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Worth noting the reasons this discussion is playing out differently among NBA players and coaches than it has in the the NFL.
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NFL labor is fungible/less secure. There are no guaranteed contracts, which means you can be cut/fired at any time.
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NBA player careers are longer and NBA players enjoy guaranteed contracts. Stars, especially, wield a LOT of power.
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The actual mechanics of the sports themselves matter, too: fewer players on the court = value of individual talents matters more.
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Lebron is the best player in the world, and him switching teams changes the center of gravity across the whole league.
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In the NFL, putting Aaron Rodgers on the Jaguars doesn't make them contenders; Lebron + *any* team means that team is playing in conf finals
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Lebron has leverage. The NBA players union is run by a bunch of stars (Chris Paul, etc.) who also have power. That matters a LOT.
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But it's not just the NBA is full of powerful black players; a good deal of those players move into the league's decision-making positions.
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The NBA audience is younger and really, really diverse. Meanwhile, for football (and these numbers really surprised me):pic.twitter.com/E1FAhLsXIl
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And there's this, via
@nationaljournal. Not surprising given fan demos, NBA fans skew heavily Democratic; NFL fans are just right of centerpic.twitter.com/gSPejOlBAJ
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(This graph is fascinating: the WNBA is the most Democratic-leaning fanbase by a comfortable margin; the PGA is most solidly Republican.)
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Anyway, dudes like Pop + Kerr are dealing with black and brown players on, if not exactly equal footing, less wildly asymmetrical terms.
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Their professional success is tied to black talent. They're coaching against black coaches and making trades with black front office dudes.
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End of conversation
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