Reporter asks Boston Celtics coach race-baiting question, Joe Mazzulla shuts him down with one sentence about Christianity



A sports reporter asked a loaded, race-baiting question to Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazulla during a Saturday press conference ahead of Game 2 of the NBA Finals. However, Mazzulla didn't take the bait and shut down the reporter with one sentence about Christianity.

Mazzulla is squaring off Dallas Mavericks' head coach Jason Kidd – both of whom are biracial with white mothers and black fathers.

Vincent Goodwin, a senior reporter for Yahoo Sports, asked, "For the first time since 1975 this is the NBA Finals where you have two black coaches. Given the plight, sometimes, of black head coaches in the NBA, do you think this is a significant moment, do you take pride in this, how do you view this, or do you not see this at all?"

Mazzulla immediately fired back, "I wonder how many of those have been Christian coaches?"

The one-sentence response completely shut down Goodwin and the room went completely silent until another reporter was tapped to ask the next question for the Celtics' coach.

You can watch the exchange here.

After the video clip went viral on social media, Goodwin doubled down and wrote a 1,600-word rebuttal to being shut down by Mazzulla.

In the article titled "Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla's unwillingness to discuss race a complicated issue," Goodwin argued: "Race is one of the defining issues in this country, and it's not easy to talk about, but when one avoids it, it adds fuel to an already complicated fire."

The reporter described Mazzulla's answer to his race-baiting question about a basketball game to be "awkward" and "just an abrupt stop."

He compared Mazzulla's response to that of Orlando Magic star Jonathan Isaac, who Goodwill accused him of using "religion as a shield against the discussion of police brutality on black folks."

Goodwill admitted that NBA players are "overwhelmingly black."

Goodwill attempted to defend his racial question by bringing up discrimination that Celtics legend Bill Russell experienced in Boston some 60 years ago.

The reporter claimed, "Colorblindness is impossible."

Goodwill concluded his article with a hypothetical scenario of Mazzulla being pulled over by police.

"But if he’s pulled over in Boston, the police will see his last name on his license, but before they find out anything else about him, they’ll see a black man first," he wrote.

"My faith is just as important as my race, if not more important."

Mazzulla discussed his faith and race in a 2022 interview with Andscape – a self-described "black-led media platform dedicated to creating, highlighting, and uplifting the diverse stories of black identity."

Mazzulla was asked about his thoughts about there being a record 16 black NBA coaches from the perspective of him being half black and half Italian, and he responded:

It’s one part and it’s not the whole me. So, my identity and who I am as a person is important and knowing who I am is important. And I think being a part of that is important for society. It’s important for the league. It’s important for the players. It’s important for people to understand that it doesn’t matter what you look like or where you come from, you can get to where you want to go. That fundamental principle is extremely important. And so, being a part of that is huge. But I don’t want to be just defined by that. That’s also important to me.

My faith is just as important as my race, if not more important. But I understand that in order to reach different people, you have to be your whole self and you can’t put yourself in a box. And so, I want to be able to reach Black people, Christians, non-Christian. Whoever it is, I want to be able to be an opportunity for that person.

According to the National Catholic Reporter, Mazzulla is a devout Catholic and Kidd is the son of an Irish Catholic, and both are graduates of Catholic school.

Mazzulla has spoken about his faith multiple times with the press, including two iconic moments.

In a postgame press conference in December 2022, a reporter asked about meeting the "royal family" of Prince William and Kate Middleton – who attended a Celtics game.

Mazzulla acutely replied, "Jesus, Mary and Joseph? I'm only familiar with one royal family."

During the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals, Mazzulla was questioned about the pressures of coaching in the high-stress playoffs.

He explained that he balanced his life by visiting three females under the age of 21 dealing with terminal cancer.

