Silver said there have been no discussions with the NBPA about changing the anthem ruleNBAE/GETTY IMAGES
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said that the league has "no plans to change its longtime policy requiring players to stand for the national anthem, in the wake of the NFL adopting a similar rule last week," according to Ron Kroichick of the S.F. CHRONICLE. Silver, speaking Thursday at his State of the League address ahead of the NBA Finals, said, "The NFL is in a very different situation than the NBA. ... Twenty-five percent of our league is comprised of players who aren’t American. So it’s hard to say in the case of the NBA it’s about patriotism, when a quarter of our players aren’t even American. But we’ve collectively viewed it as a moment of unity in our arenas." Silver said it has been a "different dialogue in the NBA than in the NFL," as his league's emphasis "has been on constructive activities in our communities." Silver: "There has been no discussion with our Players Association about changing our existing rule" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 6/1). NBA.com's Sekou Smith said, "Given the way that NBA players have been vocal for years now about social issues, I said it was a non-story last year when it came up in the NFL, and I still believe that about the NBA." Smith noted WNBA and NBA players were the first to address the "social issues going on in the country right now." Smith: "Why would they follow whatever's going on in another league when they were at the forefront of it? (Silver is) absolutely right. It's totally different conversation for the NBA and the WNBA" ("Game Time: NBA Finals," NBA TV, 5/31).
HARD CAP COMING? With the Warriors and Cavaliers facing off in the NBA Finals for the fourth straight year, ESPN.com's Brian Windhorst notes Silver pointed out that both teams "have the two highest payrolls in the league" at $137M each. Silver "went so far as to raise the specter of a hard salary cap like the NFL's that could potentially even out the league's competitive balance." Silver: "It's something that we'll continue to look at. There are pros and cons to doing (a hard cap). Historically, one of the issues in our league was we didn't necessarily want to break up teams." Instituting a hard cap has been a "long-held desire of owners and a deal point the players' union has long refused." Windhorst noted the NBA's current CBA runs through '23-24, so the topic of a true hard cap is "moot for the foreseeable future" (ESPN.com, 6/1).
PIECE OF THE PIE: Silver also discussed the recent ruling on sports betting, saying that the league will "move vigorously to collect ... an 'integrity fee' to offset the cost of monitoring up to 50 state gambling jurisdictions as well as a 'royalty' for use of the NBA product." Silver: "We think we are due a royalty. ... It’s ultimately our intellectual property, and we believe we should be compensated for it." Meanwhile, Silver also said that there are "no current discussions of expansion despite an NHL and future NFL presence in Las Vegas" (NEWSDAY, 6/1).
