NBA Scores Big On Diversity
The National Basketball Association continues to set the sports industry’s standard for racial and gender diversity.
The NBA again earned the best grades among men’s professional sports leagues in the 2010 NBA Racial and Gender Report Card, released Thursday by the nation’s foremost expert in diversity in sport — the University of Central Florida’s Richard Lapchick. The NBA has topped the list for two decades.
The NBA received an A for race hiring practices, and an A- for gender hiring practices for a combined A. The NBA earned its highest grade ever for gender.
Richard Lapchick, the director of The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at the University of Central Florida, and primary author of the report, noted that “As he has since becoming the NBA Commissioner in 1984, David Stern has taken the lead on diversity issues in sport.”
“In the NBA League Office, 36 percent of the professional positions are held by people of color, while women held 44 percent of the professional positions,” Lapchick added. “Both are higher than any other men’s professional league in any previous Report Card.”
A pioneer for racial equality known as the “social conscience for sport,” Lapchick produces annual reports evaluating how well professional and college sports advance racial and gender diversity. As the director of UCF’s DeVos Sport Business Management program, Lapchick launched the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport, which publishes annual Racial and Gender Report Cards for professional and college sports.
Lapchick co-authored the NBA report with DeVos program students Christopher Kaiser, Christina Russell, and Natalie Welch.
To read the full report, click here.
Richard Lapchick, director of TIDES and primary author of the report, noted that “NBA Commissioner David Stern has taken the lead on diversity issues in sport and has done so for decades. He sets the standard in the League Office where 35 percent of the professional positions are held by people of color. This is the highest percentage in the NBA’s history and the highest in the history of any professional sport. In addition, women held 43 percent of the professional positions in the NBA League Office, higher than any other men’s professional league in any previous Report Card.”
Media Contact: Jessica Bartter jbartter@bus.ucf.edu, 407â€Â823â€Â4884
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