Corporate Social Responsibility in Sports Organizations

 The world today believes that companies have a responsibility to the markets in which they operate. Organizations have the power to influence and affect stakeholders’ lives. For this reason, corporations strive to make a positive impact on stakeholders who contribute to their profitability. In the twenty-first century, charitable behavior and community participation by companies is a strategic focus that makes good business. This is the reason sports organizations have adopted Corporate social responsibility (CSR). CSR is therefore a model that makes corporations publicly accountable for their social, ethical, economic and environmental effects linked to their operations (Lewis, 2003, p. 356). Sports organizations are different from other businesses because fans are more attached to their teams compared to customers. According to literature analysis, sports teams not only represent wins and losses but also aim at building a relationship with their fans through communication and the act of giving back (Nyadzayo, Leckie and McDonald, 2016). Professional sports organizations such as NFL, MLB and NBA averagely spend $100 million annually solely on corporate social responsibility initiatives (Rhodes, 2020, p. 11). This report will examine the National Basketball Association (NBA) in the USA through a lens of corporate social responsibility to understand sport management practice and the social, economic, legal and ethical duties NBA has in the USA.
National Basketball Association CSR in the USA
The National Basketball Association was initiated in 1946, with 30 teams in the United States. NBA is known in the United States and around the world for nurturing top basketball players known in history. NBA sport management practice is a culturally situated activity. It is a league that has liberated basketball, its players and has over the years cultivated a creative, free-wheeling culture in the sporting industry (Thornton-Lugo, Wooldridge and Rupp, 2017, p. 205). NBA basketball in the USA is an interesting hybrid with the best athletes globally. The game combines tactics of old coaches with the new school matrix to discover the best way to play the game.