Struggle in the Bubble: The National Basketball Association’s Response to Player Activism in the 2020 Bubble

Abstract

The National Basketball Association (NBA) restarted its 2020 season by playing in a “bubble.” At the same time, a new wave of the “Black Lives Matter” movement was in full swing. Many players joined the movement with their own forms of activism, which the NBA responded to in various ways. This essay explores the NBA’s responses to player activism by using Critical Race Theory’s concept of “Interest Convergence” to analyze the gestures organized by the NBA and highlight the role race, racism, and capitalism played in the NBA’s responses. Overall, this essay argues that in order to capitalize on the popularity of the Black Lives Matter movement, and in the interest of its bottom line, the NBA engaged in three types of responses: compromise, acquiescence, and co-opt/manipulation.