Tag: nba

An Open Letter to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

The following open letter was published in the Times of Israel. I share it here as well

https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/an-open-letter-to-nba-commissioner-adam-silver/

Dear NBA Commissioner Adam Silver,

In light of Spike Lee’s antisemitic attire at the NBA and the NBA’s failure to follow their own Fan Code of Conduct in this incident, I am writing this open letter to you about the NBA’s failure to follow your own fan code of conduct and choice to be silent in the face of blatant Jew hatred at your 2026 NBA All Star Game.

Your league’s code of fan conduct states, “The National Basketball Association seeks to foster a safe, comfortable, and enjoyable sports and entertainment experience in which:

  • Obscene or indecent messages on signs or clothing will not be permitted.”

There are those who will make the argument that wearing the signs and symbols of Hamas are not obscene or indecent.  Your choice to allow Spike Lee to wear this at the game is a clear indication that you agree with them.  So let’s take a look at some actual examples of what you and the NBA does deem to be obscene or indecent based on your actions.

Last month, your league forced a fan to remove a shirt with a Pro-ICE message on it.

In January 2025, the Toronto Raptors forced a young fan to remove his Steph Curry Golden State Warriors Jersey after inviting him to the floor to participate in a pre-game competition.

Also in January 2025, the Dallas Mavericks removed two fans for wearing “Fire Nico” shirts and holding signs saying the same, in reference to the then General Manager of the team who had just traded star player Luka Doncic.

In 2018, a Philadelphia 76ers fan was stopped from entering the arena because of her attire.  She was wearing fishnet stockings, a leotard and a leather jacket.

In 2021, the Knicks removed a fan for wearing a “Ban Dolan’ shirt (referring to the owner of the team, James Dolan).

Yet wearing clothing and pins that glorify the massacre of 1,200 Israelis, the kidnapping of 252 people and them being held hostage, the rape of women, some repeatedly for more than 400-500 days, the murder of children and the elderly while the league ‘celebrates’ the first Israeli player in their all star game is totally acceptable.  No consequences for Spike Lee.  He wasn’t removed, he wasn’t asked to change his clothes.

Even worse, after the outrage from NBA fans and members of the Jewish community, you and your league continue to remain silent.  No statement issued.  No mea culpa.  No apology to Deni Advija, the Israeli NBA all star.

Even Spike Lee, with his long history of Jew hatred and antisemitism, realized he went too far because of the public outrage.  While his clarification isn’t really an apology or believable, he (or his publicist) knew he couldn’t stay silent.  To think that an NBA superfan, which Mr. Lee is, wouldn’t know Advija is Israeli, especially with the PR about him being the 1st Israeli NBA all-star and knowing that Mr. Lee attended a NY Knicks game against Advija’s Trailblazers is beyond the pale.  Yet he still had to make some statement, no matter how unbelievable it is.

Yet you and the NBA remain silent.  Perhaps you think we will forget.  Perhaps you think the game is so good that people won’t walk away.  I have bad news for you.  I’ve been an NBA fan since 1975.  I have followed the 76ers since that Dr. J, George McGinnis, and Darryl Dawkins team.  I grew up imitating the voice of Sixers PA announcer Dave Zinkoff.  I watched the tape delayed coverage of the 1977 NBA finals against the Trailblazers (yes, the NBA was so popular then that the finals were on tape delay).  I loved shouting out, “Julius Errrrrrrrrrrrving’ and still sing the classic 76ers theme song from the 70s and 80s.  Acquiring Moses Malone and winning the NBA championship is a signature moment in my fandom and Charles Barkley remains one of my all-time favorite athletes.  Allen Iverson was a can’t miss player. I ‘trusted the process’ and the horrible years of tanking.  I had season tickets to the then Washington Bullets when I lived in the DC area just to go to NBA games and now that I live in Orlando, attend Magic games including the playoffs against the hated Celtics last season.

No longer.  The NBA has showed me your true colors.  You have showed me what you really value.  You stand up for every minority except the Jews.  Despite having a Jewish commissioner.  Despite many Jewish owners.  And despite the first Israeli NBA All Star.

I am no longer an NBA fan.  I will no longer go to games, buy merchandise, or watch games on TV.  The NBA is Dead to Me.

