Rapper Common is praising the NBA’s decision to drop the title “owner,” a term he believes is inconsiderate of the history of slavery in America.
According to published reports, the NBA has begun the process of replacing the term owner with “chairman” or “governor.”
The NBA took action after Golden State Warriors’ star Draymond Green mention the issue during an episode of LeBron James’ HBO series The Shop.
About 74% of NBA players are Black, while 23% are white.
TMZ Sports approached Common at a sushi restaurant in Los Angeles, and asked him about the movement.
“I’m so pleased,” he said. “The term owner – it didn’t sit right with me. The history of what we have and we are as black people in this country, it’s just not really being considerate of the history.”
Steve Ballmer, owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, now calls himself ‘Chairman’ of the team instead of the owner. And the Philadelphia 76ers owners are now ‘managing partners’ or ‘limited partners.’
But Warriors owner Joe Lacob, pictured right, is still listed as ‘owner’.
Not everyone is in agreement that teams should do away with the owner title.
One Breitbart.com reader wrote: “If you own the team, you should be called the “team owner” – right? It made sense for as long as the English language has been around, but not with today’s snowflakes.”
Another reader wrote, “The owners own the franchise. Not the players. You would have to be a complete idiot to not see the difference.”
The Warriors face elimination tonight against the Toronto Raptors in Game 5 of the NBA Finals in Toronto. The Raptors lead the series 3-1.
