Courtesy of Boston.com:
The NBA, alarmed by the death toll from shootings across the country, is stepping directly into the polarizing debate over guns, regulation and the Second Amendment with an unusual advertising campaign in partnership with one of the nation’s most aggressive advocates of stricter limits on firearm sales.
In a move with little precedent in professional sports, the NBA is putting the weight of its multibillion-dollar brand and the prestige of its star athletes behind a series of television commercials calling for an end to gun violence.
The first ads, timed to reach millions of basketball fans during a series of marquee games on Christmas Day, focus on shooting victims and contain no policy recommendations. The words “gun control” are never mentioned.
But the organization that paid for them, Everytown for Gun Safety, has a robust and controversial agenda: It was founded by former New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg specifically as a counterweight to the National Rifle Association, and the group also battles at the local, state and federal level to expand background checks for gun buyers, strengthen penalties for gun trafficking and ban gun sales to people convicted of domestic abuse.
Well this should get 2016 off to a rollicking good start.
And you know this one is going to leave a mark because most gun owners are guys, and guys LOVE the NBA.
If this Everytown Gun Safety group can sign up the NFL and NASCAR the whole gun debate might take a significant shift in a more liberal direction.
Thanks MTV
ReplyDeletehttp://www.buzzfeed.com/davidmack/teen-moms?bffbmain&utm_term=.qkplxRwDG#.tw263jRoa
More than that. NBA players are looked up to in urban culture (read black if you want) and this is their chance to either be positive role models or negative ones.
ReplyDeleteSteph Curry is a talented, smart and articulate young man. I love his connection to Toronto and his humility too.
Thanks NBA.
Thanks for sharing this, it's a step in the right direction. Other sports should join in so they reach the widest audience they can.
ReplyDeleteThis ad would be much more impactful if the speakers were identified by name. The tiny NBA logo on the credit screen isn't enough to promote the league's support of gun sense. I know a lot of BB players, but I didn't recognize a single one in the ad.
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