Has the NBA finally turned off voters?
A few months ago, the Golden State Warriors refused to go to the White House to join President Trump for a championship celebration. They met with former President Obama instead.
Yes, it's a free country, but should everything be about politics? The White House visit goes back years. It's about honoring a championship team, not about playing politics.
The NBA has been very politically in your face, to say the least. Let's look back at some examples:
Carmelo Anthony marched in a Baltimore protest over the death of Freddie Gray in April.
LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Derrick Rose and others wore shirts that said "I can't breathe" to protest the death of Eric Garner in December.
The Los Angeles Clippers turned their shirts inside out to hide the logo to protest racist statements made by owner Donald Sterling in 2014.
The Miami Heat wore hoodies in solidarity with Trayvon Martin in 2012.
And the Phoenix Suns wore "Los Suns" jerseys to protest a controversial Arizona immigration law in 2010.
I don't know of too many fans who want to get lectured about politics when they drop $100 to go to a game.
A day ago, I learned that NBA TV ratings are down. In fact, they've sunk to "new lows."
To be fair, maybe they play too many playoff games, or people are not watching TV how they used to.
At the same time, maybe they've turned off a lot of guys like me. Again, I don't really care what LeBron James thinks, especially when he is not even playing up to his potential.
PS: You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.