"And I thought I was helping them by talking to them and they were helping me. So having an understanding about what life is really all about and watching a girl die and smiling and enjoying her life, that's what it's really all about and having that faith," Mazzulla said. "The other thing is you always hear people give glory to God and say thank you when they're holding a trophy. But you never really hear it in times like this. So for me, it's an opportunity to just sit right where I'm at and just be faithful. That's what it's about."

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Greg Couch: Giannis Antetokounmpo slaps LeBron James' legacy down a notch by winning a title the Michael Jordan way



No South Beach. No Hollywood. No Dwyane Wade or Chris Bosh. No Kyrie Irving or Kevin Love or Anthony Davis.

No Space Jam. No corporate social justice. No super team. No, not even Bugs Bunny.

We had come to accept that there was just one way to win an NBA championship. Hijacking it. There was just one model and it had nothing to do with having your feet on the ground. The message was that the mountaintop was a playground for the rich and privileged, and not, well, for you and me.

Now we have Giannis Antetokounmpo, new NBA champion. It doesn't take a cartoon superhero after all.

It doesn't take LeBron James.

Giannis did what LeBron could never do. As a result, Giannis built his own legacy while knocking down LeBron's.

How perfect, too, that he did it with the little Milwaukee Bucks, a town known only for German beer, white picket fences or, if you're old enough, "Laverne & Shirley" ("Schlemiel schlimazel?'' Don't ask).

Giannis and the Bucks won the NBA championship Tuesday night, beating the Phoenix Suns 105-98 to take the series 4-2 and pull the football away from Chris "Charlie Brown" Paul one more heartbreaking time.

It is 16 years and running now that Paul has not won the NBA championship. Everyone had already anointed him a little over a week ago when the Suns had taken a 2-0 series lead. The injuries and bad luck had piled up on the point guard for so long, and he had waited patiently and with class, that many of us rooted for him. He was finally going to get his championship.

The whole series was becoming a referendum on him. It turned into something else Tuesday night.

It turned into a referendum on bootstrapping and patience, on staying in place to get the job done.

It also became a referendum on James, who had to cut and run to win a championship. Giannis is the anti-James. He was picked 15th in the draft eight years ago after having grown up in a family without expectation, wondering where his next meal might come from ("My mom was selling stuff in the street,'' he said). He didn't have enough muscle and was a project.

And he developed, and won two MVP awards, with LeBron openly unhappy about the second one, not understanding why the MVP debate left his control.

Giannis easily could have Lebroned to a big and glitzy city, premade to win a championship. Instead he signed the supermax deal to stay for the fight in a small market while he continued to improve himself and the Bucks built slowly around him.

"I couldn't leave,'' he told reporters after the game Tuesday. "There was a job that had to be finished. Coming back, I said, 'This was my city; they trust me; they believe in me; they believe in us.' Even when we lose, the city was still on our side and obviously I wanted to get the job done.

"It is easy to go somewhere and win a championship with somebody else. It's easy. I could go to a super team, do my part and win a championship. But I did it the hard way.''

Named the series MVP, Giannis scored 50 points in the clinching game, and even fixed his one negative: free throw shooting, making 17 of 19. And really it was his defense and blocked shots, including five last night, that made for the greatest WOWs throughout the series.

Today, you'll hear the praise for Giannis for staying in Milwaukee and the nobility of sticking by a team and a process. It will be couched as a praise for Giannis, when it's actually putting down the opposite.

It puts down LeBron. If LeBron didn't create the super team, he certainly made it popular. If LeBron had stuck with Cleveland in the first place, stuck by the fans and ownership and process to win a championship, then he would have a moment like Giannis is having now.

He perfected the cut-and-run approach, an approach that says, "There is a hard job to do here, so I think I'll go over there, gather a bunch of superstars and buy a championship.''

It's not really that villainous. LeBron is still amazing. He still put in the work to make himself one of the greatest players of all time.

We tend to measure legacies in championships, though, and Giannis made us realize that all championships aren't created equal. Instead of just counting championships, we should look, too, at how they are won.

