According to NBA commissioner Adam Silver, the league will likely remove all social justice messages from players’ jerseys and the basketball hardwood next season.
The NBA and NBAPA agreed to restart the season from a bubble in Orlando shortly after George Floyd was unjustly killed, leading to heightened racial tension nationwide. The players felt it was important to use their platform to push for social justice, and the league displayed a unified front by placing “Black Lives Matter” on the court for every game played in the bubble. Joining NBA Countdownearlier this week, commissioner Silver noted that he doesn’t expect those messages to be displayed next season.
“I would say, in terms of the messages you see on the court and our jerseys, this was an extraordinary moment in time when we began these discussions with the players and what we all lived through this summer,” Silver said. “My sense is there’ll be somewhat a return to normalcy, that those messages will largely be left to be delivered off the floor.”
What isn’t clear is whether the league originally intended to keep those messages on the court next season, and if public opinion is influencing the decision to remove them. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski previously reported that not all NBA owners were in favor of adding Black Lives Matter to the court, but Silver recognized the timing and importance of supporting a league comprised mostly of Black players.
TV ratings have been down since the league restart in late July and it’s culminated into record low audiences during the NBA Finals. There are a multitude of reasons and explanations for the ratings decline, but some have blamed the NBA’s stance on social issues for the down viewership.
Outkick’s Clay Travis has led the mob in criticizing the NBA for its messages of social justice, and recently Texas Senator Ted Cruz joined him which drew ire from Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. “Personally speaking, this is the first time in years that I haven’t watched a single game in the NBA Finals. #GoWokeGoBroke” Cruz tweeted.
It’s certainly possible that BLM messaging has impacted the NBA’s TV ratings with some fans preferring a “stick to sports” policy, but they’re also not the only league experiencing down viewership during the pandemic. Empty arenas, shifted seasons and competing schedules all played a role in the ratings dip for nearly every sport. But there’s no hiding the fact that NBA viewership has been largely abysmal in the last two months.
Brandon Contes is a former reporter for BSM, now working for Awful Announcing. You can find him on Twitter @BrandonContes or reach him by email at Brandon.Contes@gmail.com.
