UPapa Francis uhlangana nethimba lezinyunyana labadlali beNBA eVatican
Ithimba elimele iNational Basketball Players Association, inyunyana emele abasubathi abangochwepheshe be-NBA, lihlangane noPapa Francis bakhuluma naye ngomsebenzi wabo wokukhuthaza ubulungiswa kwezenhlalo.
Inhlangano yabadlali ithe iqembu elihlangane nopapa ngoNovemba 23 lifaka: UMarco Belinelli, iSan Antonio Spurs onogada abadubulayo; USterling Brown noKyle Korver, abaqaphi abadubula iMilwaukee Bucks; UJonathan Isaac, umdlali we-Orlando Magic; no-Anthony Tolliver, umgadli oneminyaka engu-13 manje ongumenzeli wamahhala.
I-NBPA ithe lo mhlangano "unikeze abadlali ithuba lokuthi baxoxe ngemizamo yabo ngabanye neyokubambisana ukubhekana nokungabi nabulungisa kwezenhlalo nezomnotho nokungalingani okwenzeka emiphakathini yabo."
Abadlali be-NBA bebelokhu bekhuluma ngezinkinga zobulungiswa bezenhlalo unyaka wonke, ikakhulukazi ngemuva kokubulawa kukaGeorge Floyd okushaqisayo ngamaphoyisa ngoMeyi kwaqubula imibhikisho emikhulu e-United States.
Ngaphambi kokuqala kabusha isizini yebhasikidi kulandela ukumiswa kwayo ngenxa yobhadane lwe-COVID-19, inyunyana neNBA bafinyelele esivumelwaneni sokukhombisa imiyalezo yezobulungiswa kumajezi abo.
UMichele Roberts, umqondisi omkhulu we-NBPA, esitatimendeni sangoNovemba 23 uthe umhlangano nopapa "uqinisekisa amandla ezwi labadlali bethu."
"Ukuthi omunye wabaholi abenethonya elikhulu emhlabeni uzame ukuba nengxoxo nabo kukhombisa umthelela ezinkundleni zabo," kusho uRoberts, naye owayekhona kulo mhlangano. "Ngihlala ngikhuthazwa ukuzibophezela okuqhubekayo kwabadlali bethu ukusebenzela nokweseka umphakathi wethu."
Ngokwe-ESPN, izikhulu zenyunyana zithi "umlamuleli" kapapa waya kuNBPA wabazisa ngentshisekelo kaPapa Francis emizamweni yabo yokunaka izindaba zobulungiswa bezenhlalo nokungalingani kwezomnotho.
UKorver esitatimendeni uthe le nhlangano "ihlonishwe kakhulu ngokuthola ithuba lokuza eVatican futhi ihlanganyele okuhlangenwe nakho kwethu noPapa Francis" nokuthi "ukuvuleka kukapapa nentshisekelo yokuxoxa ngalokhu izingqikithi kube ngumthombo wokhuthazo futhi zisikhumbuza ukuthi umsebenzi wethu ube nomthelela emhlabeni jikelele futhi kufanele uqhubeke uqhubekele phambili.
"Umhlangano wanamuhla ube yinto engakholeki," kusho uTolliver. "Ngokuxhaswa ngupapa nesibusiso sakhe, kuyasijabulisa ukubhekana nale sizini ezayo sinikwe amandla okuqhubeka nokufuna ushintsho nokuhlanganisa imiphakathi yethu."