Despite the crying from conservatives and MAGA loyalists dying to silence and oppress progress, the relationship between social justice and sports remains strong, especially in one of their favorite targets, the NBA.
NBA and WNBA players have been the most vocal pro athletes in fighting for justice and equality, and to their credit, the leagues have genuinely been supportive.
Ever since LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and their Miami Heat teammates donned hoodies in support of Trayvon Martin, ignorants targeted them with their racist venom. That effort only intensified after players took action after George Floyd’s murder.
This crowd uses any source of information they can to denounce the player’s fight for equality in justice and shout that it’s hurting games and the league.
When the ratings dip, the rally cries of “go woke, go broke,” immediately surface, even though it’s only a brief moment and not reflective of the season as a whole.
Well the 2022-23 NBA season just swung back with a haymaker to KO the foolish “go woke, go broke” mantra.
A new report by global sports and entertainment intelligence platform Sponsor United shows that the NBA generated a historic, record-breaking $1.4 billion in sponsorship revenue this season. That’s an increase of 10.5% over the previous year, with the league “adding more than $100 million to team revenues.”
But there’s more.
On top of the league and teams signing 2,430 sponsors, attendance also reached new heights.
According to the NBA, this season’s attendance mark of 22,234,502 broke the previous record of 22,124,559 set in the 2017-18 season. This season marked “only the second time in NBA history that total attendance exceeded 22 million,” and “for the first time, teams averaged more than 18,000 fans (18,077).”
In addition, there were a record-breaking 791 sellouts, eclipsing the previous mark of 760 set during the 2018-19 season.
And ratings only continue to surge.
Earlier this month, ESPN announced that the first two rounds it aired on its platforms averaged 5.23 million viewers, the highest since the network first started airing the NBA in 2002-03. That’s also an increase of 14% YOY.
Individual games also shined bright.
The first-round, Game 7 matchup between the Warriors and Kings drew in 9.84 million viewers, making it the most-watched first-round game in 24 years.
And these are only a few examples of the NBA’s robust ratings success.
Now, some might counter that the NBA’s surge in revenue and ratings is due to the reduction of a “Black Lives Matter” presence over the last two years.
But how quickly they forget that it’s not the physical messaging but the athletes who take action and drive change.
Players like Steph Curry, who just won the NBA’s Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion Award, have continued to speak out and support social justice causes, and yet their contracts and sponsorship values continue to grow. These are the same players who marched in the protests calling for justice and change. So, according to “go woke, go broke” agenda pushers, shouldn’t they be punished financially for their humanity?
Rhetorical question of course, for that mantra is stupid in its essence and purpose, just like those who push and follow it.
The NBA and its players are succeeding and only growing in popularity and financial success. And both continue to prove that “go woke, go broke” is a fallacy whose sole purpose is to rally those who fear change.
But change is inevitable, so keep crying.