This was supposed to be Brooklyn's year, or maybe LeBron's again. And look how Brooklyn did it: James Harden sabotaged his team in Houston, not bothering to get in shape and even trying to make his team lose. He made himself so intolerable and insufferable that he forced a trade to the Nets where he could be on a super team with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.

That doesn't quite have the Giannis ring to it. The Bucks built around Giannis slowly, bringing in Khris Middleton, a former second-round pick, as a complement, and then making the trade for Jrue Holiday. They built a foundation first and then built on top of it.

Meanwhile, we saw LeBron at Game 5 sitting in the stands, clearly recruiting Paul for next year's version of the super team Lakers.

Let's never hear the comparison between LeBron and Michael Jordan ever again. As a self-built superhero made it clear Tuesday night when he was crowned, you can reach the mountaintop without the glitz and without stacking the deck.

Giannis did it the hard way.

Greg Couch: Chris Paul can’t lose tonight, even if his Phoenix Suns fall to the Milwaukee Bucks



In one week, Chris Paul has gone from the anointed one to a tragic charity case with his legacy on the line. ESPN basketball savant Stephen A. Smith called it "sad" and underscored his point by making a long, pensive face.

Boo-hoo.

Look: After blowing a 2-0 series lead, Paul and the Phoenix Suns face NBA Finals elimination tonight in their best-of-seven series with the Milwaukee Bucks. If the Bucks win, then Paul will reach his 16th straight year without a championship. The reaction from an adoring media is already funeral-like. That just means they don't really know what a champion is and that they never believed in the first place that Paul is among the all-time great point guards.

Are we really supposed to feel sorry for him now? Are we really at the tragedy phase? This is the moment for Paul. This is it. No one has the right to a championship. It is not a lifetime achievement award. You actually have to take it. You have to be at your best at the hardest possible times. Paul has the chance to prove himself now.

These NBA Finals have been a referendum on Paul. At least, they have been since we got past the episode of Real Housewives of ESPN starring Rachel Nichols and Maria Taylor: Two strong women squabble for power, turf, and a bigger contract.

We talk about Paul's legacy as if his years as a star will never have happened without a championship on top. The truth is that we think too much about legacies. You play to win a championship, not to win history. And while sports writers seem to think it'll be tragic for Paul to lose tonight, he actually has a safety net. You saw it in Game 5, sitting courtside.

LeBron James. A blatant attempt to try to get his good friend Paul to join him with the Lakers next year. He looked like a college coach sitting in the stands admiring a star high school player.

"I'm proud as hell for CP," James told ESPN. "I'm here for CP. He came to my first Finals appearance, and this is me giving it back to him. We support each other. We've been a brotherhood since we came into the league."

So Paul has two NBA championships just sitting there waiting for him to take. This year's with Phoenix and next year's with LeBron.

In a world of concocted superteams, all titles are not created equal. Paul's possible titles come with different meanings and values. They tell separate stories about Paul and leave opposite legacies.

How would you feel if Paul joined the Lakers to win a title? I would not blame him one bit.

Paul was supposed to have been traded years ago to the Los Angeles Lakers, where he would've set up shop with Kobe Bryant. It's true that Paul would have won championships with Kobe had NBA commissioner David Stern not canceled the trade when other team owners complained that the Lakers would be too good.

The fear was that the Lakers would also get Dwight Howard and form a superteam.

It seems so unfair now, as the league is built on superteams, with star players recruiting other ones. It comes across as different, contrived, fake. You think of the legends as being around while a team grows around them. It seems more natural that way. A champion seems more invested that way, rather than joining someone else's party.

I'm not sure that matters any more. Paul is already playing for his fifth team. He goes down as the first superstar journeyman. He won't be the last.

He is 36 years old, and this is probably his last real shot to win a title on what will be seen as his team. Winning one on LeBron's team is not the ideal, but when you've played a long career with less than the competition, it's only natural to want to see what would happen if you changed sides.

