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| http://www.wwaytv3.com/2015/06/23/charlotte-hornets-to-host-nba-all-star-game-in-2017/ |
If you've ever seen Space Jam, the North Carolina General Assembly is looking a lot like Moron Mountain. They even have former NBA superstar/movie-star Michael Jordan going against them. The Assembly recently passed what is known as House Bill 2, which repeals some of Charlotte's rules that prohibit certain forms of employment discrimination based on skin color, religion, and most notably, sexual orientation. The league and Jordan's team, the Charlotte Hornets, have an opportunity to deliver a major blow against acts of legislation that allow for discrimination. In an effort to promote tolerance and inclusion at all NBA games, Commissioner Adam Silver is considering moving the game out of Charlotte as a result of this bill, focusing on the ban on Charlotte's protections for the LGBT community.
The league's concerns about the passing of this bill are legitimate. The NBA is a dominant global force. Players from all over the country and world hope to play in the NBA one day. The best team in the league is considered the best team in the world, and the same goes for the most valuable players being among the best in the world. With such a widespread influence, there is a strong emphasis on the love for the sport overcoming all sorts of differences between people, making it an enjoyable environment for all, while trying to promote equality and acceptance. Consequently, this was the first major sports league able to create an atmosphere friendly and accepting enough for Jason Collins, the first openly gay player in any of the major professional American sports leagues, to come out to the world, receive nothing but support from the NBA, and comfortably join his team in the locker room shortly after.
The All Star game is a huge globally diverse event for the NBA. People from all over travel to watch it live or tune in on TV for the historic game. So although moving it for political reasons seems like a bit of a push, the North Carolina Assembly pushed pretty hard against the NBA's core values with House Bill 2. Even before the bill, there were no state law protections for discrimination based on sexual orientation. Local governments established anti-discrimination rules, until this bill overturned and banned all of them, most notably the Charlotte Ordinance. It's difficult to a business that attracts such diverse fans to host a large-scale event in a state that recently sent such a striking message directly to the city of Charlotte.
With respect to the NBA and its fans, reactions can be better analyzed through the resemblance to Donald Sterling's scandal as the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers. After a recording leaked with some extremely racist conversations involving Sterling, in which he basically said he doesn't like certain minorities coming to his games, the entire league turned their backs on him, boycotted his ownership, and even many influential voices like Magic Johnson refused to attend Clipper games until Sterling sold his share of the Clippers. The NBA consistently insisted there is no place in the league for discrimination. They eventually ran him out of team ownership and initiated a lifetime ban. The NBA and its affiliated media sources publicly humiliated and punished Sterling for his racist scandal, and for good reason, because the association thrives on the diversity and acceptance of everyone who wants to play or attend.
From Adam Silver's perspective, any threat to the inclusion of a group of people threatens to diminish the league's values. Whether motivated by profit or goodwill, the NBA is fighting an important cause working to further stigmatize discrimination towards the LGBT community and any other minority group, but rather than spend money on convincing lawmakers, they currently have the unique power to take a significant benefit away from the state ultimately for a good cause. It seems fitting that the state loses out on the opportunity to host the All Star Game when they attempt to allow for discrimination.
With respect to the NBA and its fans, reactions can be better analyzed through the resemblance to Donald Sterling's scandal as the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers. After a recording leaked with some extremely racist conversations involving Sterling, in which he basically said he doesn't like certain minorities coming to his games, the entire league turned their backs on him, boycotted his ownership, and even many influential voices like Magic Johnson refused to attend Clipper games until Sterling sold his share of the Clippers. The NBA consistently insisted there is no place in the league for discrimination. They eventually ran him out of team ownership and initiated a lifetime ban. The NBA and its affiliated media sources publicly humiliated and punished Sterling for his racist scandal, and for good reason, because the association thrives on the diversity and acceptance of everyone who wants to play or attend.
From Adam Silver's perspective, any threat to the inclusion of a group of people threatens to diminish the league's values. Whether motivated by profit or goodwill, the NBA is fighting an important cause working to further stigmatize discrimination towards the LGBT community and any other minority group, but rather than spend money on convincing lawmakers, they currently have the unique power to take a significant benefit away from the state ultimately for a good cause. It seems fitting that the state loses out on the opportunity to host the All Star Game when they attempt to allow for discrimination.
With Jordan on his side, Adam Silver should motivate the league to stand together and move the 2017 All Star Game out of Moron Mountain.
I think that Adam Silver has proven himself to be a truly adept NBA commissioner. What he has done since Stern left has pushed the NBA in a forward direction. He is in touch with the fans and is great with the players. With that said, if he allows the All Star game to be in Charlotte, he will undo a lot of that progress. What's the biggest drawback to the MLB? Archaic traditions. If the NBA begins to ignore the social cues the world is sending them, they'll be the victim of that same drawback. People will see it as just another organization out of touch with the fans. I think this is a great piece and I think these laws being passed are ridiculous. I just hope that a professional sports organization has a little more wherewithal than the state government in this case and decides to change the location of the All Star game to show that no actions are void of consequences.
ReplyDeleteI have extremely similar sentiments to Kevin. Adam Silver handled the Sterling Scandal about as swiftly as possible. He was also heavily in support of Jason Collins as well. The league has undoubtedly proven itself as the most inclusive major sports league in the US. Not just with the LGBT community, but the latin appreciation nights as well. I am interested to see what the new developments will be and how Silver and the league choose to react.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a complicated issue for the NBA. On one hand, they can’t just basically voice an opinion on any political issue that they want, and they should respect the lawmakers’ decisions because they are basically just a business. On the other hand, I like what you said about the NBA being so diverse and accepting and I agree that that is important for the league, and other sports leagues, and even other businesses, to emphasize. But because they already announced the location of the game, this would be very hurtful to basketball fans in Charlotte who oppose the decisions as well. The state would suffer financially, but most of the basketball effects would maybe fall on the fans, and it might be a big message from the NBA and put them into a cycle.
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