U.S.
NBA “Bubble” Proves Successful as Season Comes to a Close
Published
2 years agoon

- Following the Los Angeles Lakers’ victory at the NBA Finals on Sunday, many celebrated the success of the NBA bubble, which effectively prevented the spread of COVID-19 among its players.
- No player who passed through quarantine tested positive for the virus after entering the strict bubble and no game was canceled as the result of an outbreak.
- This provides a stark contrast to the situations leagues like the MLB and NFL have found themselves in. Both have had to deal with large schedule changes due to outbreaks within teams.
- The NBA season also ended on a powerful note, with Lakers players dedicating their win to Kobe Bryant, who died earlier this year in a tragic helicopter crash with his daughter Gigi and seven others.
NBA Bubble Success
The Los Angeles Lakers had a lot to celebrate Sunday night after winning the NBA finals against the Miami Heat, but their victory wasn’t the only massive success story to come out of the turbulent basketball season.
The NBA bubble in Disney World, which was home to the season’s restart, proved to be a triumph. No player who cleared quarantine tested positive for the coronavirus and no games were canceled because of an outbreak. The NBA’s season initially shut down in March after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for the coronavirus. It picked back up in the bubble with games starting at the end of July.
There was a lot of speculation as to whether or not holding a season in a contained environment would work, but the NBA has proved those doubts wrong. The NBA’s ability to contain the virus is especially impressive in contrast to the way other professional American sports leagues have handled their seasons amid the pandemic. By the halfway point of its season, the MLB had postponed over 40 games because of the virus, with two teams having significant outbreaks. The NFL is dealing with outbreaks of its own on the New England Patriots and Tennessee Titans, resulting in schedule changes.
Many have praised NBA commissioner Adam Silver for the bubble’s success, including Shahbaz Khan, the digital director for the Minnesota Timberwolves.
73 days since the NBA restart.
— Shahbaz Khan (@ShahbazMKhan) October 12, 2020
0 positive COVID cases for players/coaches in the bubble.
One of the most enjoyable Playoffs in recent memory.
The NBA & Adam Silver deserve a lot of credit for this. Proud to work in this league.
Adam Silver showed you can stop Covid-19 from infecting everybody if you want to.
— Molly Knight (@molly_knight) October 12, 2020
The NBA’s success relied on numerous health and safety strategies, including frequent COVID-19 testing. There were also strict quarantine rules that had to be followed upon entering the bubble, and once inside, players were not allowed to leave with very few exceptions. Outsiders were also not welcome inside, except for select Disney staff. However, as the playoffs picked up at the end of August, some team member’s families were allowed in as well.
“A major key to the bubble’s success was the NBA’s attention to detail on everything from logistics to event planning to internal communication,” Ben Golliver, an NBA reporter for The Washington Post, wrote in a piece detailing his life in the bubble. “There were many policies and rules, but they were logical and regularly reinforced.”
“The league’s leaders were receptive to feedback and open about their limitations, and their steadfast desire to complete the entire restart without a positive test revealed compassion rarely seen in big business,” Golliver added. “They had billions of reasons to keep everyone healthy, but their conduct and follow-through stood in stark contrast to those of leaders in the federal government and other sports.”
With its success, many now wonder how strategies similar to the bubble could be implemented in other businesses and areas of life. Golliver said that the bubble served as an “impressive public health achievement at a time when the United States desperately needed one.”
“It should stand as a model for what can be done when immense resources are deployed thoughtfully, in good faith and in line with medical and scientific recommendations,” he wrote.
Still, some thought that the bubble’s success relied on the massive amounts of funding put into it, which most facets of society cannot actually rely on or access.
“I was skeptical, but the NBA bubble actually worked,” said Josh Hamblin, a doctor and staff writer for The Atlantic. “It’s a testament to human ingenuity and resilience how quickly we can reinvent things and get people back to work, safely and effectively, when a group of billionaires has a direct financial stake in making it happen.”
I was skeptical, but the NBA bubble actually worked. It’s a testament to human ingenuity and resilience how quickly we can reinvent things and get people back to work, safely and effectively, when a group of billionaires has a direct financial stake in making it happen.
— James Hamblin (@jameshamblin) October 12, 2020
Powerful Win for the Lakers
While the bubble may have dominated much of the discussion around this season, the finals still ended on a powerful note. The Lakers win was especially meaningful following the tragic helicopter crash earlier this year that left Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gigi, and seven others dead. Bryant’s wife, Vanessa, wrote in an Instagram story that she wished her husband and daughter were around to see the win. Players on the Lakers also dedicated their victory to the Lakers legend.
