The NBA’s Adam Silver has long enjoyed a reputation as “the good commissioner.” He has been consistently painted as the enlightened one, while his counterparts — the NHL’s Gary Bettman, NFL’s Roger Goodell and MLB’s Rob Manfred — are considered incompetent empty suits that just carry out the bidding of their league’s owners.
The last week or show should end that dynamic, though. Silver has proven he is no different than the rest with his mishandling of the Kyrie Irving scandal. And Thursday’s statement — in the wake of Irving’s shameless non-apology on Wednesday — was a new low.