Vmart wrote:Kevin Love left the bench. Per NBA rules he should be suspended. I haven’t forgiven the NBA for the Knicks Heat to this date and to watch him leave and waltz around the court sicken me.
Nike endorsed athlete.
If you look at the current Finals, Nike has spent OVER A BILLION DOLLARS in terms of endorsements and other marketing related to the teams and individual players. LBJ and Durant comprise most of that, but it is a staggering amount of money.
People used to call the Yankees "The Evil Empire" when they outspent the rest of baseball. What do you Nike has become? They have their own training academies ( brainwashing to the brand), they do tournaments ( infecting small towns and grassroot type organizations), they have their own robust internal security ( their own private army), they have invaded the college ranks ( the feeder system), they have their hands in the international sports community (Olympics) and lock step with the major networks.
Kevin Love is not an NBA player, he's a Nike employee. Who happens to moonlight dribbling a basketball with a jersey on.
The NBA, the league, Nike and the networks care about "The Narrative". The story they want to sell for the season to best market the game and their idiotic shoes. Nothing the Knicks presented in the last few decades served The Almighty Narrative. So the Knicks will get jobbed until that changes.
If Oprah had a daughter of appropriate age and Zinger married her today, the Knicks would in the Finals in 3 years. It would be one year for most teams but the Knicks are so talent gutted, even this would take time. If you want your suffering NBA franchise to win a ring, have Oprah buy the team. I'm not kidding.
The normal rules do not apply to Kevin Love because the rules do not apply to Nike.
