Players boycott games | Playoffs resume Saturday

[dirkfansince1998]

Isn't in kinda ironic that the goal is to keep this thread about basketball and not politics when that's really the big disagreement with NBA fans right now. A lot of fans don't want politics with their sports. They just want to watch basketball.

And that´s an illusion. Politics is a part of sports. Always has been. It´s more about people choosing to ignore it as long as it doesn´t clash with their own political leanings or impact their life.

Not necessarily.  People may go to sports not to necessarily ignore politics, but to find a neutral place and connect with others they would disagree with in their political organizations. 

It is one thing for the players to exercise their freedom as citizens and actively speak out on controversial political and moral issues.  They can carry their influence and power to political venues like any other citizen can't they? 

Its an entirely different thing for the NBA as an organization to do this.  It changes the very nature of the organization and forces the public seeking a neutral place to simply listen to the organization's rhetoric without debate or representation.

There is no neutral place. Politics is about society and some topics are important enough to impact every every single person or organization in that society. Including sports. The NBA is not a public agency. It´s private. And just like any other private organization or company they are free to do what they want.
Some people don´t like to hear the national anthem before the game. Some people aren't´t happy about the support for the BLM movement. Others are unhappy about the silence when it comes to protests in China. That´s fine. Move on and find something else.
The NBA was never a neutral place. Same for other big sport leagues and events.

Speaking in absolutes here would be foolish, but the NBA and sports in general has traditionally represented a place where fans of sports come together on a common interest and let other societal issues filter out to be addressed elsewhere, where they are more appropriately discussed and debated. 

You don't think there were racially prejudiced fans out there in the NBA's growing audience over the decades, cheering right next to the some of the people they perhaps had biases against?  You don't think that was part of what led to a less racially biased America than there was before? 

If you say there is no neutral place then that really suggests a refusal on your part to find common ground. It's my way or the highway talk. 
Instead of fans finding a common place to get to know each other then taking their disagreements to the water cooler, or to peaceful protests and designated political forums, you're saying they have to focus on disagreements everywhere, all the time?  That's absurd and dangerous.  

Not what I said or meant at all  but carry on. Do you think the same people that watched the NBA games together will stop now that the league is supporting the BLM movement? If that´s the case your point about a less racially biased America is invalid.
Have you ever wondered why we aren´t making any progress when it comes to the currently discussed civil right issues? Because people like to ignore them. As long as they don´t impact their every day routine they don´t act. That´s one of the reasons why big protests or strikes work.
It´s not a suprise that some people want to single out the NBA for a political agenda. It is a players league dominated by strong and independent black man. Wonder why no one is calling out NASCAR or the NFL. As far as I know Colin Kaepernick still hasn´t found a team