Bickerstaff member of NBA social equality committee

Former Memphis Grizzlies head coach J.B. Bickerstaff will be a part of the NBA’s coaches committee dedicated to fighting social injustice.

Earlier this week, the NBA announced that it would be forming a committee dedicated to battling social injustice, with a membership of current NBA head coaches, as well as a few assistant coaches throughout the league.

Atlanta Hawks head coach Llyod Pierce seems to be at the forefront of this committee, and it will also include coaches such as Gregg Popovich and Steve Kerr–both of whom have made no problems addressing their beliefs on current societal issues–as well as many other coaches from around the league.

One of the coaches on this committee is former Memphis Grizzlies Head Coach J.B. Bickerstaff. Bickerstaff, now a head coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers, was an assistant coach for the Grizzlies during the 2016-17 season, and then was the head coach for the Grizzlies during the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons.

During his stint as a head coach, Bickerstaff was never able to lead the Grizzlies to the playoffs, and accumulated a record of 48-97 (.331). Memphis fired Bickerstaff, and during this offseason brought on the new Taylor Jenkins as a part of a front office overhaul. Bickerstaff was later brought on by the rebuilding Cavaliers.

The coaches committee is just another step that the league is taking to address the question of social injustice, which many players brought up in questioning the effectiveness of resuming the season. Along with this committee, which seeks to find ways to promote unity among everyone, the NBA has also allowed players to put social justice messages on the backs of their jerseys in place of their last name, and the NBA will be painting “Black Lives Matter” on each of the courts in the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex in Orlando, Florida.