The NBA seems to have taken some pointers recently from the NFL and ESPN in terms of its recent political blunders. If the pro basketball league is trying to alienate a large chunk of its audience — then it should keep doing what it is doing.

If not, maybe it’s time for a fast break before it’s too late.

Since President Donald Trump’s election, many personnel from the top basketball league in North America have been unable to resist the urge to join anti-Trump celebrities and speak ill of their country’s leader. This week was no different.

Cleveland Cavaliers small forward (and biggest celebrity) LeBron James, plus San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich — both of whom are noted Hillary Clinton supporters — used Martin Luther King Jr. Day as an excuse to attack Trump.

[lz_ndn video=33127728]

Popovich told media members this week, “Every time I hear somebody say they’re not racist, you know they are.”

This was in response to Trump’s saying he himself was not racist. Of course, the flaw with Popovich’s logic is that if someone called the Spurs head coach racist, that would mean he would be racist to deny it.

Popovich’s Trump critiques have been sporadic; back in October, he called the president a “spineless coward” and a “pathological liar,” according to The Nation.

When speaking about the accomplishments of Martin Luther King Jr. this week, LeBron James also took the opportunity to sneak in a few jabs at Trump. He told reporters, “We are in a difficult state right now as Americans, with the leader of our country. We all have to continue to come together and shine a brighter light on … I don’t want to use the word stupidity, but that’s basically what it comes down to.”

This critique should come as no surprise. After all, it was James who subtweeted the president and called him a “bum” back in September; he also campaigned for Hillary Clinton during the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign.

Who do you think would win the Presidency?

By completing the poll, you agree to receive emails from LifeZette, occasional offers from our partners and that you've read and agree to our privacy policy and legal statement.

These two individuals are hardly Trump’s only enemies in the NBA. For example, Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry and the team’s head coach, Steve Kerr, are among the more vocal opponents of the president in the league. This is why the Warriors were disinvited to the White House back in September.

If the NBA wants to thrive as a league, it should clean up its act — and be more cautious about players and coaches using their platforms to focus on politics rather than the game itself.

Related: Brett Favre Doesn’t Want His Grandkids to Play Football

The NFL’s “strategy” is worth reviewing. A handful of players knelt for the national anthem in 2016 and continued the trend into 2017. Since then, the league’s television ratings have dropped by about 17 percent, according to Nielsen. This decline in ratings has reportedly cost the league hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue.

The NBA actually has rules in place that prevent players from kneeling for the national anthem — so the league does not have to worry about that negative optic. But perhaps this group should still be cautious about the negative rhetoric spewed by its most popular players and coaches.

ESPN offers another example of what happens when politics move to center stage with sports content.

The self-proclaimed “Worldwide Leader in Sports” had to fire 250 people last year because its viewership has steadily declined as it’s become embroiled in political controversy. The network has concerned itself with political correctness and has shown a clear political bias — which means it will fire conservatives such as Curt Schilling and Britt McHenry but keep such leftists as Jemele Hill, who actually called the president a “white supremacist” on Twitter.

Related: Female Hockey Players Are Skating on Thin Ice

In the 2016 presidential election, 50.06 percent of voters selected one of the top four right-leaning candidates running for president: Republican Donald Trump (46.09 percent), Libertarian Gary Johnson (3.28 percent), Independent Evan McMullin (0.54 percent), or Darrell Castle (0.15 percent) of the Constitution Party.

In contrast, over 49 percent selected a left-wing candidate, most notably Democrat Hillary Clinton (48.18 percent) or Green Party candidate Jill Stein (1.07 percent).

Alienating one side or another is not good for business — especially when that business is entertainment or sports. The NBA does not have a monopoly on winter sports (hockey, anyone?) — but it’s surely the most political of the bunch. That will likely hurt the league in the long run if it continues down its current path.

Tom Joyce is a freelance writer from the South Shore of Massachusetts. He covers sports, pop culture, and politics and has contributed to The Federalist, Newsday, ESPN, and other outlets.

(photo credit, article images: Gregg Popovich, CC BY-SA 2.0, by Michael Tipton / Lebron James, CC BY-SA 2.0, by Keith Allison)