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
there are better relationships between players and owners. In the 50’s and 60’s, black players were underpaid all the time. Even famous players like Elgin Baylor, the record holder for most points scored in a NBA Finals game, and Sam Jones, who hit over 20 game-winning shots and was “called ‘Mr. Clutch’ by many of his peers” (Hoopedia, Sam Jones Biography), were underpaid and had bad relationships with their owners. It started with famous Boston Celtics player, Bill Russell and his relationship with Celtics owner, Walter A. Brown. Their great relationship was the first of better communications between players and owners. Today, owners strive to try and build better relationships with players, especially if they’re important to the team’s success. It makes it easier for the owner to resign his players and helps the players to become more comfortable playing for that organization.
The second reason that racism in the NBA is disappearing is that there is more equality in NBA front offices.
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
teams.
The third reason why racism in the NBA is disappearing is that black NBA players have way better lifestyles off the court.
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
year!
Finally, people believe that racism in the NBA is still a problem and is still around. Even though there is plenty of evidence against their claims, like how in a recent study, the NBA received an A in sport diversity, people still think otherwise. I know that the NBA has come a long way from the early years of its existence and that anyone who thinks differently is wrong. I know that racism in the NBA is almost non-existent because of players and owners becoming friendlier toward one another, the improved value of equality in the front offices of NBA teams, and the drastically improved treatment of the NBA’s black players off the court.

Works Cited
Aerial view of Shaq’s house. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pfHXOk953Y

“Elgin Baylor out as GM.” laclippersonline.org. http://www.laclippersonline.org/laclippers-news-elgin-baylor-out.php

“NBA gets ‘A’ grade, remains leader in sport diversity.” usatoday.com. 16 June. 2011. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/nba/2011-06-16-diversity-study-nba_n.htm

NBAMV (NBA Media Ventures). “Sam Jones Biography.” hoopedia.com. 22 Mar. 2007. http://hoopedia.nba.com/index.php?title=Sam_Jones Taylor, John. The Rivalry: Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, and the Golden Age of Basketball. Pgs. 108-111. Oct 11 2005. Random House.

“1984-2001: Moving to Los Angeles.” Los Angeles Clippers. wikipedia.com. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_Clippers#1984.E2.80.932001:_Moving_to_Los_Angeles