By Lily Newman
Phillip Nondorf
In today’s world, many sports organizations or franchises use their corporate social responsibility (CSR) to improve their public relations and marketing strategies. CSR allows sports organizations to showcase their social success in order to boost their reputation and draw support from fans.
Take the NBA for instance. The NBA has had few public scandals compared to those over in the NFL, but the NBA is always striving to improve their reputation and did so by creating the NBA Cares initiative.
Through NBA Cares, athletes and the NBA support various programs that might hit close to home. Most recently, Kevin Love of the Cleveland Cavillers made headlines when he shared his story about his struggle with mental health.
Jeff Haynes/NBAE/Getty Images
Athletes in most sports have distanced themselves from talking about the subject of mental health because it is not only taboo in the world of sports but in our society. Love shared his story and received tremendous support not only from fellow athletes but from the fans as well.
After Love shared his story in 2018, the NBA has made an effort to focus more on mental health and started a program through NBA Cares called “Mind Health.”
“For 29 years, I thought about mental health as someone else’s problem.”
Kevin Love
NBA players go through a grueling 82 games season. MLB plays 162 games. Mental health is an issue in sports and is important. Thank you to Kevin Love for starting this conversation among athletes and fans.
Along with the NBA’s initiative to support mental health within the community, they also work closely with and in support of our troops.
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Hoops For Troops is a program led by the NBA and it’s players in “collaboration with theDepartment of Defense, USO, TAPS and other military and veteran-serving organizations to honor active and retired service members and their families.”
Making this direct connection with our troops and veterans might have something to do with the NBA’s demographics, but either way, you can never go wrong when supporting the people who risk their lives every day to protect our country.
And how can we forget LeBron James? Although James opened his I Promise Schoolon his own dime, his CSR also reflects well on the NBA. The school was built in support with the LeBron James Family Foundation and is aimed towards at-risk children in Akron, Ohio, James’ hometown.
Through CSR, members within the NBA and the NBA itself has managed to demonstrate and take on a good amount of global social responsibility that other sports organizations can look to as a model.
NBA Cares has countless other initiatives that bring athletes and the community together. You can read more about the tremendous work the NBA does here.