Mark Cuban knew it was coming. Adam Silver did not.
Silver was only three months into his tenure in the NBA Commissioner position when he banned Donald Sterling for life and fined him $2.5million for racist remarks he made about his girlfriend.
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As Silver alerted the league, a line was drawn in the sand. While the move was necessary, it meant Silver had set high expectations for himself and the league. Ironically, Cuban was also aware of this.
Cuban stated that Sterling was "again, there's not an excuse for his positions" at the time. He said it because there was no excuse. It's not acceptable for anyone to support racism. It's not allowed in our league. However, it's very dangerous.
Many consider the NBA the "good league." It doesn't find itself in misogynistic or racial scandals that degrade large sections of their workforce and fans. However, just because you haven't shot yourself in the foot does not mean that you shouldn't be allowed to carry a loaded firearm. Within a week, the NBA was slapped with accusations against its front offices in Phoenix, Portland, and now Silver is all eyes.
After last week's ESPN report that included more than 70 employees and former employees, the league officially launched an investigation into Suns. This was in response to Robert Sarver's allegations of a living nightmare while working for him.
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ESPN spoke out about Sarver by a Suns co-owner. It's embarrassing for me as an owner."
It was so unfortunate that Suns minority owner Jahm Najafi attended Saturday's game alongside Colin Kaepernick to protest Sarver's behavior. Najafi had publicly called Sarver's conduct "unacceptable" but didn't sign a statement supporting him.
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Sarver, Sterling and then Sarver were the first to drop. A third shoe dropped just days later -- further proving that the NBA front offices are full of misconduct.
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"While we cannot comment about this pending matter," stated the Portland Trail Blazers in a statement. The team and their owner are conducting an investigation into Neil Olshey, the president of basketball operations, and general manager, for allegedly creating a hostile workplace full of bullying, intimidation, and harassment.
https://twitter.com/trailblazers/status/1457039997563916296
The NFL has Daniel Snyder, Mark Davis, Mark McNair, and the McNair family, all in Washington. Even with all this, the powerful white men from Phoenix and Portland thought they would be the same nuisance as their league. They refused to learn from their NFL colleagues.
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It's 101 "problematic boss" -- "It'll never occur to me!"
Silver was known for his handling of Sterling. Despite all the changes the NBA has experienced since Silver took over (the bubble, Kobe Bryant's loss, Daryl Morey tweet), he still faces the same problems he faced seven years ago. While the allegations in Phoenix may seem different from those in Portland, they don't live in a vacuum. Both have taken place under Silver’s leadership in a society that demands more accountability.
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Adam Silver is the one who has the ball. We're eager to see his next move. Olshey can give Portland the reins. He'll still have residue, though, because Neil Olshey worked for Donald Sterling.
Intolerance's tentacles run deep.