Paul hasn't chased the superteam for 16 years, instead working tirelessly, patiently, with class and drive. He brought this Phoenix team together. Still, in his career he has lost three series after taking a 2-0 lead.

There have always been reasons. At some point, you do have to prove it. Paul was excellent in Games 1 and 2 of this series, then had an inexplicable turnover late in Game 4 and a crushing mistake with a foul in the final seconds of Game 5.

Paul's wrist hurts; he wears a compression sleeve on his leg, maybe something with his hamstring. Those aren't temporary excuses. That's called being 36, with 16 years running NBA offenses on your body.

He still has something to prove.

If you want to feel sorry for him, please don't. Give the man the respect to let his legacy live or die based on his fight. If he never wins a title, then he can go down as Patrick Ewing or Charles Barkley. There is nothing wrong with that.

No pity here. No charity case.

This is Paul's chance to figure it out. That's what champions do.

Fearless: Monty Williams and Chris Paul are why believers in Christ should watch the NBA Finals



You should be watching the NBA Finals.

Phoenix Suns head coach Monty Williams is a disciple of Jesus Christ. Phoenix's most important player, point guard Chris Paul, is a believer as well.

The NBA has let us down. Its full-on embrace of the Marxist-fueled Black Lives Matter movement in the aftermath of George Floyd's death soured my passion for professional basketball. I skipped last year's playoffs and never watched a full regular-season game this season.

I watched the first round of this year's playoffs solely because I wanted to see LeBron James lose. Once that happened, I started watching all of the games.

These playoffs have been joyful and super exciting. For the most part, the TV commercials don't annoy me.

But the real reason to watch is that God placed a messenger inside the NBA's secular madness. Monty Williams might be the most important man in sports. The 49-year-old former Notre Dame and NBA player is the leader and example America needs.

Last night, Monty's squad took a commanding 2-0 lead in its best-of-seven series against the Milwaukee Bucks. The Suns are just two victories away from giving Phoenix its first NBA title and expanding Williams' platform to expound on the power of Jesus' gospel.

Do you know the Monty Williams story? It belongs in a new Bible.

Five years ago, a 52-year-old white woman high on meth drove her car head-first into the car driven by Williams' wife, Ingrid. Three of Williams' five children were also in the car. The white woman died at the scene of the accident. Ingrid Williams died a day later. Williams' children survived.

A week later, Monty Williams stood at his wife's funeral and delivered the most amazing seven-minute eulogy and testimony I've ever heard. He started with scripture.

Psalms 113:1, "Behold how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity."

Psalms 73:1, "God is good."

John 4:16, "God is love."

He then shared the story of the doctor who told him, as an 18-year-old freshman at Notre Dame, that if he continued to play basketball, he would die because of a heart condition. His wife, then his girlfriend, Ingrid, told him, "Jesus can heal your heart."

Williams played in the NBA for a decade.

He closed his wife's funeral by asking his family and friends to pray for the family of the driver who killed his wife.

"Now, I'm gonna close with this, and I think it's the most important thing that we need to understand," Williams began. "Everybody's praying for me and my family, which is right. But let us not forget that there were two people in this situation. And that family needs prayer as well. And we have no ill will toward that family.

"In my house, we have a sign that says, 'As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.' We cannot serve the Lord if we don't have a heart of forgiveness.

"That family didn't wake up wanting to hurt my wife. Life is hard. It is very hard. And that was tough, but we hold no ill will toward the Donaldson family, and we as a group, brothers united in unity, should be praying for that family, because they grieve as well. So let's not lose sight of what's important.

"God will work this out. My wife is in heaven. God loves us. God is love. And when we walk away from this place today, let's celebrate because my wife is where we all need to be. And I'm envious of that."

