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Another day, another possible explanation why the NBA has abandoned its trusty leather basketball when there was absolutely zero clamor to change it.
Make that zero clamor in hoop circles.
The folks at PETA -- People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals -- apparently feel they played a significant role in the league's decision to switch to a microfiber composite ball after decades of leather bliss. Listed in the top spot on PETA's "Major Victory Timeline" is this headline: "NBA Loses the Leather."
Click on the link and you can read the following account from the largest animal-rights organization world: "In January 2006, PETA contacted the National Basketball Association (NBA) and requested that it switch from leather basketballs to cruelty-free synthetic balls, like those already in use in the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the Women's National Basketball Association. Along with the request, PETA sent information on how the leather industry tortures and kills millions of cows, including the fact that it takes the skin of an entire cow to make just four basketballs. The report also detailed how leather production destroys the environment and endangers human health through the use of toxic chemicals. In June 2006, the NBA announced that it would switch to synthetic basketballs beginning with its 2006/2007 season."
So . . .
Did PETA really play a part here?
It's no great surprise that they're taking credit, because these folks have been complaining for years, but I'm struggling to imagine David Stern sanctioning a switch of this magnitude because of some PETA barking.
"PETA had nothing to do with the changing of the ball," said NBA vice president of marketing communications Mike Bass. "It's a better ball with a better grip and feel and more consistency from ball-to-ball. That's the reason for the change."
