The All Star Game proves the NBA is not a ‘moral’ professional sports league

Let me say something that It should be benign: The NBA is not a progressive or moral sports league. However, the headlines from the last few years, and just the general sentiment, would have you believe otherwise.

Sure, players and coaches – People like LeBron James, Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, Gregg Popovich, and Steve Kerr, to name a few, are activists and progressives. But the league, the NBA itself, is not progressive, it is not moral, and attributing those characteristics to it is silly.

If in doubt, watch the All Star Game on Sunday night in Atlanta. Let me be clear: there is no reason to sustain this game beyond a capitalist calculation.

Why else would you take the best players in the world to one place where they mix and sweat together, and then take them back to every corner of the country? For a game that it does not mean anything. Determine nothing in the classification. Most players rightly chase it for 90 percent of the game because, again, it has absolutely no meaning.

Who could have seen it coming, besides everyone, you know, that two players would be ruled out for contact tracing? then flying to Atlanta. The Philadelphia 76ers, Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid, were held just eight hours before kickoff.

That’s already terrible, but it was almost a nightmare. By a stroke of luck, they had reportedly not interacted with other players still, but definitely I had to have interacted with people in his supposedly private flights to Atlanta. And not for nothing, but: did they interact with the drivers, hotel staff, or anyone else?

Meanwhile, in the city of Atlanta, the NBA has been quick to shut down promoters who hold All Star-themed parties. It only took a hint of foresight to see this coming.

Combine that with other decisions the NBA made lately. It dramatically shortened the post-bubble offseason, putting player health at risk. And planned a shortened 72-game season Despite that quick change. Had to cancel or move 31 games already due to COVID protocols.

The players union has accepted all this and the All Star Game. But frankly, players need and want to be paid. They had to agree.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver largely gets a pass from sports fans because he’s not NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. But really, that sets the bar so low that it sticks to the ground. Going ahead with an All Star Game shows where Silver’s priorities lie, and not player or staff safety.

LeBron James called the decision to play the game a “slap in the face” and other stars agreed. And yet Silver’s only real answer was indeed yes, but … there is money to be made.

“I have not hidden that economic interests are not a factor,” Silver told reporters. “When I say that financial interests are a factor, it has less to do with the economy on a Sunday night on TNT in the United States. It has more to do with the largest brand equity in the NBA and the fact that this is our No. 1 fan engagement event of the year. “

The NBA has tried to clean up the image of the 2021 All-Star Game by turning it into an act of social good. The court will be decorated with an HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) theme, the umpires are all HBCU graduates and the players’ league / union is donating $ 3 million to HBCU causes.

However, here is the question. If the NBA Really I cared that I could have cut a $ 3 million check and run HBCU-themed ads without an All-Star Game. Three million dollars is the bus ticket to the NBA. Instead, the league chose a cause as a showcase for its source of income.

That’s not to say that Silver and the NBA as an organization don’t want the HBCUs to succeed, I’m sure they do, but the powers that be want All Star Game style, much more. Adding an HBCU theme is a nice by-product to capitalize on a game that hardly anyone wanted to play.

Wosny Lambre, an NBA reporter for The Athletic, he put it perfectly on the Ringer podcast “The Answer” with Chris Ryan.

“The NBA is a capitalist endeavor, first and foremost,” Lambre said.

He laid out that idea, a statement that I included almost entirely because it’s really good, so bear with me:

“And I mean that as a lesson learned, not just from last season, but from last year. The whole ‘bubble’ operation was to get money back. The short change this season is like, ‘I … this La This season is going to be a slaughtered lamb, so next season it will return to our normal NBA schedule. We know there will be bumps and bruises, we know that COVID will not be perfect, but we have to get our finances in order. Sorry Miami Sorry LA Yes, you just played in October, we will be back in December because we need to clarify this role.

The All Star Game in Atlanta this year, there no other reason to play it, but because of the fact that the NBA has decided, along with its business partner in Turner, that “this is one of our most lucrative weekends of the year. We budget for this damn weekend and how much money we make. We need these games. We need these events. We need this TV product. ‘

I just want everyone to understand that the only reason the NBA exists, that is, a partnership between the players association, the owners, and the league office, is because they make money together. … The reason this product exists is to make money. That is complicated with sports because it is not like buying a car where we all understand that it is a purely transactional situation. Sports are selling you more than that. He’s selling you nostalgia. He is selling you the pride of your city. Your connection to your dad or your mom or whoever. He’s selling you all these other delicate things, but remember, this is deal.”

Let me be clear: the NBA is not bad. Nor is it inherently moral. Is not anything beyond a sports league. It’s an effort to make money largely defined by one goal: to earn even more money. If you do good in the world, or support basic causes like maybe the police shouldn’t kill with impunity – it’s because that cause serves your business interests.

NBA players, through their activism, have forced the league to join some social causes. But it also serves the interests of the NBA to keep its stars happy. At least up to a point. Let’s not forget: the biggest star there is, LeBron James himself, didn’t want to play on Sunday.

The All Star Game airs Sunday, March 7 at 8:00 pm ET, live on TNT.