The primary problem with the NBA has been one of image. The NBA has many basketball players who are talented yet they are misjudged by a few people who have tainted it secondary to their misbehaviour. There is the image of NBA Players being overpaid yet giving little to the community at large. While the NBA has many problems that are in need of correction, I will be concentrating in the image section. While the US Mainstream Media has reported on the negative aspects of the NBA, there is some good that is occurring within the NBA.

According to a News Article published by Xinhua and CRI English, Danny Granger [who is a Guard Forward for the Indiana Pacers] participated in a joint USA and Indonesian event with the Indonesian Basketball Team Satria Muda Britama in the grounds of the US Embassy in Indonesia. The purpose of the event was to teach basketball to Indonesian Orphans. This event is also part of the NBA Charity Organization called NBA Cares.

In Indonesia, the NBA has donated more than Eighty One Billion Dollars, Five Hundred and Fifty Thousand of Community Service, and participated in the creation of more than 300 places of recreation for children and their families. In China, Deron Williams, Tayshaun Prince, and Michael Redd visited the Shanghai Children’s Medical Center to visit victims of the recent earthquake in China. The NBA and Toyota donated 438,142 US Dollars to the Shanghai Charity Foundation to help Earthquake Victims.

The NBA has not forgotten the United States of America. According to the NBA Care Webpage, the Indiana Pacers and the Indiana Fever made a generous donation of 70,000 US Dollars to the American Red Cross in the form of clothing around the end of July 2008. In June 2008, the Indiana Pacers donated 50,000 US Dollars in relief for victims of flooding in Southern Indiana. It appears that the US Mainstream Media has overlooked that Alonso Mourning [a center for the Miami Heat Basketball Team] has received the NBA Community Assist Award for July 2008 secondary to his work in supporting the various educational programmes in the Miami Area. In fact, Alonso Mourning has his own charitable foundation which he established in 1997 which donates to youth enrichment centers including one that exists in the area of Miami, Florida called Overtown.

While the NBA has problems, all organizations have problems and will be judged based on the behaviour of the few. Regardless, the NBA is not just about basketball. The NBA is also an organization that has helped people in the world and inside the United States of America. The NBA is also a symbol of how sports [instead of politics] have helped people. If people were to report on this image, maybe other changes could occur within the NBA.

REFERENCE:
Xinhua; CRI English: “NBA Cares for Indonesian Orphans”
http://english.cri.cn/2886/2008/08/26/53s399022.htm

Xinhua: “NBA Players Visit Hospital, Donate to Earthquake Victims”
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-08/04/content_8955406.htm

NBA: “Pacers make an “assist” to the American Red Cross”
http://www.nba.com/pacers/news/american_red_cross080731.html

NBA: “Mourning Receives Community Assist Award for July
http://www.nba.com/news/july_assist_080814.html