The Contrast in NBA and NFL Post-Election Reaction

Photo Credit Getty Images

These have been very polarizing times.  Sports figures have not been exempt from commenting before and after the recent Presidential election.  The NBA and NFL have had very different reactions from players and coaches alike.  This is not surprising to me given the nature and their respective sports. 

NBA head coaches Steve Kerr (Golden State), Greg Popovich (San Antonio), and Stan Van Gundy (Detroit) have not been hesitant to voice their displeasure of Donald Trump victory last Tuesday, the tone of his campaign, and the aftermath with the reality that he is our President-elect.   

According to The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport, the NBA was 74.3 percent black during the 2015-16 season and 81.7 percent were people of color. The study said that the NBA was 18.3 percent white last season, which was 5 percent less than the season before. The league was also a record 22.3 percent international last season.   That 18.3 percent of whites in the NBA from TIDES also includes non-Americans such as Europeans, Canadians and Australians of white descent. Entering the 2015-16 season, the NBA had 42 white American-born players.

The NBA is a players’ league.  Meaning that they have most of the leverage in terms of impact on the game and player movement.  A basketball team is comprised of only 12-15 players.  It is a very intimate group and the head coach needs to have a relationship with all of them.  The relationship between star player and coach is paramount to the team’s success and in reality dictates a coaches' reputation for the future.  

If Phil Jackson couldn’t get buy in from Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Shaquille O’Neal or Greg Popovich from Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobli, and Tony Parker they would not have generated the 16 championships between the two of them.  

Detroit Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy addressed the media before a recent game vs. Phoenix.  He noticed his team was “a little quiet” entering the arena. He initially thought the silence might’ve been caused by the previous night’s blowout loss to the Clippers, but backup center Aron Baynes said team’s mood was about “last night.”

He admitted that he and his players will have trouble facing fans from a city whose voters largely supported Trump.“I’m having a hard time being with people. I’m going to walk into this arena tonight and realize that -- especially in this state -- most of these people voted for the guy,” Van Gundy said. “Like, (expletive), I don’t have any respect for that. I don’t.”

In 2015 the NFL percent of black players was 68.7% while the percent of white players was 28.6%.  Unlike the NBA, NFL players are more disposable and are treated as such.   There are multiple layers between the head coach and players with position coaches and coordinators.

The NBA is not the NFL where in 2010 then Washington Redskins coach Mike Shanahan benched starting quarterback Donovan McNabb with under two minutes in a six point game questioning his understanding of the offense in that situation.  With the history of black quarterbacks and the issues they have faced of having their intellect and leadership questioned to run a football team many, including myself took this as racial coding.   Shanahan had been around the NFL too long not to know that and this was his first black starting quarterback.  Shanahan made multiple appearances on the campaign trail for Donald Trump.  “We need leadership for our country,” said Shanahan. “We need leadership for our kids.”

During a speech the day before the election Donald Trump not only announced that New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady called him earlier in the day to say he voted for him, but also read a letter of support he received from New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick.

Current San Francisco head coach Chip Kelly faced criticism of his relationship with black players while coaching the Philadelphia Eagles.  Players made comments such as “uncomfortable around grown men of our culture.”   Philadelphia was Kelly’s first professional coaching job.  Traded cornerback Brandon Boykin said, “He can't relate and that makes him uncomfortable...He likes total control of everything, and he don't like to be uncomfortable. Players excel when you let them naturally be who they are, and in my experience that hasn't been important to him, but you guys have heard this before me.”

Ownership is key in any business including sports.  In NFL culture it is front office, head coach, and quarterback focused.  If a key player or coach on a NBA team publicly acknowledged Trump in the manner Brady and Belichick did  it would cause issues within the team.  I’m sure some NBA players and coaches voted for Donald Trump, but they also would be in tune with their teammates feelings.   Trump has become a taboo topic in some NFL locker rooms as Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report has reported during this election season.

In sharp contrast, eight black players Freeman spoke with expressed the sentiment that the Trump election was one of the ugliest moments in American history and was about white America wanting to keep blacks, and other people of color, as one black player said, "in our place."

"Black players are constantly playing the race card [when it comes to Trump]," a white NFC player said. "This election had nothing to do with race."

A white NBA player and coach could not survive and be successful in the league without being conscious to some degree.  The beauty of the game is the close knit nature of the group.  The time together forces understanding from one another.  The head coach must be engaged with all of them.  With that you get what we heard from the respective NBA coaches and players who did speak out.   

One thing players can sniff quickly is a phony.  A pro basketball locker room is the toughest to win over.   They know the power they have and the coach better be able to communicate with them effectively.  Unlike college basketball where the main stars are the coaches and they have the most of the leverage.  Many of them have been quiet because they represent universities whose dynamics from the administration, student body and donors are not reflective of the athletes.  They don’t want to rock the boat.  The NBA is a workforce where there is reliance respecting and understanding it.  The NBA is and has been steps ahead of the NFL in terms of social awareness and this is no exception.