Throughout history, professional sports leagues have voiced their concerns about social inequality, though none as firmly as the National Basketball Association (NBA). Following the murders of George Floyd and Jacob Blake, the players of the NBA decided that enough was enough. The organization itself, although led by white executives and commissioners, immediately decided to support its athletes in their battle against social injustice. Together, the NBA and its players altered their platform, consisting of over 12.52 million viewers[1], to spread awareness about police brutality, racial injustice, and gender inequality. Although the dust from the 2020 murders has somewhat settled, the NBA has continued to go above and beyond to establish a committed relationship with social equality.
How did the NBA initially become more involved?
Substantial Donations
Following the killing of George Floyd, the players of the NBA made personal sacrifices to bring attention to social injustice issues off the court as well. First, a majority of these individuals made generous donations to organizations that promote social equality. For example, the Spurs point guard, Patty Mills, pledged to donate “every cent” of his $1,017,818.54 salary to Black Lives Matter Australia, Black Deaths in Custody, and The We Got You campaign.[2]
Participating in Protests
Although some of the protests during this time were violent and many demonstrators were not maintaining social distancing protocols, the players were willing to risk their careers to participate. Jaylen Brown, for instance, took time off practice and drove 15 hours from Boston to his hometown in Atlanta to partake in his community’s protests. Additionally, Brown called on his fans to join him and stated on Twitter, “Atlanta don’t meet me there beat me there come walk with me bring your own signs.”[3]
Personalized Jerseys
To spread more awareness about social inequality, the NBA decided to allow players to wear personalized jerseys. These jerseys, which had various messages like “Black Lives Matter” and “Say Their Names”, forced the audience to think about these issues during games.[4]
Additionally, all game-worn, customized jerseys from the opening weekend of the 2019-2020 season were placed up for auction.[5] The proceeds went to the Players’ Justice Fund, which supports organizations that advance social justice and civic engagement.[6]
Social Media Platforms
Instead of highlighting their personal achievements, the players used their large social media platforms to discuss their opinions on police brutality. For example, All-Star Stephen Curry posted a picture of Officer Derek Shaven with his knee pressing on George Floyd’s neck and said, “If this image doesn’t disturb you and piss you off, then idk. I’ve seen a lot of people speak up and try to articulate how fed up and angry they are. All good and well but it’s the same same same reality we live in.”[7]
Increased Voting Locations
Due to the pandemic, many African Americans were nervous to enter voting centers. The NBA addressed this issue and decreased suppression by opening up 23 arenas to use as social-distanced polling locations.[8] Some of these centers, including Atlanta’s State Farm Arena, Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center, and Detroit’s Henry Ford Performance Center were the largest in their respective states. Therefore, opening these locations assisted Joe Biden in his electoral college victories over Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Michigan.[9]
How has the NBA continued to fight for social justice?
Racial and Gender Hiring
According to the annual report card from The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports, the NBA has excelled in racial hiring for its headquarters, head coaches, assistant coaches, team management, and team professional staff.[10] Additionally, Commissioner Adam Silver has made it his mission to avoid The Rooney Rule, a policy that has been implemented in other professional sports organizations and requires league teams to interview ethnic-minority candidates.[11] In an interview about the policy objectives for the upcoming season, Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum mentioned that the number of coaches of color in the NBA is at an all-time high and stressed that increasing diversity in the leadership ranks will remain a top priority.[12]
Expanding Impact
Today, the NBA aims to look beyond the world of basketball and expand their impact. The NBA’s Social Justice Coalition “aims to affect public policy throughout the country.”[13] Specifically, the coalition focuses on protecting voting rights, eliminating bias in public policy, and combatting mass incarceration.[14]Although changing policy has proven to be an uphill battle, one way that the NBA has expanded their impact is by inspiring other professional sports leagues to join the battle against social inequality and spread the message to their fanbases. For instance, when the NBA opened more polling centers, Major League Baseball also decided to make Dodger Stadium a location.[15]
Gay Rights
Initially, the NBA focused on racial and gender equality. Today, the NBA has expanded their mission to include other social-justice related issues, such as education reform and gay rights. For example, the Los Angeles Lakers recently held a Pride Night and encouraged fans to come show support by offering free jerseys and in-game entertainment.[16] Furthermore, the NBA has shown zero tolerance for any form of homophobia. For example, the NBA recently fined Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards $40K for anti-gay comments on social media.[17]
Compare to the WNBA
Although the NBA has a larger platform, it is important to recognize that the WNBA is where “the lion’s share of the work has been done over the past few years.”[18] Long before the Black Lives Matter movement, the WNBA started making efforts to raise awareness about systemic racism in this country. For example, in 2017, which was President Trump’s inauguration year, WNBA players would walk off the court while “The Star-Spangled Banner” played.[19]
[1] See Ed Dixon, NBA Finals Viewership Climbs 22% to 12.4m, Sports Pro (Jun. 20, 2022), https://www.sportspromedia.com/news/nba-finals-2022-tv-viewership-game-six-abc-warriors-celtics/#:~:text=US% 20viewership%20for%20the%202022,)%2C%20averaging%2012.4%20million%20viewers.
