We all thought we were done with racism scandals in the National Basketball Association this summer. We all thought dealing with the never-ending, on-again-off-again forced sale of the Los Angeles Clippers from Donald Sterling was enough to last five summers.
But here we are, three weeks shy of the end of summer, and less than two months from the start of the 2014-15 NBA regular season, and we apparently haven’t had enough racism in the major professional sports league with the most black athletes.
Atlanta Hawks majority owner Bruce Levenson said on Sunday that he is selling his controlling stake in the franchise. This after he self-reported himself to the NBA this July about a racially insensitive email he sent to the team’s other owners and general manager in 2012.
Levenson’s email dealt with the divide between the team’s white and black fans, specifically how he sensed that white fans were uncomfortable at games.
Levenson apologized for his remarks in the email, but the damage was already done ”“ another racially charged situation for new NBA commissioner Adam Silver to address.
It’s commendable that Levenson took his lumps and cut his ties with the franchise. The sale of the Hawks undoubtedly will be easier than the summer-long sale of the Clippers.
Here’s hoping that the new owner of the Hawks will be color blind. The NBA could use someone like that.
More than 70 percent of all NBA players are black, according to recent player censuses, yet it appears that the league has dealt with more public racism issues than any of the other three major professional sports.
When it’s the owner of a franchise who is racist ”“ or at least makes a racist remark ”“ it looks even worse.
There are many issues with which Silver must deal during his tenure as commissioner, but ridding the league of racism has now shot to the top.
We should be much further ahead as a society in 2014 when it comes to racism, and, with its makeup, the NBA should be even further past such issues.
The NBA needs to cross check potential new owners for the Hawks, and make sure whoever buys the team doesn’t share the same sentiments as Levenson. For a team playing in a city with one of the largest black populations, acceptance is of the utmost importance.
Levenson may have been right that there is a split between fans of different races at Hawks games, but a new owner must work to bridge that gap ”“ and do it with sensitivity.
There’s no doubt that the Hawks, as well as the Clippers, aren’t the only franchises in the NBA with a racism issue. Many team owners are white. A lot of them are rich, old and white. It’s not fair to say that any or all of them are racist, or have racial sentiments, but we’ve been duped before.
Silver must find out who his league’s owners really are, and the owners themselves must look themselves in the mirror. The NBA doesn’t need racists, especially not in charge.
It’s two down, and undoubtedly more to go for the NBA. Hopefully, any future ownership changes due to racism will be done without teeth grinding. The Hawks should hopefully be sold without any hurdles. We can only hope it starts a trend, and make the Clippers’ headache of a sale the exception to the rule.
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Today’s editorial was written by Sports Writer Wil Kramlich on behalf of the Journal Tribune Editorial Board. Questions? Comments? Contact Managing Editor Kristen Schulze Muszynski by calling 282-1535, ext. 322, or via email at kristenm@journaltribune.com.
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