Earlier this month, we saw the Republican Party nominate
Donald Trump as their candidate for president of the Untied States. For some Americans, watching Donald Trump
accept the nomination was a great moment and one that they hope will lead to a
brighter tomorrow. For other Americans, including myself, it was a moment of
sheer horror and one that they hope is just a bad dream.
The reason Donald Trump supporters
support him is because they feel he is speaking the truth on issues that many
politicians are too afraid to address. He is taking on mainstream politicians
and standing up against their lack of ability to get things done in Washington.
As an extension of this, Donald Trump refuses
to be politically correct. He isn’t afraid to make hateful remarks about women, muslims, hispanics, or illegal immigrants. He also isn’t afraid to make
outlandish accusations that don’t fit within the construct of reality itself. If
you tell Donald Trump you are offended by his remarks, he doesn’t care and
neither do his followers.
Saying you are for equitable treatment for all people regardless of their race, gender,
nationality, religion, or sexual orientation, is viewed by Donald Trump and his
supporters as being “politically correct” and weak. Donald Trump and his
supporters pride themselves on being tough and strong, even if it means putting
other people down and discriminating against them.
Donald Trump’s arrogant and
mean-spirited comments offend many Americans because they go against what being
an American is all about. Being an American is about getting along with people
regardless of their differences. New York City, a city that Donald Trump is
proud to represent, is filled with people of all walks of life and various
backgrounds. Amazingly, Donald Trump only cares for the citizens of New York
City that are white, affluent, heterosexual, and attractive looking (to him).
That’s a very small percentage of the city’s population. By extension, Donald
Trump only cares for Americans that fit this same tiny demographic.
Now, what you are probably
wondering about now is “Why am I reading about Donald Trump on an NBA blog?” That’s
an excellent question. The connection between Donald Trump and the NBA lies in
his connection to a man who was banned from the NBA for making racist remarks
that quite honestly were much more mild than what he has said. The man I am
talking about is Donald Sterling, the former owner of the Los Angeles Clippers.
(Credit: Danny Moloshok AP)
When Donald Sterling was caught on
tape saying racist remarks about African-Americans, NBA commissioner Adam
Silver saw to it that Sterling be stripped of his ownership of the Clippers and
be forced to sell the team. Why? Because Adam Silver understands that an NBA
owner is the main representative of an NBA franchise and by extension a main
representative of the NBA at large. He understands that NBA fans come from all
walks of life and have very diverse backgrounds. The NBA wants to be a league
that values the diversity of its fans and makes sure every fan feels welcome in
an NBA arena regardless of who they are.
In order to own an NBA franchise,
Adam Silver has made it a requirement to have an open mind and an accepting
attitude towards all of your fans since they are the ones who at the end of the
day keep the league afloat. It is the fans that buy the jerseys, the tickets,
and tune in to watch on television. It is the fans whose love and enthusiasm
for the NBA have resulted in a huge bump in the NBA salary cap and revenue.
They have made this happen and thus deserve to be valued and respected,
regardless of who they are.
The hateful and divisive remarks
that Donald Trump has made over this past year would make him ineligible to own
an NBA team. Donald Trump has even gone so far as to mock a disabled reporter,
an offense which in and of itself would put an NBA owner in jeopardy of losing
the ownership of his team. Imagine if an NBA owner mocked a disabled reporter
after a game. Do you think the NBA would just turn the other way on that? No
chance in hell. They would make him or her pay a heavy fine and they themselves
would issue a statement apologizing to the reporter on behalf of the owner’s
remarks.
Contrast the NBA’s attitude towards
such remarks with that of the Republican Party. The Republican Party, an
organization that Donald Trump is now the face of, has not issued one statement
apologizing for the way that their candidate has behaved. Donald Trump has said
we should build a wall to keep illegal immigrants out, called those immigrants
rapists, flirted with white supremacists, and made several disrespectful
remarks about women all while getting the approval of their speaker of the
house Paul Ryan, a cowardly man who is afraid of his own shadow.
It’s truly mind-boggling and crazy
that Donald Trump is one election day away from entering the White House while
also not meeting the qualifications to own a professional basketball team in
the United States. If he owned an NBA franchise, very few African-Americans
would want to play for his team, coach his team, or have anything else to do
with his team. The same would go for the vast majority of remaining NBA
players, many of which come from countries outside of the United States.
As a matter
of fact, if elected president, I’m not sure Donald Trump would even be welcomed
in an NBA arena. After all, the NBA did relocate the 2017 All-Star Game due to
Charlotte not budging on their discriminatory bathroom laws against transgender
people and they did ban Donald Sterling from ever setting foot in an NBA arena in addition to stripping him of his ownership of the Clippers. Donald Trump, very similarly, would
not be welcomed in an NBA arena due to the way he views the vast majority of
the NBA’s fan base. Even if he was allowed in an NBA arena, the league would at
best given him a cold and icy greeting.
So, what I want you to reflect on
is what does it say about our culture that the NBA is more progressive than one
of our two major political parties? What does it say that the NBA’s
commissioner is more concerned about the welfare of NBA fans than the
Republican Party’s nominee is about the welfare of American citizens? After all, the NBA at the end of
the day is just a form of entertainment while the Republican Party makes decisions
that affect the livelihood and well being of American citizens.
Shouldn’t
Donald Trump and the Republican Party be more concerned about how they treat
their citizens than the NBA? One would certainly think that they should, but
sadly, they are not. Instead, they are doing everything they can to promote
hate, violence, and injustice. All I can say is that it’s a pretty sad world we
live in where a professional sports organization is more in touch with its fans than a major political party is with its
citizens. Especially when it is happening in the United States.
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