CNN employees have a reputation for being frail individuals, and sports anchor Rachel Nichols did not deviate from that pattern on Friday.
Nichols and Jim Acosta (everyone’s favorite news personality) discussed the $50,000 donation the NBA’s Orlando Magic made to Ron DeSantis’ campaign, a development the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) described as “alarming.” Predictably, the pair of progressive pundits found the Magic’s decision equally as appalling.
Nichols, who had previously covered the NBA for ESPN, said she had "never seen" a political donation like this that "was made on behalf of the team."
"And you have players and coaches and executives who have come out publicly with very different beliefs and opinions than DeSantis’ and now their names are being used in association with this donation," she added.
Nichols also said that somehow this donation violates the players contract with their teams, and implied that the NBPA was right to infer that the players had control over what teams do with their earnings.
“As the Players Association statement pointed out, it’s their labor,” Nichols said. “Money for NBA teams, the Orlando Magic’s money that they donated to Ron DeSantis, doesn’t come from a magic tree elf. It came from the work of those players on the court. And the fact that their work has been turned into a contribution for someone running for president who has come out with statements that they think directly oppose who they are as people, that is very difficult to stomach.”
Nichols missed the point here. Each NBA franchise pays its players a certain amount for the games they play, and then take home a certain portion of earnings as well. What the Magic does with its money afterwards is not for the players to decide, and one donation to a man most NBA players don’t like does not mean Orlando or the league opposes the beliefs of its players.
Regardless, Acosta agreed with Nichols’ illogical view - since of course, this is Acosta we’re talking about.
"And I have to think, it’s not just the players but the fans who get upset about this,” Acosta said. “I’m a little surprised that the league allows this sort of thing. Like you said, it doesn’t happen. So, I suppose this is maybe a bit of a test case."
Would Acosta be surprised that the league does business with China, a nation whose human rights record is as suspect as his journalistic integrity? Would he be appalled if he found out the league supports Black Lives Matter, an organization that wants to destroy families and that encourages domestic terrorism? The NBA has spent millions in its relationships with these two entities, while the amount the Magic donated to DeSantis was less than half of what pro basketball players make in a single game.
Is anyone surprised something like this would be all it would take to rattle these two “reporters?”
