ESPN’s “The Grantland Basketball Hour” featured a discussion about social activism among NBA players at a time when marketing and branding is so important. ESPN’s Bill Simmons said, “When we think about (Bill) Russell's generation, it's very socially conscious, cared about basketball, they had different stakes at the time. This current generation everybody seems to like in the NBA. Everybody talks about these are guys that handle their business in the right way, they're so marketable. How do you think we're going to remember this generation?” ESPN’s Jason Whitlock: “I'm going to remember them as a group that put basketball in a better place. I love the way they play the game ... and then I love the activism that LeBron James has implemented throughout the NBA in terms of taking some social stances. I think this generation is going to be remembered fondly in moving the game in a better direction.” ESPN’s Jalen Rose added, “I don't want players to just get the newspaper and only pay attention to the sports section. I want them to be engaged in their communities." Whitlock noted “social media has put a lot of pressure on them to be a little bit more politically and socially active,” and in this respect, “social media has been healthy.” Simmons said, “That's one thing I think that is going to define this generation: It’s the generation of brands. (Michael) Jordan started it, Magic (Johnson) was obviously big with one of the first guys to branch out in business, things like that. These guys are now trying to be brands in their primes and before their primes.” But Whitlock said players need to “make sure your basketball brand is sound before you start trying to really expand your business brand” (“The Grantland Basketball Hour,” ESPN, 1/19).
