NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said the league has decided to not use the term “owner” after TMZ reported multiple teams said they won’t use the term because the word feels racially insensitive.
“I don’t want to overreact to the term because, as I said earlier, people end up twisting themselves into knots avoiding the use of the word owner,” Silver said “But, we moved away from that term years ago in the league.”
Silver said the league uses the terms “governor” and “alternate governor” for the leaders of the teams.
“You’ll find [owner] throughout memos over the past decade in the NBA, but I’m sensitive to it and I think to the extent teams are moving away from the term, we’ll stick with using governor,” he added.
Some players, such as Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors, have been lobbying the NBA not to use “owner.”
“Let’s stop using the word owner and maybe use the word Chairman,” Green posted on Instagram in 2018. “To be owned by someone just sets a bad precedent to start. It sets the wrong tone. It gives one the wrong mindset. Webster states that an inmate is a person confined to an institution such as a prison or hospital. Not sure these tax paying men should be referred to as inmates.”
