‘Why Not?’: NBA Commissioner Adam Silver Talks About Decision to Start Season, Noting ‘Tens Of Thousands Of Jobs…Are Dependent On The NBA’
In 2020, sports took a backseat for a while, but then it got off the bench (basketball in particular here) and started NBA playoff play in an Orlando Disney World ‘bubble’. Basketball was back in business but with so many caveats, as many of you know by now. The no fans in the stands, the testing, the being away from families for months, the isolating.
Now that the sport is off the bench, it’s started back up again but in a newer format. Teams travel, playing home and away games and your favorite team’s schedule will look a lot different this season. There’s fewer overall games and you’ll notice some weeks teams playing the same team two games in a row. Almost like a mini-baseball-type schedule, in order to minimize travel somewhat.
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The testing continues, the no fans in the stands continues. It’s now just in this revised travel to different NBA arenas version.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver was asked on The Today Show by Craig Melvin: “There’s been a great deal of debate about restarting the NBA season. Why now?”.
“In a weird way it’s almost why not?” Silver answered per The Today Show. “I think at the end of the day, it was like so many other industries where we want to work. By following the protocols that we know have been effective, we can do things in a safe and responsible way, and I’m not ashamed to say we’re balancing the economic factors as well, and not just for the players in this league but for the literally tens of thousands of jobs that are dependent on the NBA.”
Those jobs entail obviously the players and coaches. But there’s front office staff, medial and training staff, equipment staff, gameday staff, entertainment staff, DJ’s, announcers, broadcasters, marketing staff, the list goes on. That’s not to mention the ripple effect of businesses that may need it to play on to help their business stay afloat.
Like other industries, if a major corporation in your local area is thriving, it tends to help the economy, maintaining and starting jobs. There’s also community relations departments in the NBA that reach out to the local area to help give back to those in need. With more funds, the idea would be there would be more to give back, as well.
There’s your NBA economics very basic 101 class. This is just a general outlook to Silver’s comments as to why this could be good economically for many communities.
Then, you get to the ‘pandemic’.
According to The Today Show, Silver “noted that though the bubble was successful in keeping players and staff safe from the virus, it ‘had a real impact on many of the participants in terms of their families, their mental wellness…it’s not easy being cooped up for months.”
This way, players won’t have to be cooped up and be able to see their families.
In regards to protocol, “this season, the league plans to test players, coaches and staff at least once a day, sometimes twice. If a single player tests positive, he will go into ‘quarantine of some sort,'” The Today Show reported in talking to Silver.
At The Buzzer previously mentioned what this unique NBA 2020-21 season looks like.
And in November, ESPN reported there was a 134-page health and protocols guide each team was handed out.
It’s official. The NBA has already tipped off in the same year it shut down its season for months, started it back up in Orlando in a unique bubble-type atmosphere, and now here we are. Back, again, to basketball.
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