You should be watching the NBA Finals. You should be telling your children the story of Monty Williams. There are still great lessons we can learn from sports. There are still role models in the world of sports. Sports still have the power to unify us. Sports can still show us the way.

When the Suns won the Western Conference Finals two weeks ago, Williams explained to an ESPN interviewer the foundation of his success as a coach.

"I expressed from the time I got the job in Phoenix and to every new player that comes to our program, the essence of my coaching is to serve," Williams said. "As a believer in Christ, that's what I'm here for. And I tell them all the time, if I get on you, I'm not calling you out, I'm calling you up."

It's not just Williams. The same night, Phoenix star Chris Paul shared with ESPN that he's written the title of a gospel song on his shoe for the past year. It's a song by the group Mary Mary. It's called "Can't Give Up Now."

This Phoenix team is special. It's not a coincidence that they're playing the Bucks in the Finals. Milwaukee is the team that walked out of a game last year and shut down the "bubble" in protest of the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

The players on the Bucks are not bad guys. They're young, emotional, and obsessed with social media. They're no different from most young people. They're not based in a higher understanding of the world.

They don't have someone like Monty Williams showing them the light and the way.

Maybe the Bucks will climb out of this 0-2 hole and win the NBA title. Who knows? I can't predict the future. But I'm going to enjoy these games, pray that Williams and Paul win it all, and hope that their message is shared and understood.

You should join me.

NBA Finals ratings nose-dive, officially become least-watched on record



Apparently a fan-less "bubble" court with "Black Lives Matter" painted on it was not a recipe for success for NBA ratings this year.

What are the details?

According to Nielsen viewership ratings, the NBA Finals averaged just 7.45 million viewers over the course of six games this year, easily making it the least-watched Finals on record, Outkick reported Tuesday.

That's with the series featuring the league's biggest star, LeBron James, continuing his quest for six championships (to tie Michael Jordan) and playing with one of the league's premiere franchises, the Los Angeles Lakers.

Yet as the Lakers capped off the series against the Miami Heat on Sunday, only 8.29 million people watched. For context, that was only slightly more than half the number of people who watched NBC's Sunday Night Football game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Minnesota Vikings. The regular season football game earned 15.1 million viewers.

For even more context, the NBA Finals average of 7.45 million viewers dropped more than 50% from last year's Finals average of 15.14 million viewers and even paled in comparison to the new runner-up for least-watched Finals, which averaged 9.29 million viewers. According to OutKick, that was in 2007, when the San Antonio Spurs swept the LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers.

On Monday, President Trump mocked the ratings drop on Twitter, saying, "Maybe they were watching in China, but I doubt it. Zero interest!"

Viewership for NBA Finals Finale Crash Nearly 70%, Beaten by Random Sunday Night Football Game… https://t.co/X1v1hqFUk6
— Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump)1602533659.0

What else?

The Finals continued the trend of low viewership that plagued the league during the entirety of this year's playoffs. News broke in September that playoff ratings were down 20% from the previous year, while a subsequent poll found that 38% of fans weren't watching due to the league becoming "too political."

In the aftermath of George Floyd's death in late May, the league and players' union agreed to paint "Black Lives Matter" on the courts and allow racial justice messages to be displayed on the back of players' jerseys.

Though there are likely a variety of reasons for the ratings drop besides the political messaging, such as the off-season schedule and the lack of fans, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver acknowledged last week that politics was likely at least part of the reason.

"I understand those people who are saying 'I'm on your side, but I want to watch a basketball game,'" Silver said in announcing that the messages on courts and on jerseys will likely be pulled next year.

"My sense is there'll be somewhat a return to normalcy — that those messages will largely be left to be delivered off the floor," he said.

Thousands of fans ignore COVID rules to converge at LA Staples Center following Lakers' championship win; many target cops during chaos



A massive horde of NBA fans took to the streets of Los Angeles after the Los Angeles Lakers won the NBA title. The Lakers won 106-93 over the Miami Heat in Game 6 of the finals on Sunday night.

What are the details?

KABC-TV reported that thousands of people showed up on Figueroa Street outside Los Angeles' Staples Center, and some of them targeted police officers and their cruisers as officers were forced to declare the scene an unlawful assembly.

Days ahead of the Lakers' win, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti directed citizens to stay off of the streets due to COVID-19 restrictions.

On Friday, Garcetti said that NBA fans should not congregate on the streets during or after the game — which took place at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex near Orlando, Florida — either to celebrate a win or lament a loss.

"I encourage you to yell at the top of your lungs inside your homes, maybe even open up the window or step outside your door as we've done for our first responders and essential medical workers to thank them," Garcetti said. "Let's thank the Lakers when they win, but let's do it safe."

Garcetti also warned that disregarding his advice could sabotage "all the progress we have made in our fight against COVID-19."

"LAPD went into tactical alert and declared the gathering an unlawful assembly," KABC reported. "Cars were seen performing 'donuts' and 'burnouts,' some cars were swarmed by fans in the streets."

The report continued, "Multiple fireworks were set off and there were isolated reports of small groups throwing rocks and bottles at police."

The station noted that local police and California Highway Patrol officers shut down ramps leading to the downtown area during the melee.

Bleacher Report on Monday noted that many of the fans "began throwing beer bottles and other 'projectiles' at uniformed police officers that swarmed the area."

"The few isolated incidents soon grew to a large mob of sports fans which soon made their way down the streets of Los Angeles turning over police cars and breaking into local businesses," the outlet reported. "Some innocent bystanders became injured in the incident as the hoard [sic] came rushing down the streets."

The outlet added that police arrived on the scene en masse "with riot gear and shots of tear gas which were thrown into the mass of hysterical fans."

The Daily Mail also reported that "witnesses told the Los Angeles Times that officers also fired 'beanbag rounds' at one point, which sent some people running."

Lakers fans trashing police cars https://t.co/Koi9Rk5jvr
— NBA Central (@NBA Central)1602473794.0

(H/T: The Daily Wire)

The Evidence Is Coming In, And It Looks Like LeBron James Destroyed The NBA

James has been at the forefront of the NBA’s advocacy for social justice

'You are so full of s**t': Mark Cuban lashes out at Ted Cruz in fiery online feud over low NBA ratings



Billionaire investor Mark Cuban lashed out at Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) after he criticized the politicization of the NBA and the failed ratings that followed.

Cruz mocked the NBA after ratings for the Finals registered a historical low at the end of an overtly politicized season.

"Not surprising. Personally speaking, this is the first time in years that I haven't watched a single game in the NBA Finals. #GoWokeGoBroke," Cruz tweeted on Tuesday.

Cuban took exception as the owner of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team.

"A US Senator with 3 @NBA teams in his state, employing thousands of people and he is rooting for their businesses to do poorly," tweeted Cuban.

A US Senator with 3 @NBA teams in his state, employing thousands of people and he is rooting for their businesses t… https://t.co/R50289kBjJ
— Mark Cuban (@Mark Cuban)1601996912.0

"This is who you are @tedcruz . Every minute of your life, this is exactly who you are," he added.

Cruz fired back at Cuban, who has a history of targeting Cruz for acidic criticism.

"I love @HoustonRockets & have rooted for them my entire life. I happily cheer for the Spurs & Mavericks against any non-TX team," tweeted Cruz.

I love @HoustonRockets & have rooted for them my entire life. I happily cheer for the Spurs & Mavericks against any… https://t.co/UQBS8fpX2E
— Ted Cruz (@Ted Cruz)1601997525.0

"But @mcuban the NBA is engaged in a concerted effort to (1) insult their fans & (2) turn every game into a left-wing political lecture," he added. "That's dumb."

Cuban tossed out an expletive in his insulting retort.

