Name: Harvey Van Blerkom

Social Justice Group: Sports and Equality

Date of Fieldwork: January 19, 2018

Name of Organization: NBA (National Basketball Association)

Person (people) with whom I met and their job titles: Kaitlin Sloane, Coordinator of Social Responsibility

Type of Fieldwork: Interview

What I did:

We went to the NBA office by Rockefeller Center. We interviewed Kaitlin Sloane about what the NBA is doing that will reach their goal of creating equality in sports.

What I learned:

I learned that the NBA created a program called NBA Voices. The program is for NBA players to teach others about personal social justice issues that they face in the world. I also learned that the NBA is trying to make NBA games available for everyone, so they made quiet spaces in arenas for people who need them.

What I learned about Social Justice “work” and/or Civil and Human rights “work” from this fieldwork:

Through this fieldwork, I learned that there are a lot of ways that the NBA is creating an equal playing field for everyone. For example, they are having gay pride nights along with celebrating Black History Month. I knew about many of the efforts that they made, but it was amazing to me how many ways they were combating the social justice issues that plague professional sports. It is amazing that the NBA is doing this much because it takes a lot of effort to change such a big issue. The NBA rightfully prides itself on what it has done.