“I know he’s looking down on us proud of us. I know Vanessa’s proud of us, the organization’s proud of us,” said Anthony Davis. “It means a lot to us. It’s a tough moment, man. (cross talk among players) He was a big brother to all of us. We did this for him.”
“He was a big brother to all of us. We did this for him.”
— NBA TV (@NBATV) October 12, 2020
AD on winning the championship for Kobe #NBAFinals pic.twitter.com/mrMt3gDm8Y
This season was also rocked by fights for social justice by NBA players. Back in August, the players held a strike, refusing to play games in protest of police brutality following the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin. They chose to resume the season, and Lakers star LeBron James was considered to be a leader in making that choice.
James himself is generally seen as a leader when it comes to these movements in the league, making this win all the more impactful.
In Los Angeles, fans took to the downtown area to congregate at the Staples Center, despite pleas from Mayor Eric Garcetti to stay home and not form crowds at the arena during the pandemic.
As we cheer our @Lakers’ 17th championship, please remember it's still not safe to gather in groups. Let’s honor our city's triumph by protecting others and making sure we don't spread the virus.
— MayorOfLA (@MayorOfLA) October 12, 2020
Please celebrate safely at home. Do not gather at Staples Center. Thank you!
Hundreds still gathered to celebrate. Eventually, the Los Angeles Police Department declared an unlawful assembly and arrested those refusing to leave the area.
The scene outside Staples Center 🤯 #NBAFinals
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) October 12, 2020
(via @SLAMonline) pic.twitter.com/GQmxpi0bD8
A total of 76 people were arrested. Police said that the gatherings turned “confrontational, violent and destructive” as bottles, rocks, and other objects were thrown.
See what others are saying: (Los Angeles Times) (Washington Post) (CBS News)
U.S.
Disney Renders DeSantis-Appointed Oversight Board Powerless
Published
2 days agoon
March 30, 2023
The board is looking into avenues for potential legal retaliation, but Disney maintains its actions were “appropriate and were discussed and approved in open, noticed public forums.”
The Fight For Disney’s Special District
Disney has stripped powers from the board Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) installed to oversee its theme parks, board members claimed.
According to the Orlando Sentinel, board member Brian Aungst Jr. said Disney’s action “completely circumvents the authority of this board to govern.”
DeSantis has been waging a war against the House of Mouse ever since the company condemned his controversial “Don’t Say Gay” law, which heavily restricts the discussion of sexuality in classrooms. To retaliate against the company, he took control of Disney’s special status that allowed it to operate as a self-governing district with autonomy over the land encompassing and surrounding Walt Disney World.
Disney operated under that special status for decades under the Reedy Creek Improvement District, but after DeSantis took over, it was changed to the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District. DeSantis appointed all members of the board, prompting concerns that it could be used to silence and sway Disney on social and cultural issues, including its content.
The oversight board gets control over infrastructure, property taxes, issue bonds, road and fire services, and other regulations. When DeSantis seized it, it was considered a big loss for the entertainment giant, but now, board members say the company may have lost little to no power at all.
As first reported by the Sentinel, Disney and the previous board signed an agreement allowing Disney to retain control over much of its land on Feb. 8, the day before Florida’s House signed the bill that gave DeSantis power to stack the board. Disney now holds veto powers over changes to the park, and any changes must be subject to the company’s “prior review and comment” to ensure thematic consistency.
The agreement also bars the board from using Disney’s name or trademarked characters like Mickey Mouse.
The Board’s Plan to Fight Back
Board members reportedly did not become aware of this until recently and discussed the issue at a Wednesday meeting.
“This essentially makes Disney the government,” board member Ron Peri said, via Click Orlando. “This board loses, for practical purposes, the majority of its ability to do anything beyond maintain the roads and maintain basic infrastructure.”
The subject of the agreement that has perhaps caught the most public attention is its staying power. The declaration says it will remain “in effect until 21 years after the death of the last survivor of the descendants of King Charles III, King of England living as of the date of this Declaration.” That means that so long as direct members of the royal family are alive, so is this deal.
According to BBC News, this is known as a “royal lives” clause and its use dates back to the 17th century, though it is rarely used in the U.S.
The board, however, already has plans to push back against Disney and has voted to hire outside legal counsel to evaluate their options.
“We’re going to have to deal with it and correct it,” Aungst said. “It’s a subversion of the will of the voters and the Legislature and the governor. It completely circumvents the authority of this board to govern.”
A spokesperson for DeSantis released a statement claiming that “these agreements may have significant legal infirmities that would render the contracts void as a matter of law.”
Disney maintains everything was above board.
