An Open Letter to the NBA on #MLKDay

It’s time for the NBA to renounce its partnership with racist Elon Musk’s X

The NBA (National Basketball Association) posted on its X account today: “Today and every day, the NBA celebrates Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s pursuit of racial, social, and economic justice. The time is always right to do what is right. #MLKDay”

It’s time for the NBA to do what is right: renounce its partnership with Elon Musk’s X. In 2021, the NBA announced a multi-year partnership extension with then-Twitter, now X.

Growing up, my mother weaned me on teachings of Dr. King, novels by James Baldwin and stories about how she rooted for Jackie Robinson at Ebbets Field as a Jewish girl growing up in Brooklyn.

Meanwhile my father was taking me to Knicks games at Madison Square Garden. Willis Reed, with his iconic entry onto the court while injured in 1970, was my hero. The Knicks and NBA gave me childlike glee about opportunities for Black people in sports — and in life.

Today, the NBA’s misguided partnership with racist Elon Musk’s X, and the league’s refusal to speak up about it, feels devastating to me.

In November, X CEO Linda Yaccarino celebrated NBA video views on X. Last week, Gizmodo reported:

“Elon Musk endorsed a tweet Tuesday that suggested graduates from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have IQs approaching ‘borderline intellectual impairment.’ This isn’t the first time the billionaire celebrated blatant bigotry on his platform in recent months. In November, Musk promoted a tweet that said Jews push ‘hatred against whites.’”

The NBA posted a meme on X today, saying: “The NBA honors Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by remembering his proclamation, ‘The time is always right to do what is right.’ This call-to-action invites everyone to embody Dr. King’s legacy through action that answer the needs of today.”

The NBA needs to heed its own call-to-action and speak out, renounce its partnership with Elon Musk’s X.

Musk has been engaged in an online debate on X with the NBA Mavericks’ minority stakeholder Mark Cuban about diversity programs in the workplace. Cuban has defended such initiatives, while Musk has equated the term “DEI” (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) to racism.

“The only thing anyone needs to hear from Musk about diversity in the workplace is an apology,” Marc Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League, told NBC News, calling Musk’s statements “abhorrent and pathetic.”

In November, Media Matters reported that X had served ads for the NBA Mexico next to posts with white nationalist hashtags like “KeepEuropeWhite,” “white pride,” and “WLM” (“White Lives Matter”). Ads for the NBA Mexico appeared with screenshots of NBA players Stephen Curry and Victor Wembanyama. Musk subsequently filed a lawsuit against Media Matters, bucking his own “free speech” crusade.

In 2022, NBA superstar LeBron James tweeted in response to a news item showing that Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover sparked a surge in the use of the N-word on the social media platform. James tweeted:

“I dont know Elon Musk and, tbh, I could care less who owns twitter. But I will say that if this is true, I hope he and his people take this very seriously because this is scary AF. So many damn unfit people saying hate speech is free speech.”

I emailed these questions to NBA league representatives yesterday:

Does the NBA still have a business contract with Elon Musk’s X stemming from its earlier deal with Twitter? Did any terms of the agreement change after Musk bought Twitter?

How does the NBA reconcile its commitment to honoring Dr. King’s legacy while maintaining its partnership with Elon Musk’s X, after the Musk’s activity on X targeting Black people?

Is the NBA still committed to its diversity and inclusion initiatives? If so, how does the NBA reconcile its partnership with Musk’s X and the platform owner’s anti-diversity comments?

Comments/statement from the NBA?

No one from the NBA has responded to my inquiries. “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

The NBA’s silence about its partnership with Musk’s X is an act of complicity. As Dr. King said, “We will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”