NBA stars will be promoting leaning in along with doing bank shots and layups as a gender equality promotion within the pro basketball league league gets under way.
Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer of Facebook and author of Lean In, has partnered with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and the leading stars of the league to promote gender equality.
The partnership aims to double-down on the messages developed in Sandberg’s Lean In (Knopf, 2013) and Ban Bossy campaign by incorporating the men of the NBA and encouraging them all to “lean in.” Entitled #LeanInTogether, this insightful phrase advises men inside and out of the NBA to support the women in their lives at work and at home.
“The NBA is committed to creating a work environment that expects -- and benefits from -- gender equality,” Silver said in a released statement. “#LeanInTogether provides men with the tools to share responsibilities equally in the office with our colleagues and at home with our families.”
Players such as LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kyle Lowry, Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade and WNBA stars Swin Cash, Skylar Diggins and Sue Bird have all participated in a PSA, which was released March 5 on NBA TV. Continuing throughout the second half of the season, the public service announcement will be aired during all NBA matchups on all major television stations over the next few months. Sandberg notes that men and families benefit emotionally and financially when men help with housework and child care and advocate for equal rights for women at work.
“Gender equality doesn’t just benefit women, it benefits men in lots of ways,” Sandberg said in an interview. In addition to believing that women are likely to have more sexual relations with their husbands or boyfriends when they get help at home (dubbed “choreplay”), Sandberg also believes that stronger marriages and families will result from such behavior.
Sandberg, 45, is the second-ranked Facebook executive after CEO Mark Zuckerberg. By partnering with Silver and the NBA, she is hoping that the effort will connect with millions of male hoops fans who haven’t read her books. Facebook is one of the leading companies in Silicon Valley with a plethora of women in engineering and other technical employment positions. The NBA has been running and operating a separate league for women for nearly two decades.
In addition, the union representing NBA players is run by a woman, Michele Roberts, who serves as its executive director. The San Antonio Spurs also hired former WNBA star Becky Hammon to be the team’s assistant coach.
You can watch the #LeanInTogether PSA starring the NBA and WNBA’s best and brightest below.
Photo: Steve Maller, Tech Crunch | Flickr
