Featured Image Credit: Bloomberg / Contributor via Getty
Topics: NBA, Donald Trump, Basketball
James Taylor
Topics: NBA, Donald Trump, Basketball
The NBA has 'suspended an employee' over a series of social media posts they made about Charlie Kirk following a recent crackdown from President Donald Trump.
The right-wing political activist Kirk, 31, was shot dead last month while speaking at a campus rally at Utah Valley University.
Kirk was a controversial, but influential, figure within American politics and was widely credited with helping to mobilise the youth vote for Trump during his last year's presidential election.
On October 14, Kirk was posthumously given the Presidential Medal of Freedom award by Trump, which is the highest civilian honour that can be given out.
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Trump has also introduced tougher penalties for individuals who make public comments about Kirk, with at least six people having their visas cancelled.
In a statement on X, the US Department of State said: "The United States has no obligation to host foreigners who wish death on Americans."
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That clampdown now looks to have extended into American sport, with the NBA suspending one of its employees over a series of social media posts allegedly celebrating the assassination of Kirk, according to OutKick.
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The report claims that a project employee has been suspended for two weeks without pay after it was determined that their online activity had violated league policy.
An NBA spokesperson told OutKick: "The project employee has been suspended without pay for two weeks for violating multiple NBA policies."
Commissioner Adam Silver has not made an official statement regarding the suspension.
A league-wide memo from 2017 states that employees must avoid posting content that could damage the league's reputation, or suggest they represent without employee.
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More recent guidelines highlight that any speech seen as hostile, violent, or discriminatory towards a group or individual could lead to disciplinary action.
According to OutKick, the NBA logo featured prominently on the employee's profile picture, meaning those rules were potentially violated.
The NBA employee is not the first person to face punishment over comments relating to Kirk.
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Popular late-night show host Jimmy Kimmel was temporarily suspended last month for remarks he made about Kirk, who was fatally shot on September 10.
Tyler Robinson, 22, has been charged with aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm, obstruction of justice, two counts of witness tampering and committing a violent crime in the presence of children.
He is currently being held without bail at the Utah County Jail.
After the shooting, Kimmel said that Trump and his allies were 'desperately trying to characterise this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them'.
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He also compared the President's reaction to Kirk's death to 'how a four-year-old mourns a goldfish'.
Kimmel's show has since returned to air.
The NBA has not confirmed whether the individual will face further disciplinary action.
But the incident highlights the growing scrutiny and consequences for individuals who make comments about Kirk both in person and on social media.