The NBA revealed the Black Lives Matter (BLM) logo on the court it will use for the restart of its season today. This comes one day after Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban engaged in a Twitter feud with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) over potential player protests of the National Anthem. The NBA will restart its 2019-2020 season on July 30, after a 4-plus month lockdown due to the CCP coronavirus pandemic. When it restarts, in a “bubble” in Orlando, Florida to minimize contact with the outside world, it will pay tribute to the BLM movement with a logo painted on the court.
First look at the NBA arena inside the bubble:
• Black Lives Matter written on the court
• Socially distanced bench using spaced out chairs
• Plexiglass in front of the announcer's booth(via @malika_andrews) pic.twitter.com/nBc6N4glB5
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 21, 2020
The Black Lives Matter logo extends for a long stretch of the sideline in front of the announcer’s table, where it will appear prominently on television broadcasts. Many NBA players have expressed outrage over the killing of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis Police in May, which has sparked large protests and riots in cities across America. Several players have marched in the protests, donated to BLM-aligned social justice organizations, and made public statements. The NBA will allow social justice messages on player jerseys in place of the name, but only if they come from a pre-approved list.
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The announcement comes after a couple of days in which the NBA’s most outspoken owner, Mark Cuban, has engaged in several political feuds. First, on Sunday, Cuban argued over the validity of the BLM movement with ex-NFL star, Herschel Walker:
“One of the problems I think that we have is a lot of these sensitive topics we don’t want to address, you know, we don’t want to address these sensitive topics so what we try to do is water them down and try to shout people down,” Walker told host Harris Faulkner on the special “The Fight for America” on Sunday night.
“To say that you’re going to put BLM [Black Lives Matter] on the field or on a jersey, well some people may not believe in BLM,” the Heisman Trophy winner continued.
“For myself … there’s no doubt BLM is important, but American lives are important. … The organization of BLM, I’m not sure what they stand for. And so how could an NFL say we want to support BLM or we’re going to do this here without having the players to say what they want? Because you cannot put that on a player who may disagree with it.”
Cuban noted that NBA players themselves had asked that the words “Black Lives Matter” be incorporated onto NBA courts when play resumes at the end of July. Players have said they want to use their voices when play resumes to ensure more attention is paid to issues of racial justice, and some had openly expressed reservations that returning to play could divert attention from social issues.
“This is important to our players, it’s important to our fans, but most importantly it’s important to the United States of America that we address these sensitive issues and try to help end systemic racism,” Cuban said.
“I think Mark is totally correct,” Walker responded. “We have to address it, but you don’t address it by saying we’re going to do it without knowing what it is you’re doing. … Mark, and not to question you, but do you know what BLM the organization stands for, besides saying ‘Black Lives Matter’? Because I said one of the things that we have to address is American lives matter.”
Walker, of course, is black, and a supporter of Donald Trump. (In case you missed it, Cuban is a liberal white guy.) He attempts to make the logical distinction between the statement that black lives matter (of course they do), and the organizations behind the Black Lives Matter movement, which call for the violent overthrow of the United States and its replacement with a marxist utopia.
Cuban never acknowledged the question about what BLM stands for, never mind answering it.
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BLM has been criticized since its inception for its nakedly Marxist worldview and set of demands. Cuban sidestepped this subject entirely, and instead went on the next day to attack anyone who objected to the prospect of players protesting the national anthem. This led to a Twitter feud with Ted Cruz:
Really??!?
NBA is telling everyone who stands for the flag, who honors our cops and our veterans, to “piss off”? In Texas, no less?
Good luck with that. pic.twitter.com/AVWLMZIqu0
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) July 20, 2020
Have some balls for once @tedcruz. Speak to me. It's my tweet. https://t.co/QGza2qWoRR
— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) July 20, 2020
Speaking of balls, tell us what you think about China.
I’ll wait. https://t.co/s68JYk9MLR
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) July 20, 2020
Yes, Mark, my communication tweeting out my response to the world was meant somehow to keep it a secret. Because you’re very scary.
I’m a Rockets fan, but more than happy to cheer on the Mavericks (great team this year). It’s sad to see you telling so many Texans to “piss off.” https://t.co/s68JYk9MLR
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) July 20, 2020
Still no answer from @mcuban
Let’s try simpler. Mark, tough guy, can you say “Free Hong Kong”?
Can your players put that on their jerseys?
Can you condemn the CCP’s concentration camps w/ 1 million Uyghurs?
Can you say ANYTHING other than “Chairman Mao is beautiful & wise”? https://t.co/0XpLRaFSw2
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) July 20, 2020
I can say Black Lives Matter. I can say there is systemic racism in this country. I can say there is a Pandemic that you have done little to end. I can say I care about this country first and last and.. https://t.co/URFs41XloY
— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) July 20, 2020
If you think I wont criticize China and what they do as it concerns American Citizens watch this https://t.co/RXEJxjMeO8 and this movie https://t.co/U5NnAwTFbQ. But I have never gotten involved in the domestic policies of ANY foreign country. We have too much to do here. And..
— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) July 20, 2020
Notice the fine line Cuban walks here as he bravely talks about shutting down IPOs from Chinese companies in the US and Chinese involvement in US markets, but has nothing to say about the sneakers that gain his players massive wealth due to production by slave labor in China. Those NBA players with enormous shoe deals from apparel manufacturers gain fabulous wealth off the backs of Chinese slave labor. They then take advantage of a captive market in China by selling their products in markets in that nation approved by the national government, injecting capital into the Communist Chinese Party (CCP), which of course owns everything in the country. But Cuban calls that domestic issues of a foreign country that are none of his concern.
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It’s no wonder so many NBA players objected when Houston Rockets General Manager tweeted, “Free Hong Kong.” He was messing with their ability to make money off the backs of oppressed Chinese citizens.
This is not the first social media controversy this month for the NBA. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) displayed the hypocrisy of the pre-approved social justice message list earlier in July when he wrote a letter to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver asking whether pro-Hong Kong or anti-CCP messages would be allowed. He copied ESPN’s NBA reporter, Adrian Wojnarowski on the letter, prompting a vulgar response. ESPN was forced to suspend Wojnarowski, prompting several NBA stars to jump to his defense.
So if you tune in to the restart of the 2019-2020 NBA season, and you see the Black Lives Matter message on the court and social justice messages on player jerseys, remember the NBA’s complicated relationship with marxist and communist ideologies. The willingness of so many players, coaches, owners, and even the commissioner to turn a blind eye to these matters indicates that they are either not serious, or in bed with the marxist movement. Indeed, the NBA seems more than happy to stay in bed with China, despite the CCP’s responsibility for COVID-19 and how it disrupted the NBA season in the first place.
Jeff Reynolds is the author of the book, “Behind the Curtain: Inside the Network of Progressive Billionaires and Their Campaign to Undermine Democracy,” available at www.WhoOwnsTheDems.com. Jeff hosts a podcast at anchor.fm/BehindTheCurtain. You can follow him on Twitter @ChargerJeff, and on Parler at @RealJeffReynolds.
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