NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has tackled a conflict of interest that some say follows when players adopt controversial, political topics, forgetting their social messaging and activism, but embracing the right thing.
“I understand critics who say they turn to sports to avoid controversy,” Silver said in an interview with Sports Illustrated published Wednesday. “But it’s indestructible in our country at the moment. I wish there was an easier path for us to follow right now. Even if that was, I do not think it would necessarily have to do the responsible thing. “
Silver’s remarks come a week after LeBron James’ed critical remarks by President Donald Trump about players kneeling during the national anthem, saying the NBA would not miss the president’s cow. Trump had tweeted that when players kneel, he agrees.
“I think our fans can be separated on the floor like messages on the players’ jerseys as well as on the floor,” Silver said. “Even to the extent that they do not, I think they recognize that these are not simple times. Our players are not one-dimensional people, and they can both worry about problems facing our country and at the same time. perform their craft at the highest level. “
Silver also discussed his impressions of the NBA bubble in Orlando, Florida, and said he was more than happy, but that he felt for the teams that were not invited.
“I would say my biggest disappointment is that we could not find a meaningful way to bring 30 teams there,” Silver said. “We know everything here is about compromises, but I feel bad that there are eight teams that are not part of the experience.”
Silver said the league will wait as long as possible to make decisions about how the NBA will approach the 2020-21 season during the coronavirus pandemic.
“Our first and highest priority would be to find a way to have fans in our arenas,” Silver said. “We keep going with all the different testing methods. We are up to date on vaccine developments and antivirals and other protocols to enable the ability to bring people together in arenas.
“We’re researching what colleges do because they look to bring thousands of students back to campus. We’ll try to find the right balance between waiting as long as possible, so we have the best possible information at the moment that we” We make it decision, and recognize that at some point we need to start writing in plans. We want to find a way to play for fans, but it’s just too early to know how realistic this is.
“I have to say, though, I would not bet against American ingenuity. Just because of the high profile of our experience in Orlando at the moment, we are in talks with dozens of test companies. We are studying all kinds of new, relatively inexpensive, rapid tests. “These tests are successful and coming to market will also open up more opportunities for us to bring fans to arenas, even prevaccine.”
.
