NBA commissioner Adam Silver does not want you to stick to sports.

That's the message he shared on Wednesday night at a Sports Business Awards ceremony in which he accepted the trophy for League of the Year. During his acceptance speech, Silver encouraged those in attendance to speak up on societal and political issues.

"There's never been a time when sports has been more impactful on society than it is today," said Silver via Sports Business Daily. "Whether it's issues effecting race and gender, health, mental wellness or technology and media, what we all do in this room matters day in and day out.

Silver's comments came on the same day in which the NFL implemented a controversial national anthem policy requiring athletes to abandon kneeling on the sidelines during the anthem, else they put their team in jeopardy of fines or penalty. His speech was also relevant to comments made by political news pundit Laura Ingraham, who earlier this year suggested LeBron James should keep political commentary to himself and "shut up and dribble."

"I encourage all of you not to stick to sports," Silver said in closing. "Do not stick to sports. Embrace it, celebrate it, and let's use it to build bridges and bring people together."