The NBA’s decision to remove the 2017 All-Star Game from Charlotte, North Carolina, is unprecedented.
NBA players have often been agitators and firebrands, but the league itself—the commissioner, the owners—rarely insert themselves into the thick of civil rights and social issues. The sweeping North Carolina House Bill 2, a discriminatory law aimed at limiting the civil rights of transgender people, proved too repugnant to the league’s moral fabric.
Commissioner Adam Silver seems intent on presiding over a league that doesn’t shy away from pressing social issues. This particular stance was preceded by the NBA’s vocal outcry over gun violence and the public removal of former Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling after one of his racist diatribes went public.
These actions mark a pronounced departure from the league’s approach to social issues across its history.
The NBA has typically lagged behind its players when it comes to social causes. In the 1950s, Bob Cousy formed the first pro sports union when ...
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Article written by Curtis Harris