Trump vs Biden: NBA owners criticised for hiding political contributions

It's no secret that NBA players are vocal about their political stances. With the U.S. General Election less than a week away, the stakes are high, and NBA owners who support one or the other candidate donate discretely to prevent friction.

Financial donations to specific politicians or groups are the biggest show of support in the USA. In a country where lobbying and monetary donations to support a political campaign is legal, as long as there's transparency, it worked well historically.

But these days, announcing one's political alignment can be social suicide.

According to Clipsnation.com, L.A. Clippers owner Steve Ballmer has donated nearly 8 million dollars (6,180,000 GBP) to the party he supports but did not mention which one it is.

Apparently, Ballmer is not alone. Other NBA team owners sent their contributions through political action committees to remain anonymous.

By law, while contributing and lobbying are legal in the United States, both parties need to be transparent regarding the transaction. In effect, it lets the public know who is supporting the politician and what groups they will favour once elected.

However, with the anonymous donations, it's pretty clear that donors are circumventing the law to avoid accountability for one reason or another. Clipsnation speculates that the only reason to do this is that team owners are endorsing political candidates opposite of what many employees, players, and fans want.

While the spirit of the law requires transparency, it does not need to take into account sources of funds from a third-party. Only the direct contributor is required to make such a declaration.

A lot of people seem to find this practice distasteful. It would appear the right to remain silent is frowned upon by certain sectors of society that claim to fight for the people's rights.

The U.S. election is scheduled for Tuesday, November 3. The Office of the President is up for grabs. If incumbent Donald Trump loses to the Democratic candidate, he would be the 5th President to lose in a re-election bid.