- The NBA Inclusion Leadership Award recognizes a team’s commitment to inclusion as a key business strategy.
- The Toronto Raptors won the NBA’s Inclusion Leadership Award for the 2021-22 season.
- John Wiggins is the Vice President of Organizational Culture and Inclusion for the Raptors.
The NBA Inclusion Leadership Award recognizes a team’s commitment to inclusion as a key business strategy.
The league defines inclusion as recognizing, valuing, and fully leveraging different perspectives and backgrounds to drive results.
When did the Toronto Raptors win the NBA Inclusion Leadership Award? Let’s find out.
What Is the Raptors Inclusion Award?
The Raptors won the NBA’s Inclusion Leadership Award for the 2021-22 season when their basketball betting odds of winning games were consistently short since they were a playoff team.
According to NBA Communications, the Raptors were rewarded for creating the Wayne & Theresa Embry Fellowship, which provides opportunities for Canadians from marginalized groups to gain experience in professional basketball operations, and the Welcome Toronto Creators initiative, which creates access and opportunities for Canadian artists from underrepresented communities to work on the team’s brand marketing and creative planning efforts.
The Raptors odds of winning games vary depending on the matchup, but their impact on the Toronto community remains consistent.
What Is the Raptors 905 Teacher Award?
The Raptors 905 Teacher Award honours a teacher doing exemplary work in the classroom and community in each game during the 2024-25 regular season.
Each winning Teacher Hero and a guest will be invited to a Raptors 905 home game at Paramount Fine Food Centre and given a special 905 gift.
Students who nominate a winning Teacher Hero will also be invited, plus a guest, to a game. Students can only nominate teachers from the school they attend.
Nominations are open to teachers of elementary and middle schools in the 905 area.
What Are the Toronto Raptors Diversity and Inclusion Policies?
John Wiggins is the Vice President of Organizational Culture and Inclusion for the Raptors.
His role is to address social injustice, inclusion, equity, and political reform.
“This position has the opportunity to directly impact change. That’s what excited me so much about the role – the chance to impact change directly in my organization, my community and my country,” Wiggins said. “As an organization, we’re uniquely placed to do that. We are the Raptors, and we are MLSE.
“For me, change is actionable. I don’t want to just say things. They must be doable. I have a position of power, and I want to do powerful things.”
MLSE and the Raptors have prioritized promoting diversity and inclusion within their organization:
- The Raptors’ mission is to champion a growing culture of equity, understanding, and non-violence by acting against all forms of racism and hate, focusing on intersectionalities within Indigenous and Black communities.
- The Raptors believe that differences in ability, age, ethnicity, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic status should not differentiate how people are treated.
- The Raptors believe that listening is as important as speaking, saying they will not hesitate to take action and will do so intentionally, focused on change.
- MLSE is committed to creating an equitable, diverse, and inclusive environment that includes but is not limited to hiring, promotion, access to training and development, layoffs, and supplier engagements.
- All MLSE staff have a formal and private process for reporting any acts of racism or discrimination they may experience in their work environment, which are documented, evaluated, and acted upon swiftly by the organization.