NBA Teams Discuss Boycott in Response to Shooting
On Sunday, Jacob Blake was caught on video being shot seven times in the back by police in Kenosha, Wisc. The days since have brought plenty of backlash from around the world and further fueled the fight to end racial injustice.
NBA players have discussed their own response. And while the league has conducted the continuation of its 2019-20 season since last month from a ‘bubble’ at Disney World’s Wide World of Sports complex, the players have reportedly talked about ways they could make a difference. The consensus thus far has been between the Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics, who are currently playing in the NBA playoffs’ conference semifinals. Reports have circled that the teams could possibly boycott the first game in their series, currently scheduled for Thursday night.
Not surprisingly, there’s been a streaming of response on social media. Current players, former players, media personalities, and plenty of fans have weighed in on social media at the possibility of a boycott.
Social Studio has provided a look into that reaction via a social listening summary. Using a keyword search of ‘boycott,’ ‘NBA,’ and ‘Raptors,’ there are 4.3 million responses. A word cloud reveals the keywords being posted along with those searched for.
The analysis reveals that 59.3 percent of those responses have a negative sentiment. Keep in mind that Social Studio does not account for such factors as slang or sarcasm, but rather paints a picture of the overall reaction.
The analysis also reveals the truly global game that basketball has become. Just 31.3 percent of posts are confirmed to be from the United States. Of the total, 45.5 percent of posts have an unknown location, which is common as many users use scrambled IP addresses if they are in countries that have banned certain social media. This could also signal more mobile users, if a high number of posters have disabled their geolocation from their posts.
Those curious as to the posts being made via Twitter can also CLICK HERE for the query.
As of this post on Wednesday afternoon, no decision has been made. But it’s clear that even talk of a boycott has drawn plenty of attention worldwide, which already has served a purpose in drawing public attention to the issue of racial injustice.
The Adam Brown Social Media Command Center will continue to monitor this and other issues and post them on this site throughout the academic year. Stay healthy and safe!