2NFR
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Favourite Team: Newcastle Eagles
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Post by 2NFR on Aug 4, 2020 13:08:24 GMT
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Post by Solly on Aug 4, 2020 13:19:32 GMT
It is certainly an issue that affects the NBA, but also affects many other sports
Personal choice should be respected.
No-one should have to feel railroaded into their actions.
As the first article states, the ever-increasing 'wokeness' in sports and how it is subsequently applied is bound to grate on a lot of people and thereby affect the popularity of those sports.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 4, 2020 15:34:40 GMT
Solly, so true, people are being militant about it. I have no issue with Black Lives Matter as they've had it rough in history but this compulsion to take a knee shouldn't be forced on anyone.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 4, 2020 15:53:12 GMT
Just be aware, where you source your 'news' may affect how 'stories' are portrayed...
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Post by Deleted on Aug 4, 2020 16:01:10 GMT
I think there's multiple reasons why numbers are (apparently) down.
Some people simply hate the idea of taking a knee in the anthem. Jersey sales of a relative nobody going through the roof because he stood during the anthem proves that point. Giving someone like Greg Popovich stick because didn't kneel won't win many friends considering just how outspoken he's been on social justice. I wrote a bit about it the other day, but it's getting a bit repetitive, you can believe in BLM/social justice without needing to have it rammed down your throat all of the time. I'm in that camp, though it won't stop me watching it. Then, of course, there are people who don't care about (or actively hate the idea) of BLM/social justice, so won't watch.
On a sporting basis, although the games have been generally very good, they're not that important. 13 of the 16 play-off spots are taken and two are virtually sealed. There's no home court advantage, plus Bucks & Lakers have wrapped up the regular season conference titles, so there's not that much to play for. Chuck in early tip-offs and I can see why the numbers are down.
The baseball is a car crash with games getting postponed (in reality cancelled) due to plague-riddled sides, it's questionable whether the season will even finish let alone a champion whose win won't be tainted by sides falling by the wayside.
Ultimately the season was restarted to avoid a financial abyss. The TV overlords got their schedule filled and they'll have to live with the reduced numbers.
In spite of all that, I've seen some excellent games.
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Post by lieutenantdeng on Aug 5, 2020 9:39:48 GMT
The NBA sees this differently claiming it's over double the amount of viewers for a regular season game. secure.nba.com/article/2020/07/31/tnt-nba-restart-doubleheader-audienceBrietbart is a far-right syndicated news, opinion and commentary website pushing an anti-woke agenda. I would take anything they say with a pinch of salt. If you want to discuss ratings compare them like for like. e.g. compare to last seasons opening games ratings. Given that a lot of Americans seem to be "cutting the cord", it would be worth seeing what the ratings for League Pass were for the same periods. Personally I think we are past just believing in BLM/social justice and not being vocal about it. It's time to be anti-racist rather than silently not racist. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 5, 2020 10:37:33 GMT
It's been proved by 84.27 percent of statisticians that you can do anything with numbers.
There are, of course, less games so the averages should be up. And I guess the likes of ESPN have more games than usual (Sky certainly do) to make up for the shortened season, so that should affect the numbers.
The play-offs should provide a better comparison
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Post by connors on Aug 5, 2020 11:28:17 GMT
That's a very interesting point Deng and one that Amaechi was making in that quite thought provoking monologue he did for the BBC a short while back. Its a massive challenge. I have relatives and acquaintances who are casual racists and I do not regularly openly challenge them.
I have my own "line in the sand" I guess and certainly I would not tolerate witnessing somebody being racially abused or for that matter any racism being uttered in front of children. That probably makes me a bit of a coward at times opting for an easy life of ignoring it.
In the earlier games I thought the major networks were over doing the BLM commentary. It felt like I was being force fed it and it was detracting from the job the announcers were meant to be doing - calling the game. Ultimately I tune in to NBA games to watch basketball and not for social commentary but I can understand why the NBA and its players are supporting this movement so loudly. Hopefully what they are doing will help, particularly in the US where they have some serious ingrained issues that need to change.
Whether it is impacting the viewing figures or not is open to interpretation but I'm sure that there are racists who are NBA fans and I'm pretty sure the players, coaches and the NBA themselves would not be bothered if they did not tune in to watch the games ever again. Standing or taking a knee should be a matter of personal choice and when I man of such impeccable as credentials as Pop does it then it underlines that brilliantly. I heard mentioned before what would be the reaction if Premier League players took the knee if the fans were at the games.....sadly I am not 100% sure it would be a good reflection on us.....
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