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Projected first-round pick Cole Anthony on Wednesday responded to a tweet from President Donald Trump regarding a claim that the NBA ratings have seen a drastic decline during the playoffs.
Trump cited that fans are “tired” of watching the NBA due to the political stances the league has made in recent weeks. Trump also pointed to the fact that the majority of players and coaches are kneeling during the playing of the national anthem as a reason why the ratings are down.
The NBA postponed the playoffs for three days after the Milwaukee Bucks opted against playing in Game 5 on Aug. 26 to protest the shooting of Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old unarmed Black man, in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Players have consistently spoken out against racism and police brutality in the United States in an effort to create meaningful change.
According to Jon Lewis of Sports Media Watch, the player-led protests of racism and police brutality have had no apparent impact on the ratings thus far. Game 5 between the Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday averaged a 1.8 rating and 2.92 million viewers, down slightly from Game 4 (1.9, 2.98 million).
However, the overall ratings for the playoffs are down 20% compared to last season. The league expected viewership numbers to drop due to the circumstances given that the playoffs have never been held in August and September and games are also taking place this year in the early afternoons on weekdays when most are still working.
My man shut up https://t.co/thmYbsL1Nc
— Cole Anthony (@The_ColeAnthony) September 2, 2020
Players and coaches have kneeled during the playing of the national in each game during the season restart. Trump has often been critical of those that do not stand during the national anthem and condemned the actions taken by Colin Kaepernick when he kneeled in 2016.
“The kneeling (during the national anthem) has been horrible for basketball,” Trump said last month. “They’ve had horrible ratings, low numbers. People are angry about it. They have enough politics with guys like me. There was a nastiness about the NBA the way (protesting) was done. The NBA is in trouble, bigger trouble than they understand.”
The stated goal of the season restart was to take collective action to combat systematic racial inequalities and promote social justice. The courts at Disney each display “Black Lives Matter” and players have worn special messages for social causes or movements.
The NBA and NBPA agreed to resume the postseason with the understanding that the two sides will work to enact several commitments and initiatives to help raise awareness for key issues and promote social equality in the United States.
Among the conditions set forth, team governors will work with local elections officials to convert arenas into voting locations for the 2020 general election to allow for a safe in-person voting option for communities to vulnerabilities to COVID.
The players agreed that putting together a plan to help raise awareness for voting was a key issue in agreeing to resume the season. Additionally, the players also wanted to create a social justice coalition that will focus on key issues.
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