Adam Silver has a huge problem on his hands. As Pablo Torre continues to unearth information about the Clippers’ possible cap circumvention, people are demanding answers. The longer it sits in the pot, the more dangerous it is to the NBA. However, Silver doesn’t just have to be fair to the millions of fans watching.
Torre recently appeared on Front Office Sports and called this the “defining scandal of Adam Silver’s tenure as commissioner,”. The investigative reporter mainly went back to his comments on the situation. At first, Silver claimed he wasn’t aware of Aspiration, only to later clarify that he didn’t pick up on a potential scandal.
Hence, Torre feels the “test” will prove what cloth Adam Silver is made of. “This one is a test of what he is actually about. And when I say that, I don’t just mean as a person, I mean the concept of a commissioner. He’s the judge in a fake justice system with the thing in front of him, with these mountains of papers and human sources that I have provided, who are telling me that this is in fact a violation of the cardinal rule that you said out,” he explained on FOS Today.
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Silver’s comments in the past haven’t boded well. Torre finds it hard that the NBA’s commissioner wouldn’t be aware of a $300 million team sponsor. But he is even willing to accept that it was the case. And if that is so, Pablo Torre warns the commission of an even bigger problem at hand.
“The other implication is you were genuinely in the dark, and the question that you asked, thankfully for me because I would have liked to know too, was so should you have known something. So this scandal is not really about caps or circumvention, it’s really about this larger story about how companies, fraudsters use sports to launder their reputations,” Torre hinted.
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And that right there risks the NBA losing out on its fans.
Torre alerts Adam Silver about the fans’ patience
The scale of the Clippers’ recent drama is bigger than any in recent history. Likewise, the ongoing investigation could take significant time before a verdict is delivered. However, amidst the work behind closed doors, silence can’t be an option for Adam Silver. Because, through Torre’s story, many fans are demanding clarity.
“It’s also a tough question for someone who’s job you might think is really to shrink the scandal to the point of people forgetting. And if there is anything metrically that I have been witnessing from under the hood of this reporting is that the number of fans who express real care, concern frankly protest about if this is what sports is really going to be like, I want out,” Torre added.
Fans of each team aren’t literally managing their teams. But ultimately, it’s their unwavering support and investment that create an atmosphere. But this isn’t even about the team’s reputation being tainted. For the common folk, it relates to the essence of sports. Steve Ballmer has all the money in the world to get his hands on what he desires.
But when it comes to the NBA, rules are absolute. Money doesn’t give any owner the power to move pieces as they like. Fans have also come to expect an even playing field. The recent allegations against Ballmer put that sentiment into doubt. And because of their passion, fans are going to be over this investigation.
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“I’m hearing from fans who want to invest, and continue to invest their entire life emotionally, financially in this game, only to learn that it is rigged, allegedly only in favor of people for whom rules are a suggestion in real life, and now in the thing that these people have deep knowledge about. It’s not the tax code, it’s their favorite team,” Torre further explained.
How do you think Adam Silver should handle this situation? Let us know your views in the comments below.