The NBA will not continue to place social justice messages on the court or team jerseys for the 2020-21 season, commissioner Adam Silver indicated during an appearance on ESPN’s NBA Countdown.
Silver stressed that he places a high amount of importance on those messages, but added his “sense” is that they will “largely be left to be delivered” off the court.
“We’re completely committed to standing for social justice and racial equality and that’s been the case going back decades,” Silver said in the interview. “It’s part of the DNA of this league. How it gets manifested is something we’re gonna have to sit down with the players and discuss for next season.”
It has been suggested by fans and media members on both sides of the political aisle, as well as even President Donald Trump, that the league has become “too political” during its restart on the Disney campus — with some pointing to the massive decline in television viewership.
“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.
“And I understand those people who are saying ‘I’m on your side, but I want to watch a basketball game.’”
Game 3 of the Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat was the least-watched NBA championship game on record, averaging a measly 3.1 rating and 5.94 million viewers.
Part of that likely has to do with the fact the league is conducting its playoffs and Finals during the NFL season for the first time, with the NFL generally dominating everything else on television, network or otherwise.
But league officials have also discussed that possibility that some of the on-court messages — thought by some to be politically motivated — have alienated a segment of the fan base.
