Brands taking a stand on social issues is no longer remarkable — but that only makes it harder to be authentic.
Toronto Raptors’ Norman Powell goes up for a shot with Boston Celtics’ Kemba Walker in tow during an NBA conference semifinal playoff game, Sept. 11, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
(AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
The NBA stands behind the rights of players to protest. But the league finds itself in a delicate position, trapped between the competing demands of its advertisers, TV partners, owners and players.
Raptors team members wear Black Lives Matter t-shirts the second half of Game 4 against the Brooklyn Nets on Aug. 23.
(Kim Klement/Pool Photo via AP)
Mark Otten, California State University, Northridge
It will be possible to compare the outcomes of games with and without fans, giving new insights into the relationship between fans, home-field advantage and clutch performances.
Mikey Williams dribbles through a crowd during the Pangos All-American Camp on June 2, 2019 at Cerritos College in Norwalk, CA.
Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
When Mikey Williams, one of the nation’s top high school basketball players, announced that he was thinking about going to a historically black college, the college basketball world paid attention.
The Netflix documentary ‘The Last Dance’ reveals the hyper-competitiveness of Michael Jordan during the 1990s.
AP Photo/Stephan Savoia)
The hyper-competitiveness of Michael Jordan may work on the basketball court, but the win-at-all-cost American culture that Jordan represents is not what’s needed to end the coronavirus pandemic.
The NBA suspended its season on March 11, citing the coronavirus risk. A force majeure clause in the NBA contract means players could lose money with each canceled game.
AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli
The COVID-19 pandemic is forcing companies, universities and even the NBA to break contracts. What does the law say about liability in a situation like this, and does the money have to be returned?
In response to the Covid-19 epidemic, on March 12, Argentina’s Racing Club and Peru’s Alianza Lima played a match without the public.
Agustin Marcarian/AFP
As the new coronavirus has spread around the world, sporting matches and events have been staged behind closed doors, postponed and increasingly cancelled outright.
Flowers and messages are placed at a memorial for Kobe Bryant in front of Staples Center in Los Angeles.
AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu
A social psychologist explains how you can be so deeply affected by the death of someone you’ve never met.
Kobe Bryant #24 of the Los Angeles Lakers waves to the crowd after passing Michael Jordan on the all-time scoring list in 2014.
Hannah Foslein/Getty Images
Unlike when Kobe Bryant went straight from high school to the NBA, future superstars must now spend at least one year in college or overseas. A sports scholar explains how that could soon change.
The Washington Nationals celebrate their World Series win in front of fans of the Houston Astros.
AP Photo/Matt Slocum
A data scholar explains why playing at home doesn’t provide the boost that it once did.
Demonstrators hold up photos of LeBron James grimacing during a rally in Hong Kong in October 2019. Protesters threw basketballs at a photo of James.
(AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Protest, or the lack of it, can reveal one’s priorities and values. In failing to stand up to China, LeBron James and the NBA told us something about theirs.
Chinese broadcasters have suspended showing NBA games in response to a tweet by Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey in support of the Hong Kong protests.
John G. Mablango/EPA
Because professional athletes are thought to be paragons of physical and mental toughness, their psychological health has long been a taboo topic. That’s starting to change.
Kevin Porter, Jr., of USC, is introduced prior to the first round of the 2019 NBA Draft at Barclays Center.
Brad Penner/USA Today Sports