"You are so full of s**t. You haven't watched a game of the finals, how would you know what is being said or done? Since when is a desire to end racism an insult to anyone or political? And you don't think using #GetWokeGoBroke is a partisan insult? Again, this is who you are," Cuban tweeted.

Cruz replied with a reminder that Cuban could not bring himself to criticize the communist Chinese government, which partners with the NBA to grow their profits, even as he pushed for social justice causes.

"I wish @mcuban loved his fans as much as he loves Chinese money," tweeted Cruz.

Shame on me for putting American Civil Rights and Justice, creating jobs, growing our economy and healthcare reform… https://t.co/GSKF2qOAPm
— Mark Cuban (@Mark Cuban)1602000245.0

"Shame on me for putting American Civil Rights and Justice, creating jobs, growing our economy and healthcare reform over twitter proclamations," replied Cuban.

The NBA Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Miami Heat resumes on Tuesday evening with the Lakers ahead in the series, 2 games to 1.

Here's more about Cruz slamming Cuban over Chinese influence:

Sen. Ted Cruz Says NBA Ain't 'Woke' Until League Stands Up to China | TMZ Sportswww.youtube.com

NBA Finals Game 1 ratings plunge to the lowest viewership in history



Game 1 of the NBA Finals experienced its lowest ratings since records were kept. Ratings for the first game of the NBA Finals plunged nearly 50% since last year.

The 2020 NBA Finals features the illustrious Los Angeles Lakers, one of the most beloved and hated franchises in the association, with a star-studded roster boasting LeBron James and Anthony Davis going head-to-head against the Cinderella story Miami Heat.

Despite the intriguing matchup, many sports fans were not interested in watching Game 1 of the Finals on Wednesday. Game 2 is at 9 p.m. ET Friday night.

Game 1 averaged a lowly 4.1 rating and 7.41 million viewers on ABC, "comfortably the lowest rated and least-watched NBA Finals game on record (dates back to 1988)," according to Sports Media Watch. For comparison, Fox's reality TV singing competition "The Masked Singer" pulled in 6.932 million viewers on Wednesday night.

The previous all-time low came in Game 2 of the 2003 NBA Finals between the New Jersey Nets and the San Antonio Spurs with a 5.2 rating and 8.06 million viewers.

Game 1 of the 2020 NBA Finals plummeted 48% in the ratings from last year's Game 1 between the Golden State Warriors and the Toronto Raptors, and down an abysmal 59% from 2018's Finals opener featuring the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors.

The NBA Western Conference Finals between the Lakers and Denver Nuggets plummeted 41% from a "comparable outing between the Golden State Warriors and Portland Trail Blazers in 2019."

Last week's Eastern Conference Finals between the Heat and Boston Celtics averaged 4.48 million viewers, down 15% from a "comparable game between the Milwaukee Bucks and Toronto Raptors in 2019, and 44%from a Cleveland Cavaliers and Celtics showdown from 2018."

During the first week of the 2020 NBA playoffs, ESPN, ABC, and TNT averaged 1.875 million TV viewers per game, down 20% compared to 2019.

"From 2012 to 2020, broadcast NBA ratings are down 45%," according to Outkick.

The disappointing playoff ratings come at a time when the NBA has become more vocal about social justice and activism. Following the coronavirus shutdown, the NBA has enacted a policy of allowing players to select from 29 league-approved social activism messages on their jerseys such as "Black Lives Matter," "I Can't Breathe," and "Anti-Racist."

The NBA painted "Black Lives Matter" on its bubble basketball court in Orlando.

On Wednesday, Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert publicly condemned China for allegedly operating concentration camps. Gobert made the comments despite facing possible backlash from the league and fellow players, much like Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey experienced after posting one tweet in October 2019 showing support for pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong.

Americans' opinion of the sports industry has declined sharply in the past year, according to a Gallup poll. People who had a very or somewhat positive view of the sports industry fell 15 points in 2020.