There is a chance that perhaps the NBA isn’t dead to me and just on life support.  The ball is in your and the NBA’s court.  Do you stand for freedom or for hatred?  Do you stand for murderers, kidnappers, and racists or do you stand for those who value life?  Do you even care about your own players?

I look forward to your response.  I look forward to seeing the NBA’s response.  I look forward to seeing a response from the NBA Players Association.

Spike Lee and the death of the NBA

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

This weekend was the NBA all star game. I grew up as a fan of the NBA watching Dr. J and the Philadelphia 76ers. Then came Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. As a Sixers fan, I hated them and loved their game. The Bad Boy Pistons. The Jordan Bulls. Some incredible teams and fun to watch.

Over the past two decades, the NBA stopped being about basketball and became about individual player talent. Other than following the Sixers, I’ve mostly lost interest in the NBA as the style of basketball doesn’t really interest me. I’d rather watch college basketball or the WNBA where the style is more to my liking.

The NBA all star game has become something that I have no interest in. They play no defense. The stars don’t engage in the dunk contest. The 3 point shooting contest is fun to watch but I’ll see the highlights instead. This year was no different. I wasn’t going to watch any of it and saw the highlights of Damion Lillaird winning only because he is injured and can’t play but is healthy enough to shoot.

This morning, I officially ended my NBA involvment. What happened? A racist and bigoted man, Spike Lee, chose to wear ‘Free Palestine’ clothing to the game and was permitted to sit courtside by the league wearing that attire. If somebody had shown up in white robes of the KKK, would the NBA have allowed them to sit courtside? I certainly hope not and don’t believe they would have. Spike Lee is an antisemite, a Jew hater. He has shown this in his films and with his statements over decades. There is no question about this. Yet the NBA allowed him to sit courtside, wearing this hateful outfit including the red triangle pin which is specifically associated with the al-Qassam Brigades, a militant wing of the terrorist organization, Hamas.

With the story coming out last week about Arbel Yehoud, an Israeli woman taken hostage by Hamas and sexually assaulted by them for almost every one of her 482 days of captivity, Spike Lee’s endorsement of Hamas and the NBAs allowing him to do so has crossed a line. It wasn’t enough when Romi Gonen, another Israeli woman taken hostage and sexually abused for most of her 471 days captivity, spoke out. The NBA is tone deaf. They chose to sit silently and allow the equivilent of a member of the KKK to sit courtside, in their white robe, for the world to see.

Spike Lee chose to be silent as tens of thousands of Iranians were murdered by the regime. He and the other Jew hating celebrities showed they don’t care about the people, they care about hating and killing Jews. By allowing him to sit courtside at the NBA all star game wearing that outfit, the NBA endorsed him.

The NBA official fan code of conduct states:

Obscene or indecent messages on signs or clothing will not be permitted.

It is clear that supporting Hamas, who kidnapped and raped women, who held hostages, who murdered innocent women and children with glee, and who uses their own civilians as human shields, clearly is not considered obscent or indecent by the NBA.

You can disagree with the actions of the Israeli government, Bibi Netanyahu, and grieve for the innocent people killed in the war that Hamas started. You can want there to peace and an end to hostilities. However supporting Hamas, a terrorist organization who attacked innocent people on October 7th, murdering more than 1,200 civilians, taking hostage 252 more, recording themselves celebrating the murder and raping of Jews, goes well beyond this. As a result of their choice, I find the NBA obscene and indecent. They are now in the same group as Spike Lee, Roger Waters, Mark Ruffalo, Mel Gibson, Susan Sarandan, Cynthia Nixon, John Cusak, and more who have publicly declared their Jew hatred. I don’t support any of them and won’t support the NBA any longer either. No more attending games, watching games on TV, buying any their jerseys or other items. They made their position clear. I am making mine clear as well.

As the world continues to enable and give a platform to the Jew haters who want us all dead, it’s beyond time to take a stand. The NBA understand money. They won’t get any more of mine. I hope Adam Silver is happy with the decision of his league. I hoped for better. That was my mistake. Let’s see if he speaks out or hides. I’m betting on him hiding. Goodbye NBA – I won’t miss you.