“All agreements signed between Disney and the district were appropriate and were discussed and approved in open, noticed public forums in compliance with Florida’s Government in the Sunshine law,” the company said.
See what others are saying: (Orlando Sentinel) (Click Orlando) (The Washington Post)
U.S.
White Supremacist Propaganda Reached Record High in 2022, ADL Finds
Published
3 weeks agoon
March 9, 2023
“We cannot sit idly by as these extremists pollute our communities with their hateful trash,” ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said.
White supremacist propaganda in the U.S. reached record levels in 2022, according to a report published Wednesday by the Anti-Defamation League’s Center of Extremism.
The ADL found over 6,700 cases of white supremacist propaganda in 2022, which marks a 38% jump from the nearly 4,900 cases the group found in 2021. It also represents the highest number of incidents ever recorded by the ADL.
The propaganda tallied by the anti-hate organization includes the distribution of racist, antisemitic, and homophobic flyers, banners, graffiti, and more. This propaganda has spread substantially since 2018, when the ADL found just over 1,200 incidents.
“There’s no question that white supremacists and antisemites are trying to terrorize and harass Americans with their propaganda,” ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement. “We cannot sit idly by as these extremists pollute our communities with their hateful trash.”
There’s no question that white supremacists and antisemites are trying to terrorize and harass Americans with their propaganda. We cannot sit idly by as these extremists pollute our communities with their hateful trash. More from @ADL experts. https://t.co/5E1ViE7H18
— Jonathan Greenblatt (@JGreenblattADL) March 9, 2023
The report found that there were at least 50 white supremacist groups behind the spread of propaganda in 2022, but 93% of it came from just three groups. One of those groups was also responsible for 43% of the white supremacist events that took place last year.
White supremacist events saw a startling uptick of their own, with the ADL documenting at least 167, a 55% jump from 2021.
Propaganda was found in every U.S. state except for Hawaii, and events were documented in 33 states, most heavily in Massachusetts, California, Ohio, and Florida.
“The sheer volume of white supremacist propaganda distributions we are documenting around the country is alarming and dangerous,” Oren Segal, Vice President of the ADL’s Center on Extremism said in a statement. “Hardly a day goes by without communities being targeted by these coordinated, hateful actions, which are designed to sow anxiety and create fear.”
“We need a whole-of-society approach to combat this activity, including elected officials, community leaders, and people of good faith coming together and condemning this activity forcefully,” Segal continued.
See what others are saying: (Axios) (The Hill) (The New York Times)
Business
Adidas Financial Woes Continue, Company on Track for First Annual Loss in Decades
Published
3 weeks agoon
March 8, 2023By
Star Pralle
Adidas has labeled 2023 a “transition year” for the company.
Yeezy Surplus
Adidas’ split with musician Kanye West has left the company with financial problems due to surplus Yeezy products, putting the sportswear giant in the position to potentially suffer its first annual loss in over 30 years.
Adidas dropped West last year after he made a series of antisemitic remarks on social media and other broadcasts. His Yeezy line was a staple for Adidas, and the surplus product is due, in part, to the brand’s own decision to continue production during the split.
According to CEO Bjorn Gulden, Adidas continued production of only the items already in the pipeline to prevent thousands of people from losing their jobs. However, that has led to the unfortunate overabundance of Yeezy sneakers and clothes.
On Wednesday, Gulden said that selling the shoes and donating the proceeds makes more sense than giving them away due to the Yeezy resale market — which has reportedly shot up 30% since October.
“If we sell it, I promise that the people who have been hurt by this will also get something good out of this,” Gulden said in a statement to the press.
However, Gulden also said that West is entitled to a portion of the proceeds of the sale of Yeezys per his royalty agreement.
The Numbers
Adidas announced in February that, following its divergence from West, it is facing potential sales losses totaling around $1.2 billion and profit losses of around $500 million.
If it decides to not sell any more Yeezy products, Adidas is facing a projected annual loss of over $700 million.
Outside of West, Adidas has taken several heavy profit blows recently. Its operating profit reportedly fell by 66% last year, a total of more than $700 million. It also pulled out of Russia after the country’s invasion of Ukraine last year, which cost Adidas nearly $60 million dollars. Additionally, China’s “Zero Covid” lockdowns last year caused in part a 36% drop in revenue for Adidas compared to years prior.
As a step towards a solution, Gulden announced that the company is slashing its dividends from 3.30 euros to 0.70 euro cents per share pending shareholder approval.
Adidas has labeled 2023 a “transition year” for the company.
“Adidas has all the ingredients to be successful. But we need to put our focus back on our core: product, consumers, retail partners, and athletes,” Gulden said. “I am convinced that over time we will make Adidas shine again. But we need some time.”
See what others are saying: (The Washington Post) (The New York Times) (CNN)

