of the movement, wouldn't that be mighty powerful as well. >> i'm open to that. i have awesome respect for lebron. you wouldn't here me say something bad about lebron. he's in this fight with me and they want to play the game. but me personally, i look at it different. i play the game of basketball for love yet for the love of the game. it is changing my life and i definitely was appreciative of that. but i play the game out of love and i know what means more than the game. and at this point they could do a lot of things. you're right. all of the eyeballs will be on the nba. but the past has told me what is going to be different. like, it would le watered down. this moment came f

. >> kyrie irving said friday he thinks players should take a stand and not restart the season. set to tip off july 31st in orlando. >>> a sign for hope for the rest of the world, big time rugby back in new zealand with fans. house on hand in the stands for the first time in march. no social distancing and no masks. after a strict lockdown, new zealand has had remarkable success eliminating the coronavirus. no new cases of the virus have been reported in more than three weeks. they said all those who had the disease have now recovered. that's a look at sports. more news after the break. mrs. walker. michael vasquez! come over here. i've heard such good things about you, your company. well, i wouldn't have done any of it without you. this place. this is for you. michael, you didn't have to... and, we're going to need some help with the rest. you've worked so hard to achieve so much. perhaps it's time to partner with someone who knows you and your business well enough to understand what your wealth is really for. >>> returning to breaking news coverage, protesters blocking traffic

in a call last night with 100 players, nets guard kyrie irving made a plea for them to make a stand and sit out the restart next month in orlando. now, players voiced concerns about the lack of freedom in the proposed bubble in orlando. the risks of sickness and injury and the climate in the u.s. on issues of police brutality and racial inequality. now, the nba said players will not be punished if they choose not to play. >>> guess what? golf is back. the pga returning to the course after its longest layoff since world war ii. the colonial hosting the pga's first competitive action in 91 days. now, this is classic. justin thomas makes a birdie to get to 12 under. then he waves to the imaginary crowd. remember, no fans at this event. now, former cal bear colin more i khama is in the hunt. he's at 12 under par one shot behind xander schauffele, who lives in bakersfield. he leads the way at 13 under. he has a one-shot lead over six other players heading into sunday's final round. >>> to the track. dale earnhardt jr. leaving the nbc sports broadcast booth for his only race of the season in

. >>> and also people are looking for sports to come back, but why kyrie irving is saying that now might not be the best time to return to the court and why he james.g head to head with we'll ha and isation, you know it has put an incredible strain on our country, but this morning there is a silver lining apparently. harvard did some researh showing that the strengthening bond between fathers and their children is something that we might see. and i can attest to being just a parent having a stronger bond especially being around more. plus this may be hard to believe, but now might be the best time to start a new business. we'll get into why and give you tips, all coming up right here on gma. >> do you spend a long time trying to think of what to get for father's day or do you know immediately what to get? >> a long time. it is so hard. ben is like the worst. he doesn't like gifts. so too bad, something is coming up. >> so a card it is. ginger, we'll see you at thank you. >>> coming up next, thenightmar one expert it's always gooder what you'to have 'em.or, and when it comes to your inter

stephen jackson has expressed his views and so has kyrie irving that now is not the time to return toay because they should be concentrating on the social issues. but even if the present movement is extraordinarily successful the idea that systemic racism will have an end point in the foreseeable future or that all of our problems will be behind us in the foreseeable future does not strike me as logical. we can walk and chew gum at the same time. if nba players return to play or players in any sport they have an even greater platform and more eyes will be on them. i don't buy that argument. however there is a good argument to say even with the best intentions and the best medical expertise brought to bear if you need a 100-page protocol and that is what baseball has for instance. if there are so many needles to thread it is reasonable to ask even as we cross our fingers saying i hope they get a 60-game season and hope it goes off without a hitch. there are so many yes and where for and so much doubt about how much jeopardy it might place a given player or his family in, that to me is

but i certainly understand where kyrie irving and some of the other players are coming from, and thistion. it is designed to be a distraction. so the concerns of the play of the nba or any sports may distract people is legitimate because that's the whole point. the phrase, you know, stick to sports is because people didn't want the real world in their sporting viewings. but i think the thing that is the best part of this conversation is that we're putting a light onto it. kyrie and the other players are saying let us not lose sight of the mission. let us not lose sight of this moment. so you can certainly play. you can use your resources. a photojournalist, a friend of mine mark spears suggested that these nba players maybe use a little bit of their leverage to try to get more funding for programming particularly on the grassroots level to help address inequality. personally i think both the nba players are better served by playing. but the arguments as to why they play are legitimate. sports is designed to be a distraction. >> lz granderson, appreciate your opinions each and every ti

