The mess that is the National Basketball Association (NBA) just keeps getting messier. League popularity is pathetic, and the commissioner is sugar-coating a cozy relationship with communist China. Adding to the league’s woes is a new study asserting that NBA broadcasters are exhibiting racist tendencies.
For the second time in recent months, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver earlier this week tried to smooth over the league’s disturbing relationship with China. Speaking at a press conference during the NBA Finals, Silver said:
"It’s hard to divorce what’s happening with the NBA from larger geopolitical issues between the U.S. and China," Silver said during an NBA Finals press conference on Tuesday. "I do think it remains important, that particularly when tensions are high between governments, that we foster these sports, educational, cultural relationships.”
Tensions high between governments? Who does Silver think he’s fooling? President Joe Biden is bending over for China.
Here’s more from Silver’s press conference, which really seemed like an exercise in rolling over for China in order to keep the NBA 's China revenue flowing:
It certainly doesn’t mean that we are blessing everything that happens in China by any means. We are at root an American company, and so we follow U.S. government policy. But it’s my expectation that we will continue to distribute our games in China… and that we can play a productive role in helping the people of the United States and the people of China have a better understanding of each other, and see that we’re all human beings and that there is commonality between us.
What's commonality is Silver talking about? Both governments trying to undermine America? Censorship and crackdowns on free speech taking place in both countries? Government strong-arming in both countries, including threatened door-to-door visits by some kind of U.S. vaccine gestapo?
Commissioner Silver aside, the first two games of the 2021 NBA Finals drew dismal audiences. The first game of the series drew under 10 million viewers. Thursday evening's game two attracted just under seven million viewers.
Compare those numbers to 36 million viewers for Game 6 in 1998 and 17 million for the 2018 NBA Finals. The NBA ship seems to be pointing in the same direction as the Titanic. Few people care about this wokeball outfit at all anymore.
The NBA’s demise is well-earned. This is a league that sold out for the Democratic Party and to the Marxist-inspired Black Lives Matter (BLM) last year.
Now take into account the new study that concluded the NBA’s supposedly woke broadcasters are exhibiting racist tendencies. This comes from a story by The Hill, which cited a study by shoe review website RunRepeat analyzed more than 2,000 statements by NBA commentators.
"Players of lighter skin tone are perceived as more intelligent and hard-working while comments on physical and athletic dominance are reserved for darker skin tone players," researchers found.
The Hill added that when broadcasters did talk about intelligence “more than three-fourths of the criticisms were directed toward players with a darker skin tone — as were criticisms about leadership, mentality and hard work.”
The study flagged comments like lighter-skinned players not having all the athleticism in the world but playing smart. Darker-skinned players were more likely to get remarks like "it just does not look like he's engaged."
So much for the league hurling “systemic racism” accusations at America. It appears that the NBA has enough house-cleaning of its own to do, according to the study.