NBPA Rumors
Nunn recently partnered with the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) to give a grant to the Dovetail Project, a nonprofit that helps men in the Chicago area who are single parents. Nunn donated $5,000 to the organization (which the NBPA matched) and serves as a mentor for other single fathers. “I just wanted to tap into some things that I can relate to, honestly,” Nunn said. “First thing that came to mind was how I was raised by my dad.”
Many things come to Kendrick Nunn’s mind when he hears the stereotypes that African American men are often absent fathers. The Miami Heat guard has the perspective of someone who was raised by a single Black father in Chicago and currently has full custody of his own young son. “When I hear things like that … I honestly just think they haven’t been exposed to the good Black fathers out there that are actually taking care of responsibilities and taking care of their children,” Nunn told The Undefeated. “There are single Black fathers out there like that. And actually, the first thing that comes to mind is my dad. “There are single fathers out there that’s doing good things.”
“I wouldn’t say (my passion has been) taken away, that’s probably a little bit too strong,” VanVleet said on Saturday. “But there’s certainly ups and downs to this thing more than I’ve ever experienced in my life. To be honest, this is probably the most unpure year of basketball I’ve ever been a part of, just from the whole league and rushing the season back. “It’s pretty much all about business this year on every level and it’s hard to hide it, you know what I’m saying? The NBA is a great balance of like the pure love and joy of one of the best sports in the world mixed with a billion-dollar industry, and I think this year the industry side has taken precedence over some of the love and the joy.”
“I can sit up here and complain about the NBA all I want to, but I’m a part of it, you know what I’m saying?” VanVleet said. “I’m directly profiting off of it. We did vote on what season we wanted. “But I can point out that this is what it is, and (these are the) the pros and cons that come with that. It’s very conflicting but not so much (because) of my craft, because I just go out there and that’s the way I play and that’s the way I approach every day. I’m (going to) take whatever consequences come with that because this is what I signed up for. But there’s certainly a lot of information that plays a role in all of these things that we’re seeing with our eyes. It’s not as simple as it looks all the time.”
Diamond Leung: Michele Roberts at Duke Sports Law Symposium on college sports as a multi-billion industry: “It makes me literally ill to be cognizant of the fact that the athletes that generate all of this revenue are supposed to be happy that they are given a scholarship. Are you kidding me?”
Jeff Zillgitt: The NBA/NBPA Social Justice Coalition today announced that James Cadogan has been appointed its first executive director, per league. Cadogan comes from Arnold Ventures, a national philanthropy, where he was a VP overseeing a $90 million grant portfolio on criminal justice reform
