Using racially focused remarks, Gumbel said on his HBO show that Stern is "a modern plantation overseer treating NBA men as if they were his boys." I am a fan of Gumbel’s since his groundbreaking days on the "Today Show," but his comments about Stern are over the top.
No plantation owner in history has been so giving of the plantation's wealth as David Stern. If that were not the case, would the players association be in the midst of trying to negotiate over 50 percent of the revenue.
Impressively, Stern was a former board member of the NAACP in the 1990s, and during his reign, the NBA has been given glowing accolades for its diversity hiring practices and minority ownership. Sometimes it is easy in the midst of battle to forget that other individuals in Stern’s chair may not so understanding about diversity even on the floor of a basketball court.
I wonder how it would be if individuals with attitudes like Rush Limbaugh or even Herman Cain were commissioners?
I also don’t have any knowledge of slave owners giving “freed slaves’ ownership of plantations err…NBA franchises.
Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson both can attest to the fact that ownership of a NBA franchise is possible because of Stern’s advocacy like him or not.
Players such as Dwyane Wade, who had a run-in with Stern, may not agree, but when you peel back the layers this is big business, big revenue and big stakes.
Gumbel, 63, admitted his comments would cause a negative reaction but said he didn't care. Much the same way as Fox News and well-paid radio personality Rush Limbaugh make controversial rants for ratings Gumbel’s comments ca...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
