The NBA’s BIG Problem: Moving Towards A More Equitable Future
By: Sirius Naught
Tags: Equity, LeBron James, Basketball, Minorities, NBA

Photo by Tim Hart on Unsplash

Millions of people all around the world enjoy watching the NBA, having discussions and comparing the players, and cheering on their favorite teams. The culture of the NBA itself is highly influential in our society; its influence reaches far beyond that of other sports leagues, and one cannot deny its impact on the minds of the youth today.

However, for all the great things about the NBA and the values it fosters, it has one big FAT problem. It is simply not a representation of our society, of its own country, America. But even worse than that is the fact that the NBA actively discriminates against people for reasons out of their control.

Take a gander at a NBA game and notice something about the players. For starters, they are all pretty tall. Even more apparent is the shocking lack of diversity. And this is a reflection of the NBA’s bigoted stance on who exactly is best fit to be in the league.

Are there any Tibetan males in the NBA? Have you ever seen any Aboriginal women in the NBA? (And don’t get me started on the WNBA, that is just an example of modern-day segregation) The answer is no. And do you know what young Tibetan boys and young Aboriginal girls, as a result of this lack of diversity, think about the NBA? They probably think that they couldn’t ever make the NBA because there is no one, and there has never been, anyone who looks like them in the league. And this is, understandably, quite frustrating. How can you believe that you could work in a certain profession if no one in that field is of the same ethnicity as you? The answer is of course, you can’t. It’s impossible.

But something even more insidious than the aforementioned issue is that fact that the NBA is guilty of heightism. Take a look at the picture below.

this dude be 7 foot 6 in

Pictured above is basketball player Tacko Fall. He’s nearly 8-feet tall. His height is something extremely rare, which makes him a perfect candidate to be an NBA player. But what if there were to exist, hypothetically, a person just as skilled in every way as Tacko, except that he is only 5'6. He would most likely not make the NBA simply because his height is not at a competitive level, and his basketball skills would need to be orders of magnitude higher than that of Tacko’s to even have a chance at being competitive. That’s discrimination. That’s heightism. (meaning discriminating against short people).

At this point, you may not believe me. But wait and grab hold of your buttocks, for I shall present even more evidence that will surely knock you off your feet.

NBA hoops discriminate. A 10 ft tall hoop discriminates more against someone who is 5 ft tall than someone who is 7 ft tall. People can’t control their height. Why discriminate? I’d recommend creating a whole new league for people under 6 ft, and the rim would be lowered to 9 ft. Additionally, anyone who is taller than 7 ft will need to shoot on an at least 11ft tall hoop. And for every 4ft tall player a team has, that team should start the game with 5 points more than the other team, to make things fair. NBA players themselves discriminate. By allowing yourself to play for a league that is heightist, NBA players are heighist too. I’d recommend that all NBA players quit their job and give their contracts over to people who are either disabled, under 5 ft tall, obese, or a non-white person. Preferably someone with a combination of all these factors. NBA coaches discriminate. Most NBA coaches are white. I’m already getting flashbacks of slavery. Need I say more? There are not nearly enough LGBTQ+ players in the NBA. Last time I counted there was only like 1. You may not think this is important, but it really is. How do gay and queer people view basketball? We really don’t know, because there isn’t enough representation. All we have is straight basketball.

We’ve already taken measures to create a more equitable society. Look at affirmative action in colleges. That’s awesome. No more white supremacist, patriarchal, meritocratic systems. But why has the NBA been so slow to follow? The league proclaims itself as being at the forefront of social justice issues, but really this is all just virtue-signaling.

Stop discriminating against people who don’t have the correct genetics to be in your league. Enough with choosing the “best” to play, we need equality. And we need it now. People are dying; we can’t wait any longer. Purge the NBA of its historically racist roots. Create a truly equal system. Only then will the future be bright; let an equitable NBA be an example of what all institutions on Earth should strive for. We tell millions of kids every year that if they only work hard, they can make the NBA. But this is simply not true, for the draft system considers genetics more important than they consider work ethic. This has to change. It can, and I believe it will. But it starts with YOU, calling out the league for what it truly is- a bastion of discrimination.