FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 27, 2023
National Basketball Social Justice Coalition, Utah Jazz, & Rasa Legal Host Clean Slate Law Summit in Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City UT – The National Basketball Social Justice Coalition and the Utah Jazz Tuesday hosted the Expungement Impact Play, a Clean Slate Law Summit at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City. The Summit, hosted in collaboration with Clean Slate Utah and Rasa, demonstrated the impact of Utah’s Clean Slate legislation and provided more than 400 individuals a free tool to check their expungement eligibility. With the help of Clean Slate Utah, more than 150 eligible individuals completed the Bureau of Criminal Identification applications to start the process of having their criminal records expunged. Everyone who attended the event had the option to meet with a volunteer lawyer free of charge to assist them with their case. The event comes as part of the Coalition’s efforts to advance social justice through policy change, including criminal justice reform, and the NBA’s and Jazz organization’s commitment to social impact leading up to NBA All-Star 2023.
The Expungement Impact Play featured Utah Jazz Chairman Ryan Smith, Utah Governor, Spencer Cox (R-UT), Salt Lake City Mayor, Erin Mendenhall (D-UT), Salt Lake County Mayor, Jenny Wilson (D-UT), National Basketball Social Justice Coalition Executive Director, James Cadogan and other community leaders engaging in discussion around criminal justice reform in Utah with emphasis on increasing awareness about the expungement process and highlighting the importance of a collaborative local and national approach to advancing social justice. While the discussion was underway, volunteers from Clean Slate Utah and Rasa assisted eligible individuals in completion of a record checking and clearing clinic for expungement.
“Paying your debt to society is really important but when you’ve done your time that debt shouldn’t be hung over your head,” said Governor Cox (R-UT). “When we continually remind people of their mistakes and don’t provide opportunities to move on from those mistakes people begin to lose hope. Far too often that leads people back into the places they were trying to get out of in the first place. To be able to get rid of these minor offenses that should not be carried forward is really important and I’m proud of it.”
“To achieve social justice, you need to break down barriers and this is an area where we did,” said Mayor Jenny Wilson (D-UT). “There’s a very concerted effort going on that includes Salt Lake City, state leadership, Salt Lake County and our partners at streamlining our criminal justice system with equity, fairness and social justice as our north star in that process.”
“We’re going to keep doing whatever we can to invent new ways to help remove barriers,” said Mayor Erin Mendenhall (D-UT). “Let’s help get the word out there to Utahans that their backgrounds can be cleared, that their path forward is even more clear, and that we want to work together with our partners to make sure we are shortening those paths to success and stability as fast as we can.”
“This epitomizes Utah,” said Ryan Smith, Chairman, Utah Jazz. “We believe in second chances. Our organization is proud to open our arena and our facilities to make an impact in our community. This is one of the cooler things I’ve been a part of and makes me very proud of our state.”
“This is different, and it doesn’t happen often,” said James Cadogan, Executive Director, National Basketball Social Justice Coalition. “We’re seeing policy in action and the impact of the hard work of passing a bipartisan law to improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of Utahans. We’re going to continue to lift up great examples of communities coming together around effective solutions to inspire others to follow in their footsteps.”
“An old and minor criminal record can hold people back years after their involvement in the justice system,” said Noella Sudbury, CEO, Rasa Legal. “The expungement process helps these individuals access second chances in housing, employment, and education, and helps people access new opportunities to support their families and loved ones. Partnerships like these are critical to adopting these policies in other states, raising awareness of how common this issue is nationally, reducing the stigma of having a criminal record, and helping more people move forward with their lives.”
Utah is the second state in the nation to enact Clean Slate legislation, which automatically expunges eligible misdemeanor criminal records for residents in the state. In the United States, nearly 80 million people have a criminal record, and 30 million children have at least one parent with a criminal record. There are more than 45,000 federal and state barriers for people with conviction that limits access to employment, education, housing, civic engagement and public assistance. To learn more about Utah’s Clean Slate legislation, click here.
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About the National Basketball Social Justice Coalition
The National Basketball Social Justice Coalition is a 501(c)(4) advocacy organization that leads the NBA family’s collaborative efforts to advance social justice. Formed jointly by the NBA, the National Basketball Players Association, and NBA Coaches Association in 2020, the Coalition is a first-of-its-kind entity in the sports and media sector—leveraging the game of basketball’s influence to promote justice policy reforms at the federal, state, and local levels. National Basketball Social Justice Coalition board members include:
Players
Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland Cavaliers Guard
Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota Timberwolves Forward
Jrue Holiday, Milwaukee Bucks Guard
Team Governors
Micky Arison, Miami Heat Managing General Partner
Steve Ballmer, L.A. Clippers Chairman
Clay Bennett, Oklahoma City Thunder Chairman
Marc Lasry, Milwaukee Bucks Governor
Vivek Ranadivé, Sacramento Kings Governor and Chairman
Coaches
Dwane Casey, Detroit Pistons Head Coach
Doc Rivers, Philadelphia 76ers Head Coach
NBA Leadership
Adam Silver, NBA Commissioner
Mark Tatum, NBA Deputy Commissioner
NBPA Leadership
Tamika Tremaglio, Executive Director