Outrageous courtside advertising boards! How many players have been injured? Yet CBA still refuses to change.

The CBA’s courtside advertising boards have once again caused player injuries.

In the Guangzhou vs. Tianjin match, when Li Xiangbo and Lai Junhao contested the ball, Lai lost control and flew out of bounds.

At first, it didn’t seem like a serious move, so I was confused watching live about why the player remained down.

It turned out that Lai Junhao’s head hit the advertising board, resulting in a neck sprain, and he was casually carried off on a stretcher for medical attention...

This player is an inside shooter for Tianjin; if he is sidelined, it would be a severe blow to the already bottom-ranked team.

Why did I say “again” at the beginning?

Injuries caused by advertising boards are definitely not a first.

In 2021, Xinjiang player Lutubula collided with an advertising board while chasing the ball out of bounds, causing the board to fall and hit his ankle, forcing him to lie down in pain and eventually be stretchered off.

After the game, Zhou Qi expressed his dissatisfaction on Weibo, pointing out the safety hazards of the advertising board setup.

On April 10, 2022, during the CBA playoffs between Shenzhen and Shanghai, to protect foreign player Franklin who ran out of bounds, Gu Quan was hit in the leg by a fallen advertising board, fell in pain, but after treatment returned to the game.

At that time, then head coach Li Chunjiang spoke bluntly:

“How many times have we said this, yet they still put them there. One day, two more players will get hurt!”

...

Jiangsu player Zheng Qilong twisted his ankle stepping on an advertising board while saving the ball, Jilin foreign player Jones had his hand grazed by a board, Guo Ailun was tripped by an advertising board...

It’s also common for players to fly off the advertising boards while trying to save the ball, like Zhao Jiwei.

As a commercial league, courtside advertising is an important source of revenue for the CBA.

It includes official sponsorships, jersey ads, and court advertising boards, all affecting the revenue sharing of CBA teams.

Advertising is absolutely necessary.

However,Traditional upright advertising boards mostly have metal frames with hard panels, sharp edges, no effective cushioning, and unstable supports, causing frequent safety concerns.They have caused player injuries multiple times.

After so many years, it seems there hasn’t been any significant improvement...

Have they changed the placement (safety distance)? Changed the materials? Or switched the advertising methods?

If a player sitting on an advertising board gets a technical foul, then if an advertising board injures a player, shouldn’t it get a warning...

Court floor advertisements repeatedly cause players to slip.

Courtside advertising boards repeatedly cause injuries to players.

How does the NBA handle this?

They clearly require courtside advertising boards to be placed behind the media interview area, with a minimum safety distance of 3 meters from the court edge for baseline ads.

No upright advertising boards in front of the benches, only advertising carriers placed away from player activity areas, such as under the scorer’s table.

Bases use triangular stable designs with large contact areas and low centers of gravity to greatly reduce tipping risks; frames are mostly lightweight aluminum alloys with foldable structures, which reduce injury risk even if they fall.

Sponsor rights are very important, crucial to the league’s survival and development.

But don’t forget, players are the league’s core assets too...

Of course, we can only complain and hope the players stay safe!