A “peaceful Juneteeth march” in the Windy City on June 19 (a.k.a. Juneteenth) saw Chicago Bulls head coach Jim Boylen and big man Wendell Carter Jr. join.
With all that is going on in the world right now, the last thing that a lot of people are thinking about in the news cycle is what’s going on with the Chicago Bulls. Even with a very notable set of changes within the Bulls organization occurring before their offseason officially hit, there is plenty to distract this fan base in the news cycle day in and day out.
But the Bulls are getting involved in the community in ways that are good to see, despite all that is going on in the country and around the world. On June 19 (also known as Juneteenth), some key member of the Bulls got out in the community and joined the protests and marches that are occurring around the world over the last couple of weeks.
According to a post on the Twitter timeline of Rob Schaefer NBC Sports Chicago on Friday afternoon, the likes of current Bulls head coach Jim Boylen, center Wendell Carter Jr., and some other parts of the coaching staff got out and joined a “peaceful” march to cap the week. A few of the assistant coaches included in this march were Nate Loenser and Karen Stack Umlauf.
Wendell Carter Jr., Jim Boylen, assistant coaches Nate Loenser and Karen Stack Umlauf, and other Bulls staff join peaceful Juneteenth march through Grant Park organized by Faith in Justice and Peace (FIJAP) pic.twitter.com/e4AMsxed9T
— Rob Schaefer (@rob_schaef) June 19, 2020
This wasn’t the only bit of positive headlines coming out of the Bulls camp in the last 48 hours. Bulls chief operating officer Michael Reinsdorf had it announced that the organization would be giving paid time off annually to internal employees for Juneteenth starting this year.
The Bulls are getting a lot of the organization involved in some of the community activism in the last few weeks. Even a few notable former Bulls players are getting involved. All-time great shooting guard Michael Jordan even made a sizable donation with his Jordan Brand for community activism over the next decade.
The 2019-20 regular season for the Bulls finished up with a record of 22-43 through 65 games prior to the novel coronavirus pandemic-induced hiatus. They won’t be competing in the NBA’s 22-team restart plan, with games planned to start on July 31 at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, FL.