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Sponsored Op Ed: By Allen Jones
NBA Ignores San Francisco Racism, Rewards City with Oakland’s Championship Team
NBA Standout Stephen Curry (Photo Courtesy Keith Allison, Hanover, MD, USA)
In this era of heightened scrutiny of the political and social effects of corporate decisions, the NBA appears to be operating autonomously and without concern. For an organization that moved the 2017 All Star Game to New Orleans because of discriminatory bathroom laws in North Carolina, it is both odd and appalling that the NBA is seemingly turning a blind eye to San Francisco’s inherent racism in blessing the relocation of the Golden State Warriors out of neighboring (and diversity-friendly) Oakland. It is particularly upsetting for a league that is comprised of over 70% African-American players to support the move to an insidiously racist city like San Francisco.
The City of San Francisco lauds itself as a progressive and liberal city, which might be true in theory, but it’s hard to find in practice if you’re one of its black residents. The black community has been continuously bullied and eradicated by the City, and the population by the numbers is subsequently plummeting. Just as with the forced exodus of the Fillmore community, the City continues to pave over black history (like in Midtown) in favor of corporate millions and a veneer of broad-sweeping social concern. Though San Francisco has been largely supportive of its LGBTQIA community, it cannot be canonized and idealized because prejudice is still alive and well, as evidenced by the rampant mistreatment of the City’s black citizens.
Racist neglect and abuse of black San Franciscans can be found in every corner of the City, and often it’s at the hand of the City itself. This past October, the ACLU announced a suit against the San Francisco Police Department after observing evidence of clearly discriminatory arrests from 2013 to 2015. Officers were specifically targeting black San Franciscans while deliberately bypassing dealers of other races.