. >> you mentioned kyrie irving in a statement that you gave to cnn.nd, here, you are, you know, on this show alone. i'm just wondering how much support you have. how many players have the same concerns as you? >> well, you know, i've talked to a lot -- you know, a couple guys. but, you know, me and kyrie have been talking a lot. and, you know, we just want everybody to realize that we have power. all of us. and we want to be able to use our power. voices are pouwerful, when we ae united. and me and kyrie feel we just need to become one, we need to become united, all of us. we have a powerful voice and we feel like it's time. this is the one moment in time that all of us are hurting. and the one moment in time, where we need to come together, as people. you know, my brothers and sisters. all of us are hurting. and i really stand with kyrie. you know, he's -- he's expressed a lot of his feelings to myself. and, you know, i understand exactly how -- i understand how he feel. and, you know, we know about justice and peace, and everybody's screaming for ju

kyrie irving, kemba walker, jimmy butler, some of the other notables. for the 2018 draft, their best pick just surprised his mom. >> oh! that's warriors rookie eric pascal's mom with a scream of joy with eric surprising her in the kitche there. he's been stuck in his mission bay part. he finally got home to upstate new york and mom couldn't believe it. i love her scream. eric is home! that's awesome. and congrats to bryant young who was just inducted into the hall of fame. ama, someday you'll scream like that when your baby girl comes home. >> so sweet. thanks, larry. >> aah! >> join us for abc7 news at 11:00. >>> a black lives matter flag is now flying at levi stadium, almost four years after colin kaepernick first knelt during the national anthem. some say progress is being made. others say not so fast. my story a 11:00. >>> europe may block travel. when it could take effect and what it means for travelers. that will do it for us. >> we appreciate your time and we'll see you at 11:00. alex: alex trebek here. your favorite champions, their best wins, a

players led by kyrie irving, to commit to more diverse hiring practices in the front offices before they resume play. where do you stand with that? >> i agree with kyrie. we've been talking a lot even before he came out and spoke. i feel like this is the moment. i got a lot of respect for adam silver. and david stern was somebody who i really respected. i honestly feel like it's possibly some way where they can play, and not take away from the moment. but i don't have the answer, because that is my family. i'm not trying to go against my family or battle with my family. the nba is my family. so i hope there's some way we can figure it out. but i just don't see it now because i haven't seen it in the past, and i hope people respect that. >> we really appreciate your views. and again, our hearts are with you in the sorrow, the continuing sorrow. i know you said you're going to take care of george floyd's young daughter and your family. thank you very much. thanks for taking this time to be with us today. >> thank you. >>> and coming up next, the coronavirus cases hitting record levels in s

others like dwight howard and the mets kyrie irving feeling like games and other forms of entertainmentment. as much as he'd like to resume, he feels the opportunity for unity. another tweet, if we had a game today and you leave a protest to watch it, it's a distraction. any questions? >>> working out in an i can -- a fan sks asked if he was going to protest during the national anthem this season. mayfield replied he will absolutely take a knee. if i lose fans, that's fine. i've always spoken from the sport. mikaela shiffrin is willing to lose fans. victor, christi, the support for the black community from prominent white athletes has had different tones than when kaepernick took a knee in 2016. many making it clear they're not stick to go sports. >> no doubt. coy wire, we always appreciate it. thank you, sir. >>> see ya. >>> all right. confederate monuments pulled down across the country, a man in florida wants to change the name of his hometown. we'll speak to him about renaming the city of plantation. come on christian, step onto the blue line. good! stay safe, man. this device is gi

