The NBA’s winning decision

The following editorial appeared this week in the Washington Post:

Sports figures are supposed to be role models, but too often they disappoint. Not so with the National Basketball Association and its brave decision to speak out against gun violence. In charting a new course in civic responsibility, the NBA sets a standard that we hope others follow.

In a move unprecedented in professional sports, the NBA is partnering with Everytown for Gun Safety to release a series of sobering public service announcements about the havoc caused by guns. The TV spots, with the first released on Christmas Day, were directed by Spike Lee and feature NBA stars as well as people whose lives have been affected by gun violence.

Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors recounts hearing about a 3-year-old who was shot: “My daughter Riley’s that age.” Chris Paul of the Los Angeles Clippers talks about advice from his parents: “A bullet doesn’t have a name on it.” Richard Martinez, whose son was killed by a de- ranged shooter, says, “We’re Americans. We don’t have to live like this.” And the chant from several people: “In the U.S., 88 people die from gun violence every day.”

The words “gun control” don’t appear in the ads, but the decision to team up with a group founded by ex-New York mayor and staunch gun lobby foe Michael Bloomberg sends an unmistakable and important message about the need for action.

NBA official Kathleen Behrens said there was little internal debate about working with the group because “we know far too many people who have been caught up in gun violence in this country. And we can do something about it.” Similar sentiment prompted Abe Pollin to change the name of Washington’s NBA team from the Bullets to the Wizards in the 1990s.

The NBA’s decision follows an alarming number of mass shootings and other gun incidents, and the Times speculated that it might spur other “generally risk-averse, mainstream institutions” to action. Let’s hope Congress is one of them.