The NBA already had a disciplinary policy in place for those involved in domestic violence cases. But in the wake of the NFL’s handling of the Ray Rice affair — called by the NBA players’ union head “one of the worst managed crisis I’ve ever seen” — commissioner Adam Silver said the league will review its procedures.
“We learn from other leagues’ experiences. We’re studying everything that’s been happening in the NFL,” Silver said Monday at an NBA Cares All-Star 2015 event that saw the dedication of a playground in an area of Staten Island devastated by Hurricane Sandy. “We’ve been talking for several weeks, and we’re going to take a fresh look at everything we do.”
What the league does not want to do is anything resembling how the NFL mishandled its problem. NBA Players Association Executive Director Michele Roberts, in her first day on the job, said the NFL badly mishandled the Rice calamity.
“All I can say is that was one of the worst managed crisis I’ve ever seen,” Roberts said. “I have to believe it was because there was no woman in the room. Much of this was predictable. And much of the response, predictably, was going to be poorly received.”
The NBA has an automatic 10-game minimum ban for those guilty of a domestic violence first offense. The league can increase the penalty for more serious cases — it’s not just an NFL problem.
“By no means am I naïve,” Silver said. “We’ve had our share of issues over the years. What we can do is focus on education. We have in place the appropriate mechanisms for discipline, but we’ll take a fresh look at them as well.”
Roberts stressed the NBA and its players’ union are more concerned with stopping domestic violence than punishing offenders.
“We do have in place, unlike the NFL, a penalty scale. To the extent it needs any tweaking, we’ll talk about tweaking it,” Roberts said. “What I hope we’re going to do as well is figure out ways to prevent any occurrence like that on our side. It’s one thing to know how to react when it happens, but it’s a lot smarter to make sure it doesn’t happen in the first instance.”
Silver said the league will study the issue from all angles and review any possible changes. Domestic violence is addressed during rookie transition sessions and the league wants to study additional ways to educate.
“We have team awareness meetings every year, we’re enhancing what we do with teams on education for players. We’re dealing directly with their spouses or partners so that there are hotlines available to them,” Silver said.
“It’s been going on, but the whole world’s focused right now on what’s happening around the NFL, so it would be foolish for us not to try to learn from everything that’s happening with that league.”
Asked if he talked to or advised embattled NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, Silver, who received universal accolades for his swift and forceful handling of the Donald Sterling scandal last spring, said he was “in no position” to advise.
Another problem circling the NBA is the Atlanta Hawks’ fiasco. Co-owner Bruce Levenson announced he would sell his controlling share following the disclosure of racist remarks made in an email two years ago. Additionally general manager Danny Ferry took a leave of absence for his remarks about Luol Deng.
“We were in the midst of an investigation when Bruce Levenson announced that he decided to sell his team, so we’ve put everything on hold,” Silver said. “Danny wisely stepped aside to remove himself as an issue.”
Roger Mason Jr., the NBA Players Association vice president, expressed confidence in the league’s handling of the Atlanta mess.
“Ultimately, you have to applaud the job Adam Silver did in the Sterling situation. And the owner of the Hawks has voluntarily decided to sell his team,” Mason said. “Obviously they were offensive comments and nobody will support those thoughts from him or Danny Ferry. It seems all parties are on top of it and a sale is imminent.”