President Trump dunked on National Basketball Association players amid on-again-off-again boycotts of their games to stand in solidarity with Jacob Blake, a black man who was shot seven times by Kenosha police and who later admitted to possessing a knife while resisting arrest.
Trump told reporters the NBA resembled a political party and suggested that the dramatic drop-off in ratings for the league since its July restart is the result of overt political messaging by players and teams.
“I don’t know much about the NBA protests — I know their ratings have been very bad because I think people are a little tired of the NBA frankly,” Trump said. “I know their ratings have been very bad, and that’s unfortunate. They’ve become like a political organization, and that’s not a good thing. I don’t think that’s a very good thing for sports or for the country.”
President Trump: “I don’t know much about the NBA protests — I know their ratings have been very bad.” pic.twitter.com/fO8zXm6R5Y
— The Hill (@thehill) August 27, 2020
NBA teams joined together on Wednesday to boycott several playoff games that were scheduled, although a meeting between the league and players on Thursday revealed not every team was on board with the decision to halt games and potentially the entire season.
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, who tweeted “F— this” amid the walk off on Wednesday, reportedly voted to cancel the season and then stormed out of the meeting when others pushed back against his demands. The playoffs are expected to resume on Friday.
The NBA has seen TV ratings for its revamped season plunge amid an overt political messaging campaign by the league, which has included players kneeling as the national anthem plays and courts emblazoned with a Black Lives Matters insignia.