Disney Renders DeSantis-Appointed Oversight Board Powerless

Dutch Man Who Fathered Over 500 Kids Is Being Sued to Stop Donating Sperm Over Incest Concerns

Swifties Rally Outside Los Angeles Courthouse Amid Ticketmaster Lawsuit Hearing

TikTok to Require Labels on Manipulated Media, Ban Deepfakes of Children

White Supremacist Propaganda Reached Record High in 2022, ADL Finds

Adidas Financial Woes Continue, Company on Track for First Annual Loss in Decades

U.S. Intel Suggests Pro-Ukraine Group Sabotaged Nord Stream Pipeline

White House Endorses Bipartisan Senate Bill That Could Ban TikTok

Twitch Tightens Policies on Explicit Deepfakes

Elon Musk Bashes Disabled Ex-Twitter Employee, Gets Blowback

Immigration Could Be A Solution to Nursing Home Labor Shortages

Influencer Coconut Kitty Accused of Editing Nude and Suggestive Photos To Make Herself Look Underage

Dixie D’Amelio Responds to Rumors That She Faked Seizures to Get Out of Class

Joe Rogan Denies Spotify Censorship Rumors, According to Alex Jones

Netflix Apologizes and Changes Marketing Materials for “Cuties” After Backlash

Conservatives Slam Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion Over “WAP” Lyrics

Corinna Kopf Accused of Scamming Fans With OnlyFans Launch

Lil Nas X and Bella Poarch May Have Abandoned Plans To Participate In TikTok NFT Program

Influencers Exposed for Posting Fake Private Jet Photos

Belle Delphine Calls Out YouTube for Double Standards After It Terminated Her Channel

Tana Mongeau’s “Booty for Biden” Promotion Sparks Legal Concerns

Instagram Head Says Scammer, Not Facebook Employee, May Have Asked Julia Rose for $65K To Restore Her Accounts

Why The Internet Is Freaking Out About The Cringiest Man On The Internet & Today’s News

“She Is Evil!” What Addison Rae Religious Backlash Reveals, Joe Rogan, Jake Paul, Teacher Shortage

Alex Jones Was Just Exposed BY HIS OWN LAWYERS! lol WOW! Beyonce Backlash, GenZ Debt, & Today’s News