[2] See Daniel Villarreal, NBA Player to Donate ‘Every Cent’ of His Salary to Social Justice Issues, Newsweek (Jul. 8, 2020, 8:48 PM), https://www.newsweek.com/nba-player-donate-every-cent-his-salary-social- justice-issues-1516440 .
[3] See Sopan Deb, As Protests Spur Posts From Athletes, N.B.A. Players Take to the Streets, The N.Y. Times (Jun. 1, 2020), https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/01/sports/basketball/george-floyd-nba-protests.html.
[4] See Social Justice Messages Each NBA Player Is Wearing on His Jersey, The Undefeated (July 31, 2020), theundefeated.com/features/social-justice-messages-each-nba-player-is-wearing-on-his-jersey/.
[5] See Marc J. Spears, Source: NBA Restart Game-Worn Jerseys to Be Auctioned with Proceeds Going to Players’ Justice Fund, ESPN (Aug. 12, 2020), www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/29645699/source-nba-restart-game-worn-jerseys-auctioned-proceeds-going-player-jus tice-fund.
[6] See National Basketball Players Association Foundation, Players’ Justice Fund, NBPA Foundation (last accessed Oct. 28, 2022, 04:39 PM), https://www.playersjustice.com/.
[7] Let’s Go Warriors (@LetsGoWarriors), Twitter (May 27, 2020, 2:59 PM), https://twitter.com/letsgowarriors/status/1265719226863456256?lang=en .
[8] See Craig Cochran, All the President’s Men: How the NBA Swung the Presidential Election, Hoops Habit (Nov. 12, 2020), hoopshabit.com/2020/11/12/nba-swung-presidential-election/.
[9] Id.
[10] See Aaron Beard, Study: NBA, WNBA Earn High Grades in Diversity Hiring, NBA (Oct. 10, 2020), www.nba.com/news/wnba-nba-earn-high-grades-diversity-hiring.
[11] See Rita DeMichiel, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver Wants to Avoid Copying the NFL if Possible, Sportscasting (Oct. 21, 2020), www.sportscasting.com/nba-commissioner-adam-silver-wants-to-avoid-copying-the-nfl-if-possible/.
[12] See Bloomberg Markets: The Close, NBA’s Tatum: Diversity & Inclusion Work Never Ends, Bloomberg (last accessed, Oct. 28, 2022, 04:53 PM), https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2022-10-17/nba-s-tatum-diversity-inclusion-work-never-ends-video.
[13] See Michael Pina, We Have a Lot More to Do’: The NBA’s Social Justice Coalition, One Year Later, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED (Jan. 17, 2022), https://www.si.com/nba/2022/01/17/national-basketball-social-justice-coalition-one-year-later-daily-cover.
[14] See National Basketball Social Justice Coalition, https://coalition.nba.com (last visited Oct. 28, 2022).
[15] See Marc J. Spears, LeBron James, Patrick Mahomes and Other Stars Sign Letter to Fight Voter Suppression, The Undefeated (Aug. 17, 2020), theundefeated.com/features/more-than-a-vote-lebron-james-patrick-mahomes-stars-sign-letter-to-fight-voter-suppression/.
[16] See Nick Kioski, Lakers to Hold Fourth Annual Pride Night, NBA (last accessed, Oct. 18, 04:00 PM), https://www.nba.com/lakers/news/lakers-to-hold-fourth-annual-pride-night-2022.
[17] See Jamal Collier, NBA Fines Minnesota Timberwolves Star Anthony Edwards $40K for Anti-Gay Comments on Social Media, ESPN (Sept. 20, 2022), https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/34631645/nba-fines-minnesota-timberwolves-star-anthony-edwards-40k-anti-gay-comments-social-media.
[18] See Maggie Ryan, Just a Reminder: The WNBA Has Been Leading the Social-Justice Charge For Years, POPSUGAR (Aug. 30, 2020), https://www.popsugar.com/fitness/wnba-is-original-leader-for-social-justice-in-sports-47733186
[19] Id.
