No Room for Racism : Restoration of Order in the NBA
Restoration of Order in the NBA

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Bibliographic Details
Authors and Corporations: Lavelle, Katherine L.
In: Communication & Sport, 4, 2016, 4, p. 424-441
published:
SAGE Publications
Media Type: Article, E-Article

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further information
Physical Description: 424-441
ISSN: 2167-4795
2167-4809
DOI: 10.1177/2167479515584046
published in: Communication & Sport
Language: English
Subjects:
Collection: SAGE Publications (CrossRef)
Table of Contents

<jats:p>The National Basketball Association (NBA) has a conflicted history navigating issues of race and Black identity. When audiotapes were released with Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling making racist comments, fans and players threatened to boycott playoff games. Within 4 days, the new NBA Commissioner Adam Silver banned Sterling for life. While Silver was lauded for his decision, coverage ignored the underlying structural issues that uphold inequality in the NBA. This article reviews recent communication and sport scholarship examining race and the NBA. By examining Silver’s decision using Kenneth Burke’s Terms of Order (1961), this article argues that the NBA continues to ignore how racism operates in the league.</jats:p>