Detroit Piston Owner Tom Gores Prison Telecom Business Tarnishes The NBA [PETITION]

An advocacy group took out a full-page advertisement in Sunday's New York Times, calling on the NBA and 30 of its owners to force Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores to sell his team because of his ownership of a prison telecom company.

"If Black Lives Matter, what are you doing about Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores?" the advertisement read.

The advertisement refers readers to http://pistonsdeservebetter.com that says how Gores' ownership of Securus Technologies, which his Beverly Hills-based private equity firm Platinum Equity purchased in 2017, "undermines [the NBA's] sincerity" about its stance on social and racial justice issues. Securus helps to set the pricing for phone calls for jailed inmates in hundreds of counties nationwide, in some cases charging more than $14 for a 15-minute call.

via ESPN

The #WeTheNorth Campaign [RAPTORS]

This is Toronto through a basketball-glass darkly. It points toward the future of how the Raptors will project themselves onto the NBA landscape.

Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment took the first real step in its promised rebrand of the team on Wednesday with the release of a campaign entitled We The North.

The first video spot has an old-school Nike-feel - plus fire, snow and wolves. It’s Game of Thrones minus the nudity.

Toronto Raptors Trade Jermaine O'Neal For Shawn Marion! [SPORTS]

It's probably for the best...welcome to the city Shawn!

After weeks of discussion, the Toronto Raptors have ended their brief experiment with centre Jermaine O'Neal. Sources have confirmed the club has traded O'Neal and swingman Jamario Moon to the Miami Heat for forward Shawn Marion and guard Marcus Banks in a deal designed to free up salary-cap space this summer, and to solidify the team's underperforming small forward position. Toronto will also send a conditional draft pick to Miami, and receive cash considerations.

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