NBA Commissioner Adam Silver recently revealed that the NBA has avoided using the title “Owner” for years due to its racial implications, per an exclusive TMZ interview.
Silver, who said in the interview that he was “sensitive” to the term, claimed that the NBA has long-used the term “Governor” or “Alternate Governor” as a substitute.
“I’m sensitive to it and I think to the extent teams are moving away from the term, we’ll stick with using Governor.”
Prior to TMZ’s interview with Silver, multiple NBA franchises, including the Philadelphia 76er’s and Los Angeles Clippers, had already announced that they would no longer refer to a team executive as an “owner,” per the Washington Examiner. (RELATED: REPORT: NBA Might Ban Term ‘Owner’ Due To Racial Overtones)
The 76er’s now refer to their co-owners as “Managing Partners” and the Clippers’ Website lists their team owner, Steve Ballmer, as “Chairman.”
In the wake of the NFL’s National Anthem protests, multiple athletes have raised the issue of whether or not the term “owner” is racially insensitive.
Golden State Warriors’ star Draymond Green proposed “CEO” and “Chairman” as substitute terms, claiming that “owner” would imply that an executive owns the players that make up their team. Green made his statements in an interview with HBO.
Similarly, Lebron James expressed support for Adam Silver in 2018, contrasting the NBA with the NFL. James asserted that the NFL has a “slave mentality” and is dominated by “old white men.” (RELATED: These NBA Stars Will Be Joining Lebron James In ‘Space Jam 2.’ Are They Good Choices?)
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