Historical Reflection Essay “The NBA Now and Then”

Basketball was invented in 1891 by Dr. James Naismith of Almonte, Ontario. James was a physical education instructor at a YMCA. “Professional basketball began in 1896 at a YMCA in Trenton, N.J., following a dispute between the YMCA' s players and a YMCA official” (http://www.ehow.com/about_6701731_information-history-basketball.html). The first basketball game had nine players to a team and used a soccer ball as the first basketball. “In 1902 the New England Basketball League got a huge boost in national exposure when it allowed an African American named Bucky Lew play in a game” (http://www.rauzulusstreet.com/basketball/nba/nbahistory.htm 2004). Lew played three years professionally, and then the league disbanded him (http://www.toon-guy.com/legacy-licensing/buckylew.htm). Lew is a pioneer of Basketball and he was never inducted into the hall of fame. The league began as the Midwest Basketball Conference in 1935, but changed its name in 1937 in an attempt to attract a larger audience. In 1937, the National Basketball League began play with 13 teams; this was the first documented professional basketball game, played in Trenton New Jersey. This game was played at the Trenton Masonic temple, and the admission fee was charged in order to get into the game. Each player was only paid $15 dollars except Fred Cooper who was paid $16 dollars, and became the first highest paid player. In the NBA today players are paid different amounts because it’s based on your position and your skill level (consistency). Back in those days $15-$16 was a lot of money and players was satisfied. Two years after the first professional basketball game was played six teams for Philadelphia and New Jersey formed the National basketball league (NBL). Shortly after the NBL formed, other leagues began to form all over the Eastern United States including the Philadelphia Basketball League, Eastern League, New York State League, and the Interstate league. It was said that early basketball leagues didn’t last more than a few weeks, the NBL only lasted five seasons, which in my opinion was good because reports show that leagues only lasted a few weeks. The National Basketball Association (NBA) is said to be the most elite men's professional basketball League in the world. The League was founded in June 6, 1946 in New York City, NY but the League didn’t adopt the name NBA until August 3, 1949. “History of The Sport of Basketball is the only major sport in America that is strictly of U.S. origin” (http://espn.go.com/nba/). The league was created by three corporations: General Electric, Firestone and Goodyear. Those companies were a top 500 company and gave the league a big boost. The NBL lasted twelve years before merging with the three-year-old Basketball Association of America in 1949, with the resulting combination being renamed the National Basketball Association. Scheduling was left to the discretion of each of the nine teams, as long as the team played at least ten games and four of them were on the road. Games consisted either of four ten-minute quarters or three fifteen-minute periods. The choice was made by the home team. Some of the teams were independent, while others were owned by companies that also found jobs for their players. In my research about the history of the National Basketball Association, the game/league has changed tremendously since founded. “Sports media as we know has not always existed. Modern-day sports journalism evolved with American social trends and profit-hungry businesspeople that changed the shape of news in general” (http://sportsandpr1.wordpress.com/2012/04/25/history-of-sports-media). The media wasn’t as involved as they are today and that’s because of the resources weren’t available in those times. Social media is definitely growing as we learn what it is and what it can do. The issue at hand in the NBA back then, there wasn’t enough exposure that’s why some of those leagues didn’t last long; no one knew about the games. If the media was like it is today, I think those Basketball Leagues would have lasted longer. Players back then was actually focused on the game because there weren’t many distractions. I think the media sometimes can distract a player in many ways. “The mass media as we have seen, had from the outset two major, sometimes conflicting function.” (Rowe 27). All Sports have had a huge influence in this world. “Ever since the 1950’s, mass media has brought a mostly negative perspective in the area of athletics to the public” (http://www.redwoods.edu/instruct/klee/media.htm) . Before the media was heavily involved in sports culture many professional athletes have been perceived to be above the law. Sometimes, athletes will commit various crimes. If and when this occurs, mass media will plaster the event all over the airwaves for the whole world to see. When situations like this occur this can impact not only the player but the team, fans and the staff. For example Raymond Felton of the New York Knicks was charged with a gun charge in NYC, and when this first occurred this was all on social media. The team has allowed him to play because he hasn’t been convicted of that charge. I watched the first game he played after the news broke and I could see that his game was being affected because of all the talk and gossip about his case, the commentators were even speaking about it. “The power of the media to “make or break” an athlete’s reputation and level of fame” (Rowe 54). I think there should be guidelines when it comes to athletes and social media. The mass media has many social roles connected to sports through systems of communication. These media outlets reach a diverse audience efficiently and in a timely fashion. Within this system of communication are two major categories: printed media and electronic media. Mass media exists in many different forms such as magazines, television, newspapers, internet, motion pictures, and even plays one of the prominent roles of the mass media is the communication of information. Another prominent role of mass media is to provide entertainment for people of all diversities. By providing entertainment and communication the mass media fulfills two roles: social integration and social change. Social media has impacted athletes in negative and positive ways. Social media has change the way we view not only the NBA but all sports. I think the NBA has changed for the better and to implement rules to protect their players. Each form of mass media wants to be the one to target the audience, so therefore competition between mass media is very strong. The audience is the one who decides what information is important and this decides what groups of mass media get the most airtime. If your story isn't important to the audience then your media is taking up space, so there for you either have to produce what the audience wants or you will not be able to survive in the competitive world of mass media

References

http://www.ehow.com/about_6701731_information-history-basketball.html 2011 http://www.rauzulusstreet.com/basketball/nba/nbahistory.htm 2004 http://www.toon-guy.com/legacy-licensing/buckylew.htm 2010 http://espn.go.com/nba/ http://sportsandpr1.wordpress.com/2012/04/25/history-of-sports-media http://www.redwoods.edu/instruct/klee/media.htm)
Rowe, David (2004). Sport, Culture and the Media. Open University Press. References