Big East teams to wear BLM patch on jerseys this season

The Big East's 11 schools unanimously approved displaying Black Lives Matter patches on the jerseys of their men's and women's basketball uniforms this upcoming season, the conference announced Wednesday.

The NCAA recently gave student-athletes permission to support social justice issues by wearing patches on their uniforms or changing their nameplates, as long as their school or conference approves.

"We are proud that all 11 of our schools support the effort to bring attention through Big East basketball to the Black Lives Matter movement and its goal of a more racially just world," Big East commissioner Val Ackerman said in a statement.

Ackerman added, "We hope our BLM initiative, coupled with the Big East's prominence and visibility, can help our country bridge its protracted racial divide and allow us, once and for all, to live up to our national ideals of equality for all."

The NBA and WNBA currently have Black Lives Matter displayed on their courts. The phrase is also on the back of some NBA players' jerseys as one of the numerous social justice statements approved by the league and its players' association.