"Silver had just concluded a keynote session. Unlike other headliners, such as Major League Baseball's Rob Manfred and the Southeastern Conference's Greg Sankey, who'd been interviewed onstage by journalists, Silver had been joined in conversation by his friend Bob Myers, a former Golden State Warriors executive, who opened by congratulating Silver on his decency, integrity, and "moral compass." The commissioner is carefully stage-managed. Media engagements are rare; rarer still are the probing questions that might be asked of someone leading a business valued at roughly $200 billion."
"Early last year, I'd approached the NBA about a profile-not just of Silver but of the game itself, a holistic look at the evolution of professional basketball. The answer: a hard no. Hence the trip to Nashville. I had been warned, when talking with his contemporaries, that Silver is kept in bubble wrap. Now I witnessed it up close."
"Silver's longtime flack, Mike Bass, was refusing to answer my texts-we stood 50 feet apart, separated by the VIP rope, as he stared at his phone-asking for an introduction. Meanwhile, officials from three separate teams, whom I'd planned to meet in Nashville, had all canceled. It seemed like a coordinated snubbing. Which left me no choice: When Silver wandered within reach, I slipped the rope and thrust an open hand in his direction."
"The commissioner, who is six-foot-three and wears a clean-shaven head, studied my name tag- The Atlantic -and then spun toward Bass, who looked exasperated. Silver's complexion turned colorless, almost ethereal, as he shook my hand. I assured hi"
Adam Silver leads the NBA as a powerful business and diplomatic figure with soft power across continents. At a sports-business conference in Nashville, he appeared aimless in a roped-off VIP area after a keynote. Media access was tightly managed: other leaders were interviewed onstage, while Silver was not, and his conversation with Bob Myers focused on his decency, integrity, and moral compass. Attempts to profile Silver and the game were refused, and team officials canceled meetings. Silver’s longtime flack, Mike Bass, did not respond to messages, reinforcing the sense of coordinated snubbing and restricted access to the commissioner.
Read at The Atlantic
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