Think about the last time you watched an NBA game. Now try to picture someone in the stands waving a sign that says “Free Palestine”. Or wearing a MAGA hat. Or protesting the ongoing genocide of Uyghurs in China, or decrying last year’s ethnic cleansing in Sudan, or making any kind of comment on any kind of political event whatsoever.

You can’t. Because most NBA arenas—as well as most teams—don’t allow them.

Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE) is no exception. According to their code of conduct, they prohibit “signs, symbols, images, flags, clothing, banners that may be considered vulgar, discriminatory, disrespectful, political or a tool to be used for incitement or protest.” In late February, a Jewish lawyer named Gary Grill inadvertently tested this rule when he wore a black hoodie with the words “Free Our Hostages” and a Star of David underneath to a Toronto Raptors basketball game at Scotiabank Arena, which is also the home of the NHL Maple Leafs.

Grill told The CJN Daily host Ellin Bessner that he did not know about the arena’s ban on political messages. A security guard saw Grill, knew the rules, and gave him a choice: take off the hoodie or leave. So Grill left. Then, instead of hiding the fact that he ignorantly wore a political message to an arena that disallows political messages, Grill—and his seatmate at the game, Leora Shemesh, who is a vice-president at the media-thirsty Abraham Global Peace Initiative—doubled down and went public, making a big splash and giving right-wing public figures something to tweet about on an otherwise slow news day.

On March 5, 2024, a couple weeks after the silly incident, MLSE officially added a new line to their code of conduct, prohibiting “displaying signs, symbols, images or messaging that are deemed to be political and divisive in nature or related to a foreign conflict.”

Kudos........

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