The Good, The Bad And The Challenge For The NBA

I was in Toronto for a series of meetings in my role as a sports consultant and also as a founding member of the Sports People’s Think Tank. NBA Allstar weekend provided the perfect opportunity to take in a humungous event and reach out to contacts.

The first event in my diary was the NBA Africa Luncheon. Opening the event was the Toronto Raptors General Manager, Masai Ujiri, a Nigerian born in London. Ujiri welcomed delegates from across the globe to Canada and set out why Africa was important to him, his team and the NBA. He would maintain a strong presence across my weekend featuring on TV coverage and standing front, back and centre at any function worth being at. 

I sat at the luncheon mesmerized by the incredible work taking place across Africa, where our very own Luol Deng – of the Miami Heat – and the recently retired Pops Mensah Bonsu, have played pivotal roles by attending coaching clinics and putting forward ideas. In fact, it was Deng who suggested the historic NBA game in Africa last summer. These initiatives are led by Amadou Fall, a former basketball player from Senegal who is a Vice President of the NBA. Another leader.

After taking in the speeches and panel discussions featuring Rwanda President Paul Kamage, NBA Commissioner, Adam Silver, and NBA legend, Dikembe Mutombo, I was introduced to Michele A Roberts, the head of the players union. We didn’t speak for a long time, but just a few minutes in Roberts’ presence confirmed everything I had read about her. A strong leader.

There were black leaders everywhere – but I wasn’t surprised. 70% of the NBA’s players are black, so it stands to reason that there should be strong senior representation across the sport, right? Well, not quite. 

My journalistic instincts kicked in and I wanted to know how many General Managers and Head Coaches came from the black community. And I was shocked to read that at the beginning of the NBA season, just seven of the 30 NBA coaches were black and Ujiri was one of five executives across the league. 

In relative terms, what I had seen during my time in Toronto was inspirational. Black leaders – visible and prominent. But as I settled back into the London time zone, on my return, a friend sent me a link to clip of an NBA pundit calling for the Rooney Rule. 

My response was mixed. The NBA clearly face similar challenges of black under representation in senior leadership positions to us in Britain – and, despite some success, they are still fighting for equality.  But I cannot help but take inspiration from that – the fight must continue until genuine equality is reality.