NBA Team "Owners"

Often I feel people are too sensitive in the issues they find offensive. Examples of this are

• lesbian/gay couples wanting a baker to make them a wedding cake even though the baker's religious beliefs compels the baker to not support a same sex marriage,
• removal of historical monuments because it is felt the monument praises the slavery that once existed in this country,
• or the lack of diversity on the board of directors of a large corporation.

When this happens the desire is to infringe on the rights and opportunities of others or revise history in one way or another.

In my mind the latest example of this the move in the NBA to move away from the title of "owner" for the person or people that actually own the basketball franchise. This move started with comments by Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors over the term "owner" being racially insensitive. Comments have been made that the term "owner" to some implies the ownership of the individual players versus the ownership of the business franchise for which the players are employees. To me, this is being a extremely hypersensitive, but I could be wrong.

If Green is consistent in his sensitivity, it would be evident in his play on the court and the manner he conducts his life off the court. From spotrac.com, Green started his career in 2012 with a salary of $850,000 and started the 2015 season with a 5 year, $82,000,000 contract. This year Green will make just under $17.5 million and in his career has been paid approximately $66 million. Not bad for a 29 year old.

But Green does have expenses , thus far in his career he has been fined $741,124 including two game suspensions valued at over $120,000 each. Keep in mind, Green's first year salary was only $850,000 and he has given most of that back because of his conduct. The majority of these fines stemmed from technical fouls which usually result from unsportsmanlike conduct by a player but also include fines for fighting, criticism of officials, and conduct detrimental to the team. Doesn't sound to me as if his time on the court is conducted in a very sensitive fashion.

What about off the court? In 2016, Green was arrested on assault charges in East Lansing, Michigan for slapping a Michigan State football player Jermaine Edmondson. Edmonson indicated the alteration with Green stemmed from an incident the previous night in which Green assaulted he and his girlfriend, Bianca Williams, and members of Green's party choked the couple.

Shortly after that Green came under scrutiny for posting a picture of his penis on Instagram. Green at first insisted his Instagram account had been hacked then later admitted the picture was intended to be private.

In 2017, Green was made the subject of a California lawsuit stemming from the assault by Green and his friends on Edmonson and Williams from the previous year. In the lawsuit, Edmonson alleged Green made the statement:

“I know niggas like you. I pay for niggas like you scholarship,”

The lawsuit was halted by a California judge indicating the suit would have to be filed in Michigan.

To me this is hardly a life of sensitivity to others. Green's talk about the term "owner" being racially insensitive goes beyond hypocritical into the realm of sanctimonious. Because of his athleticism, Green has be handed a life of privilege no less than any owner of an NBA team that was born into a life of wealth. Hypersensitivity to issues and political correctness often bothers me a little, but this case really tends to chap my ass.