NBA leads pro sports in diversity hiring

The National Basketball Association continues to lead the way in men’s professional sports in racial and gender hiring practices, according to a diversity report released Tuesday.

The league earned an A+ for racial hiring practices and a B for gender hiring practices, for an overall grade of an A.

That keeps the NBA “significantly above” other professional sports, according to the report’s author Richard Lapchick, the director of The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport.

“The NBA remains the industry leader among men’s sports for racial and gender hiring practices even with the increased grading scales introduced last season,” Lapchick said.

The report states that the NBA league office has the best record for people of colour in men’s professional sports at a 36.4 per cent employment rate.

The league, which was first to have three team owners who are people of colour, now has seven women who served as team presidents/CEOs during the 2017-2018 season — the highest among men’s professional sports.

The report states there are also more NBA general managers and head coaches of colour than in the past.

The general managers who are people of colour doubled from last season from 10 per cent t o 20 per cent overall, which puts the NBA well ahead of other men’s sports leagues. That’s a big positive, Lapchick said.

As for head coaches, 30 per cent of all NBA head coaches last season were people of colour.