Tuesday, July 02, 2019


NBA using 'Governor' in place of 'owner' title   

As NBA teams make some major moves over the offseason, a potentially less-noticeable change is already occurring throughout the league.

According to commissioner Adam Silver, the NBA is continuing to move away from the use of the term "owner" to describe those with controlling interest of teams in favor of the terms "Governor of the team" and "alternate Governor."

The change was made due to concerns that the term "owner" can be viewed as racially insensitive in a league where the vast majority of players are African-American and the majority of owners are Caucasian. While the league itself stopped using the term years ago, individual teams are now starting to follow suit; something Silver was asked about.

"I don't want to overreact to the term because, as I said earlier, people end up twisting themselves into knots avoiding the use of the word 'owner,'" Silver said, via TMZ Sports. "But we moved away from that term years ago with the league. We call our team owners 'Governors' of the team and 'alternate Governors. So I think it makes sense.

SOURCE 

6 comments:

Stan B said...

Isn't "Governor" British Slang for "Prison Warden?"

I guess if you're trying to avoid "slave owner" connotations in the NBA - Prison Warden connotations are the next best thing....

What nonsense!

Bill R. said...

The team owner owns the team. The players are contracted to play for the team and are paid by the owner. Where in this relationship is slavery mentioned or implied??? Since most players happen to be black, I would say that whoever came up with this "governor" crap is the racist. No one I know ever thought of a team owner as a slaveholder.

ScienceABC123 said...

When someone who "owns" something can't be called the "owner" because of something bad that happened over 150 years ago, then you know you're being overly sensitive. Face, solve, adjust, and move forward people.

Bird of Paradise said...

Master Bedroom,Master Lock,

Stan B said...

Let's see - MOST of the players are black, and most of the owners are white, therefore you can't avoid the association with slavery, because the players are kinda childish and immature - they do play a game for a living, after all.

Anonymous said...

I guess we should free all those poor slaves by ending their high $$ contracts. Make the teams hire only white guys as their "slaves". That should make them feel better.