NBA Commissioner David Stern did an interview with The Wall Street Journal recently. WSJ writers Russell Adams and Adam Thompson hit all the hot topics in the league, from the recent fight between Denver and New York to the new ball.
Stern on why the NBA is treated more harshly than other sports when it comes to fighting:
My own take is the burden of the fans being so close to the stands. … the prospect of players, in any shape or form, crossing the barrier between them and the fans — that’s a problem that we have and no one else has.
On whether or not negative perception of the NBA has to do with race:
We were the first sport to be identified as black. And, despite the fact that the starters in other sports like football could be equally, percentage-wise, black, our guys are (visible) out there. We can see them, they don’t come encumbered by hat, helmet, long sleeves and pants. … I would not be fully honest if I didn’t say it’s always there, in some shape or form.
On the failed microfiber ball:
Maybe it wasn’t sold as well as it could’ve been. The public has spoken. We have misstepped. We didn’t listen to our employees and we have owned up to our own failures.
Other high points from the interview:
- Stern gloats that NBA is the most searched sports term on a Chinese search engine and says that the league might start an “NBA China”.
- Further league plans for streaming video have apparently stalled while new television deals are negotiated.
- Stern is still committed to at least having the NBA Finals on network TV; he cites the larger audiences on broadcast television as incentive not to move exclusively to cable.
- When asked about Mark Cuban, Stern compliments Ted Turner before talking about the heat in Dallas. Then, he essentially compares dealing with Cuban to dealing with children.
