NBA hits out at NFL over Christmas scheduling
The NBA lashes out at the NFL and its commissioner Roger Goodell after they decided to keep scheduling Christmas Day games.
For many years, Christmas was a date associated solely with the NBA. The NFL had a Thanksgiving Day window, while the NBA had the Christmas holidays. However, Roger Goodell, the NFL commissioner, decided that it was time to hold football games on December 25th.
This has caused a lot of annoyance in the NBA. LeBron James spoke out last year after the Lakers’ 115-113 victory over the Warriors. “I love the NFL, but Christmas is our day,” were the words of the ‘King’ at the end of the game.
This year, Charles Barkley also criticized Roger Goodell and the NFL for trying to steal Christmas from the NBA, and declared that the day belonged to the top basketball league in the world.
“The NFL got greedy and started adding Christmas Day games. We used to have this day to ourselves, but now Roger Goodell and his NFL gurus always want to hog every day of the week… Christmas Day is an NBA day,” Barkley said.
Christmas belongs to the NBA
Richard Jefferson, former NBA player who played for the Golden State Warriors, Denver Nuggets, Utah Jazz, Cleveland Cavaliers, Dallas Mavericks, and San Antonio Spurs, stated that “no other country watches soccer. People all over the world watch our sport. They can celebrate Thanksgiving, we’ll celebrate Christmas.”
Ben Garcia, host of ‘The Ben Garcia Show,’ also asserted that “the NFL at Christmas doesn’t feel as right as the NBA at Christmas. There should be a rule that the NBA should respect Thanksgiving for the NFL and that the NFL should respect Christmas for the NBA.”
The NBA has been played on Christmas since 1947,that is, almost 80 years,while the first NFL Christmas game took place in 1971,when the Cowboys played the Vikings and the Chiefs played the Miami Dolphins.
Get your game on! Whether you’re into NFL touchdowns, NBA buzzer-beaters, world-class soccer goals, or MLB home runs, our app has it all.
Dive into live coverage, expert insights, breaking news, exclusive videos, and more – plus, stay updated on the latest in current affairs and entertainment. Download now for all-access coverage, right at your fingertips – anytime, anywhere.