according to the coalition of players led by kyrie irving and avery bradley, they said that social justice reform should be the players' focus right now and they can't shut up and play and that was a message echoed by dwight howard on cnn last night. >> i would definitely want to play, win a championship. but i don't want anything to distrablts us from really what's going on in this world. it's hurting. it's hurting me, it's hurting our family, all of our families and everybody is feeling it right now and, you know, i just think that we need to focus on this -- what's going on. >> yeah. the players also concerned about how they'll be able to be stay safe when they start playing in the bubble in orlando starting in late july. but adam silver says he hopes he can address all of these issues in the coming weeks and that everyone will be happy once they're able to start playing games there in orlando. >> such important conversations and the athletes elevating the voices so important, thank you, andy. >>> up next, the first black woman ever to run a fortune 500 company for a message with all of

and he has the right to say this, and i think a lot of people feel this way as well, as you see kyrie irvingst explaining that, look, we feel like our energy and our efforts should be still with the social injustice, with the systemic racism and all those things, and, you know, i echo those we keep our energy and our focus on that. however the game and playing in orlando, the nba has already went full steam ahead with making that happen and the announcement came out. but you can understand his emotions and his feelings. and i feel the same way right now. >> i know you are involved also with lebron james in more than a vote campaign, caron. it is focused on energizing black voters. do you think the protest will lead to increased turn out in november? >> absolutely. i think the momentum has to continue, and i am so glad that you brought that up. more than a vote. it really is that. collectively i has been working with the institute for quite a long time and we have addressed mass incarceration and immigration and those things in our respected states. but collectively it is a we thing. we have

on the question of coming back to play, one of your teammates kyrie irving who is not shy, he says i into orlando. i'm not with the systemic racismle and the bs. whether you want to admit it or not, we are take you getted every day we wake up. what do you say to other players who say that i'm not sure we want to do this right now? >> yeah, i've definitely spoken to kyrie and i understand what he is saying. i think it is a choice. it is an individual choice by each player. ky will speak his mind and we love that about him. i think each individual player needs to decide whether they want to go or not. and what they want to get from this. i think that we all at the end of the day are fighting the same battle and there are a lot of different ways to skin a cat. so i personally believe that we have the opportunity to, as i said, continue to speak on the things that we believe in with the amount of cameras in the audience that we'll have there. guys that do not believe that, that believe that they should -- that don't want to go, i completely support them. and everybody is not going to hav

brooklyn nets star kyrie irving, recently posted on his instagram account -- "it's clear white supremacy corporations use us native indigenous black folk when it is beneficial for their agenda and pockets, so be aware of the truth in plain sight family. hehe is saying a at least ththe players shouould consider not participating well lebron james isis saying, no, letet' play and make our statement through our playing. i'm wonderinyoyour perspececti on the battle amamong the nba players about the way forward? >> i think there are two differentt approaches to be able to reaeach one comommon goal. goingg bacack to t that olympicn adadd a chan t to interview don carlos and karareem abdul-jabbar will stop. karereem abdul-jabbar did nott o to the e 1968. don carlos went toto the olympis ended the black popower salute during -- on the podium and that reverbrberated to even today. boboth of them deserve respectc. that is my issue with my approach teeeetering kerryry and lebrbron. whwhen i turn on the newews an'm lookoking at the i inflammatory language that is being u used wn describing carrie an

. >>> lebron james pushing back on kyrie irving's stance on the nba start plan.rts resuming season in orlando. irving says sifting it out in a stand with social justice. dwight howard says basketball will only distract from the fight against racial inequality. >>> the first sporting in the country to have a live audience since the pandemic started. 1000 members of the military and first-responders will be in attendance. there will be health screenings and masks are required. meanwhile harrison burton beat dale earnhardt, jr. in the xfinity series this marks the second win this year. you can watch the race today on fox. those are the headlines. griff: there you go. denny hamlin in the poll position. till with be a good one to watch. pete: griff will be watching. coming up, plan to cut a billion dollars from the nypd budget would mean over 2,000 fewer officers on the streets and on the force. we'll hear from a city councilman who says punishing cops who had nothing to do with minneapolis is just wrong. at mercedes-benz, nothing less than world-class service will do