Tell NBA Commissioner Adam Silver to Hold Abusers Accountable
The petition to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver reads:
Houston Rockets guard Kevin Porter Jr. has a well-documented and distressing pattern of violence and abuse. It's time to put Porter on administrative leave, and reassess and update the NBA's policies to hold domestic abusers accountable.
Why is this important?
Even after Houston Rockets guard Kevin Porter Jr. was arrested and charged for assaulting and strangling his girlfriend--to the point that he fractured her neck vertebrae--National Basketball Association (NBA) Commissioner Adam Silver has balked at putting Porter on administrative leave.1
Instead, Silver told reporters, "I think if it were a case where we were in the middle of a season, we might be compelled to do something faster … [but] this has given us the opportunity--because we're not in season and training camps have not opened yet--to take a little bit of time here to understand the situation."2
"Understand the situation"?! Silver and the NBA need to take immediate action and clean up their acts. NOW.
Per the terms of an NBA collective bargaining agreement with the National Basketball Players Association, the Houston Rockets are unable to discipline Porter directly. However, the agreement does not preclude Commissioner Silver from placing Porter on administrative leave while the investigation is underway.3,4
The ball is in Silver's court. He just needs to believe and defend survivors of domestic violence.
Porter has a well-documented and distressing pattern of violence and abuse, and as detailed by the Manhattan prosecutor who charged him with assault and strangulation, he has a long history of abusing his girlfriend, including ramming his car into her.5
Last year, the Rockets suspended Porter for a game after he "lost his temper" at halftime.6
Previously, he had been traded from Cleveland Cavaliers to Houston Rockets after he exploded at the Cavaliers general manager because his locker had been moved to make room for a new player.7
Commissioner Silver doesn't need more time to "understand" that Porter is a violent abuser. He needs to hear from us that he must act immediately.
Sources:
1. Adam Silver: Allegations against Rockets' Kevin Porter Jr. 'horrific,' but NBA action may take time, Texas Sports Nation, September 13, 2023
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
5. NBA star Kevin Porter Jr. fractured girlfriend's vertebrae: prosecutors, Associated Press, September 12, 2023
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid.