Racism In The Nba
NBA: Where Equality Happens
The National Basketball Association, formed in 1949, has grown from an unknown 11-team league formed by hockey team owners for an unpopular sport, to one of the most popular sports ever in a league of 30 different teams that can be followed year-round. It is also not only amazing how the league has grown, but how it has helped black people become accepted in the North American media. While people still believe that racism is a problem in the NBA, racism in the NBA is disappearing because there are better relationships between players and owners, there is more equality in NBA front offices, and black NBA players have better lifestyles off the court.
The first reason that racism in the NBA is disappearing is that …show more content…
Up until the 1990’s, the front offices of NBA teams were filled with mainly white people. White coaches, white general managers, white owners, and black people were not getting chances to coach at the NBA level. However, in 1987, Donald Sterling, the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, decided to have “Hall of Famer Elgin Baylor join the team as the general manager and vice president of basketball operations” (1984-2001 Moving to Los Angeles, LA Clippers Wikipedia). Baylor kept this job until finally, in 2009, “Baylor [then] decided to resign after 22 years as an executive with the team. ‘We greatly appreciate Elgin’s efforts during his time with the Clippers, and we wish him the very best,’ owner and chairman of the board Donald Sterling said” (Elgin Baylor out as GM, laclippersonline.org). Since 1987, the number of black NBA coaches, general managers, and owners has shot up drastically. In a recent study, “using data from the 2010-2011 season, the study found that in professional positions in the league, 36 percent were held by people of color,” (NBA receives A; remains leader in sport diversity, usatoday.com) first out of all the major North American sport leagues. Dwane Casey, Byron Scott, Mike Brown, and Jay-Z are just a few examples of black people crunching the numbers for NBA …show more content…
Even a player as famous as Bill Russell was a victim of racial prejudice off the court. Looking back on it now, Russell says that “it stood out, a wall which understanding cannot penetrate. You are a Negro. You are less. It covered every area. A living, smarting, hurting, smelling, greasy substance which covered you. A morass to fight from” (Taylor, 108). In 1958, Russell was denied service at a hotel the night before a game in North Carolina. Then, after a pre-season game in Lexington, Kentucky in 1961, Russell was again denied service, this time at a restaurant. Since then, the treatment of black NBA players off the court has completely changed. A great example of this is recently retired NBA player, Shaquille O’Neal. O’Neal grew up in Newmark, New Jersey and had a rough upbringing. He has never even seen his biological father, Joseph Toney, who is serving jail time for drug possession. Despite his rough background, Shaq went on to have one of the most successful NBA careers in league history, get multiple endorsements, and has one of the largest houses for a NBA player. If you need proof of this, search up his house on YouTube. Just like Shaquille O’Neal, most black NBA players are treated well off the court and in their salaries. For examples, Tyson Chandler, now a player with the New York Knicks, now earns 8 million dollars a
The National Basketball Association, formed in 1949, has grown from an unknown 11-team league formed by hockey team owners for an unpopular sport, to one of the most popular sports ever in a league of 30 different teams that can be followed year-round. It is also not only amazing how the league has grown, but how it has helped black people become accepted in the North American media. While people still believe that racism is a problem in the NBA, racism in the NBA is disappearing because there are better relationships between players and owners, there is more equality in NBA front offices, and black NBA players have better lifestyles off the court.
The first reason that racism in the NBA is disappearing is that …show more content…
Up until the 1990’s, the front offices of NBA teams were filled with mainly white people. White coaches, white general managers, white owners, and black people were not getting chances to coach at the NBA level. However, in 1987, Donald Sterling, the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, decided to have “Hall of Famer Elgin Baylor join the team as the general manager and vice president of basketball operations” (1984-2001 Moving to Los Angeles, LA Clippers Wikipedia). Baylor kept this job until finally, in 2009, “Baylor [then] decided to resign after 22 years as an executive with the team. ‘We greatly appreciate Elgin’s efforts during his time with the Clippers, and we wish him the very best,’ owner and chairman of the board Donald Sterling said” (Elgin Baylor out as GM, laclippersonline.org). Since 1987, the number of black NBA coaches, general managers, and owners has shot up drastically. In a recent study, “using data from the 2010-2011 season, the study found that in professional positions in the league, 36 percent were held by people of color,” (NBA receives A; remains leader in sport diversity, usatoday.com) first out of all the major North American sport leagues. Dwane Casey, Byron Scott, Mike Brown, and Jay-Z are just a few examples of black people crunching the numbers for NBA …show more content…
Even a player as famous as Bill Russell was a victim of racial prejudice off the court. Looking back on it now, Russell says that “it stood out, a wall which understanding cannot penetrate. You are a Negro. You are less. It covered every area. A living, smarting, hurting, smelling, greasy substance which covered you. A morass to fight from” (Taylor, 108). In 1958, Russell was denied service at a hotel the night before a game in North Carolina. Then, after a pre-season game in Lexington, Kentucky in 1961, Russell was again denied service, this time at a restaurant. Since then, the treatment of black NBA players off the court has completely changed. A great example of this is recently retired NBA player, Shaquille O’Neal. O’Neal grew up in Newmark, New Jersey and had a rough upbringing. He has never even seen his biological father, Joseph Toney, who is serving jail time for drug possession. Despite his rough background, Shaq went on to have one of the most successful NBA careers in league history, get multiple endorsements, and has one of the largest houses for a NBA player. If you need proof of this, search up his house on YouTube. Just like Shaquille O’Neal, most black NBA players are treated well off the court and in their salaries. For examples, Tyson Chandler, now a player with the New York Knicks, now earns 8 million dollars a