NYT: "N.B.A. Lends Its Name and Its Stars to Campaign Against Gun Violence"

The article from the New York Times indicates that the National Basketball Association is partnering with Bloomberg's misbegotten "Everytown for Gun Safety" lobby, and "putting the weight of its multibillion-dollar brand and the prestige of its star athletes behind a series of television commercials calling for an end to gun violence." The article continues:

The N.B.A.’s involvement suggests that a bloody year of gun deaths — in highly publicized mass shootings and countless smaller-scale incidents — may be spurring even some generally risk-averse, mainstream institutions to action.

Players who appear in the first 30-second ad, which will run five times on Friday, speak in personal terms about the effects of gun violence on their lives. ...

The N.B.A. said it held little internal debate about working with Mr. Bloomberg’s group. “We know far too many people who have been caught up in gun violence in this country,” said Kathleen Behrens, the league’s president of social responsibility and player programs. “And we can do something about it.”

The deal was brokered by Spike Lee, who pitched it to John Skipper, the president of ESPN, who then took it to Adam Silver, the NBA commissioner. Apparently it was done without consulting team owners or executives.

So, a government sanctioned monopoly has decided to involve itself into a domestic political movement intended to leave the Middle-Class helpless before criminals and the government (although perhaps I repeat myself). The proper response would be legislation to remove its monopoly status--something on which it depends for its profits--followed by anti-trust prosecution. Or boycott the NBA. Or both.