Car Thoughts: Taking a Position

4th edition of Car Thoughts. As the name suggest, these are brief thoughts I have on a car ride.

Today’s thought: Taking a position is better than trying to have it both ways.

I had this thought driving to Sonoma to visit a family friend and help them make their annual batch of wine. I was listening to Michael Barbaro’s New York Times podcast, The Daily. The October 11th edition is titled Why China Went to War with the NBA. It details the history of the NBA’s business relationship with China and shines a light on the age-old debate of principle vs profit.

Two quotes from the podcast stood out to me. The first is a quote by David Stern in 2006, acknowledging the situation the NBA is operating in:

“Believe me, the China situation bothers me, but at the end of the day, I have a responsibility to my owners to make money. I can never forget that, no matter what my personal feelings might be.”

Stern’s position was clear cut; he stood on the side of his fiduciary obligation. People who stand by principle may disagree with his ideals and that’s okay. Having differing views at the same table engaged in a debate is a good thing.

Compare this to the NBA’s statement on October 6 in response to Houston Rocket’s GM Daryl Morey’s tweet:

“We recognize that the views expressed by Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey have deeply offended many of our friends and fans in China, which is regrettable. While Daryl has made it clear that his tweet does not represent the Rockets or the NBA, the values of the league support individuals educating themselves and sharing their views on matters important to them. We have great respect for the history and culture of China and hope that sports and the NBA can be used as a unifying force to bridge cultural divides and bring people together.”

The quote is 3 times as long as Stern’s quote yet the NBA didn’t take a position. The language lightly apologizes to China and sort of supports individuals to speak their minds. They try to have it both ways and the backlash is harsh. In 95 words, the NBA successfully offended all of the US and China.

I’ve never worked in public relations but my observation is they’re trained to use soft language that caters to both sides of the situation. People know political speak when they hear it and it’s not well received. I believe having opinions is a good thing; inevitably many will disagree with you but it’s better than trying to appease both sides.

To close, I want to applaud Adam Silver for what he did next. While on tour in Asia, he said the following at a press conference:

“As some of you may know, I issued a statement shortly before this press conference because I thought there was a lot of misunderstanding out there about our position. And essentially, what I’ve said in that statement is the long-held values of the N.B.A. are to support freedom of expression and certainly freedom of expression by members of the N.B.A. community.

What I also tried to suggest is I understand that there are consequences from that exercise of, in essence, his freedom of speech. And, you know, we will have to live with those consequences. It’s my hope that for our Chinese fans and our partners in China, they will see those remarks in the context of, now, a three-decade, if not longer, relationship.”

He takes a definitive position and clears the confusion and weak statements put out by the NBA earlier in the week. You can’t please everyone and I think it’s a foolish endeavor to try to do so. I believe having an opinion is a good thing and people are more likely to respect you for it than trying to have it both ways.