The NFL is no stranger to controversy. With concussions, protests and questionable officiating, the league has had to endure a lot over recent years.
To that end, NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar wrote a piece for The Guardian in which he lays out his reasons why the NBA is the league for the "modern" sports fan.
Abdul-Jabbar's main point is that a culture shift is causing the NBA to more accurately reflect current societal norms. In a time where sports ratings are falling, he writes, basketball is thriving.
"But America has changed and with that change we are seeing a shifting away from hoisting football on our collective shoulders," Abdul-Jabbar wrote. "Although football remains our most popular professional sport, that popularity has been declining over the past five years, from 67% saying they were fans in 2012, to 57% in 2017. Professional baseball has also fallen 2% during that time. However, professional basketball has risen 3%. Before anyone starts blaming Colin Kaepernick, let's remember that he first took a knee in 2016 and that the fan base erosion had already been strong several years before that."
Abdul-Jabbar also cited the dangerous nature of the NFL. Fans are getting to peer behind the veil of concussions and their effects -- and what they're seeing isn't pretty.
"One major reason Americans are stepping back from football is the danger. Physical risk has always been one of the attractions of the sport -- a rite of manhood. But recent studies showing just how severe the brain damage is to the players shocked us. A 2017 study published in the Journal of American Medical Association discovered chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in 110 out of 111 brains of former NFL players," he wrote.
Then, of course, Abdul-Jabbar thinks of the children. He writes that the future simply isn't that into the NFL right now.
"Another loose thread being pulled to unravel football's dominant stature is the fact that it's less popular among children, who are the future fan base. According to ESPN, basketball is the most popular sport among American youth, both boys and girls, while football has dropped to third place," Abdul-Jabbar said.
Little big man
A 4-foot-5 basketball player dubbed the "mini Michael Jordan" has become the shortest player ever signed by the Harlem Globetrotters.
Jahmani "Hot Shot" Swanson, 32, plays his first team game in his hometown of New York on Dec. 26 -- and Swanson told the New York Post the whole neighborhood has been hitting him up for tickets.
"I play the same courts in Harlem," said Swanson, who lives with his brother in the same area where he grew up. "Word's getting around and everybody's begging me for tickets. I keep saying I'll do what I can."
Swanson said his parents gave him a basketball when he was a baby and "I haven't put it down since."
He played for Monroe College in the Bronx before touring with exhibition teams. He auditioned for the Globetrotters in 2011, played in a few games last year and was officially hired this week as a rookie.
He said he's not too old or too short to handle the Globetrotters' rigorous touring schedule.
"I never get tired. I can play basketball all day and night," Swanson said.
Sports quiz
How many former Harlem Globetrotters are enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame?
Answer
Nine: Wilt Chamberlain, Nat Clifton, William "Pop" Gates, Connie Hawkins, Elvin Hayes, Marques Haynes, Reece "Goose" Tatum, Lynette Woodard and Zachary Clayton.
Sports on 12/15/2017