These Ninja Scamming Accusations Expose A Growing Problem & How Spiders Are Causing Massive Fires

The Problem With Will Smith’s Apology Video & Taylor Swift Climate Backlash, Taiwan, & Today’s News

PewDiePie Backlash Grows After Mocking Deaf TikToker, Jon Stewart Unloads on Cruel Cowards, & More

Leave Shawn Mendes Alone You Weirdos! He’s Not The One You Should Be Angry At… (And Today’s News)

The Logan Paul, Nope, Pink Sauce Backlash Really Exposed 4 Key Things…

Why Dave Chappelle Can’t Get Cancelled…Even After He Gets Cancelled & What FaZe Clan’s Flop Exposes

Get These People Off TV If They’re Going To Be This Dumb! Plus AOC Arrested, Student Loans, & More

HE IS A DRUGGED-OUT MAN BABY! Why People Are Talking About Joe Rogan, Zack Snyder, Climate Change, &

Immigration Could Be A Solution to Nursing Home Labor Shortages

Adidas Financial Woes Continue, Company on Track for First Annual Loss in Decades

Elon Musk Bashes Disabled Ex-Twitter Employee, Gets Blowback

U.S. Intel Suggests Pro-Ukraine Group Sabotaged Nord Stream Pipeline

Dutch Man Who Fathered Over 500 Kids Is Being Sued to Stop Donating Sperm Over Incest Concerns

Fans Defend Pedro Pascal After Actor Refused to Read Thirst Tweets: “It’s Sexual Harassment”

Another Norfolk Southern Train Derailed in Ohio, Reportedly Without Hazardous Chemicals

White House Endorses Bipartisan Senate Bill That Could Ban TikTok

White Supremacist Propaganda Reached Record High in 2022, ADL Finds

Twitch Tightens Policies on Explicit Deepfakes

Disney Renders DeSantis-Appointed Oversight Board Powerless

Disney Renders DeSantis-Appointed Oversight Board Powerless

Dutch Man Who Fathered Over 500 Kids Is Being Sued to Stop Donating Sperm Over Incest Concerns

Swifties Rally Outside Los Angeles Courthouse Amid Ticketmaster Lawsuit Hearing

TikTok to Require Labels on Manipulated Media, Ban Deepfakes of Children

White Supremacist Propaganda Reached Record High in 2022, ADL Finds

Adidas Financial Woes Continue, Company on Track for First Annual Loss in Decades

U.S. Intel Suggests Pro-Ukraine Group Sabotaged Nord Stream Pipeline

White House Endorses Bipartisan Senate Bill That Could Ban TikTok

Twitch Tightens Policies on Explicit Deepfakes

Elon Musk Bashes Disabled Ex-Twitter Employee, Gets Blowback

Immigration Could Be A Solution to Nursing Home Labor Shortages

Why The Internet Is Freaking Out About The Cringiest Man On The Internet & Today’s News

“She Is Evil!” What Addison Rae Religious Backlash Reveals, Joe Rogan, Jake Paul, Teacher Shortage

Alex Jones Was Just Exposed BY HIS OWN LAWYERS! lol WOW! Beyonce Backlash, GenZ Debt, & Today’s News

These Ninja Scamming Accusations Expose A Growing Problem & How Spiders Are Causing Massive Fires

The Problem With Will Smith’s Apology Video & Taylor Swift Climate Backlash, Taiwan, & Today’s News

PewDiePie Backlash Grows After Mocking Deaf TikToker, Jon Stewart Unloads on Cruel Cowards, & More

Leave Shawn Mendes Alone You Weirdos! He’s Not The One You Should Be Angry At… (And Today’s News)

The Logan Paul, Nope, Pink Sauce Backlash Really Exposed 4 Key Things…

Why Dave Chappelle Can’t Get Cancelled…Even After He Gets Cancelled & What FaZe Clan’s Flop Exposes

Get These People Off TV If They’re Going To Be This Dumb! Plus AOC Arrested, Student Loans, & More
