Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta rebukes Trump, stands by players

“I love that they all stood together,” Fertitta said of the wave of protests by NBA players. “I respect them. I stand by them.”

A day after the 2020 playoffs were put on hold due to player boycotts, Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta told CNBC that he stands by the NBA players and members of his team who made those decisions.

In all, three playoff games on Wednesday and three more on Thursday were postponed as a result of recent civil unrest. One of those three scrapped games on Wednesday was Game 5 of the first-round series between Fertitta’s Rockets and the Oklahoma City Thunder.

“I know my team just went to practice together,” Fertitta said Wednesday afternoon. “I’m just assuming from scheduling… I haven’t heard it officially, but I assume we’ll be playing Oklahoma City tomorrow [Friday], and I’m assuming we’ll beat Oklahoma City tomorrow.”

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Early Thursday, players agreed to resume the playoffs. A few hours later, Fertitta was interviewed by CNBC about the recent events.

“I love that they all stood together,” said Fertitta, known best for his restaurant (Landry’s Inc.) and casino (Golden Nugget) empires. He was speaking in response to a question about the actions by NBA players.

The Houston billionaire then continued his remarks:

We all have to work together and recognize what other people are dealing with. It’s a different world. It’s a different generation. If you’re not a flexible person and you don’t see other people’s views, you’re not going to do well in this world today. And so I respect them. I stand by them. They’re my partners.

Fertitta also pushed back against new comments from U.S. President Donald Trump, who said Thursday that it was “not a good thing” that the NBA had become “like a political organization.”

“Everybody has a right as an individual,” Fertitta said. “I think that is not a good statement. I don’t know why he made that statement.”

“It’s disappointing,” Fertitta added. “Everybody, right now, is somewhat of a political organization. That’s why we all need to work together to pull everybody to solve all these issues. I’m sorry he said that.”

The unrest stems from the recent shooting of Jacob Blake, with many NBA players searching for ways to better use their platforms to promote change. Blake, a 29-year-old Black man who lives in Kenosha, Wisconsin, was shot multiple times in the back by police officers last Sunday while leaning into an SUV. Police were responding to a domestic dispute call.

Blake is in stable condition, paralyzed from the waist down, according to his father and Ben Crump, the family’s attorney. Blake was unarmed. Three of his six children were in the car when the shots were fired.

The outrage over the Blake shooting comes approximately three months after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and an associated wave of protests in early June, which had some NBA players questioning whether to restart the 2019-20 season at all — out of fear that it could distract from the “Black Lives Matter” movement.

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In early June, Fertitta vowed to use his leadership and resources to help address issues of racism and police brutality. “I will use my leadership and my resources and my place in this city to not just point out the problem, but to be part of the solution,” Fertitta said.

The Rockets also announced a plan Thursday to use Toyota Center as an election voting site in October and November, which could be seen as positive action in the wake of player boycotts.

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