Amidst Historic Ratings Plunge, NBA Commissioner Says League Likely To Pull ‘Black Lives Matter’ Messaging Next Year

It’s amazing how when ratings plunge and ad revenue starts to dry up, moral crusades go right back out the window…

Such is the case for the NBA, which has spent the better part of its shortened season on a political crusade on behalf of Black Lives Matter, leading to a sharp plunge in ratings that we have documented here on Zero Hedge.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver appeared to confirm early this week that Black Lives Matter messaging will be pulled from the court and from players jerseys next year. According to The Blaze, Silver alluded to the messaging being removed despite the league being “completely committed to standing for social justice and racial equality.” 

He said implementing the change is “something we’re gonna have to sit down with the players and discuss.”

He told Rachel Nichols of ESPN: “I would say, in terms of the messages you see on the court and our jerseys, this was an extraordinary moment in time when we began these discussions with the players and what we all lived through this summer. My sense is there’ll be somewhat a return to normalcy — that those messages will largely be left to be delivered off the floor.”

The NBA has seen its ratings (and likely its ad revenue) plunge to historic lows this year amidst the league’s decision to focus more on politics. 

It appears that viewers are no longer interested in the political and social justice messages of the NBA but rather were tuning in for (believe it or not) actual basketball. As the balance of the league has tipped from less sport to more activism, viewers are tuning out.

We noted days ago that Game 2 of the NBA Finals saw a major collapse in viewers, with just 4.5 million people tuning in. This is down 68% from last year’s game two, which Outkick notes, “featured a team in Canada”. 

In fact, the ratings made Game 2 the least watched NBA Finals game on record, dropping below the 7.41 Game 1, which was the lowest viewed finals opener in history. 

We have not only been documenting the NBA, but also documenting the recent ratings collapse that the NFL has suffered in the midst of also turning its league into a political movement over the last few months. 

Get woke, go broke!