Violence and the NBA

I am not a violent man. I have never been in a fight. I have never punched anyone (aside from fights with my brothers when I was little). When I was in third grade this kid named Brad punched me in the face, I don't know why, but I do know I didn't hit him back. I have lived over 25 years and never once been violent with anyone. The funny part is, it hasn't been that difficult. The trend of violence in sports, especially the NBA has got to stop.

I remember the Pistons/Pacers fight from a few years back. I remember watching most of the game and being mad because the Pistons were playing awful. I flipped it to ESPN around midnight and just saw clip after clip of "the brawl" and couldn't believe it. When I went saw the story of the latest fight on the internet last night, I wasn't surprised. It didn't catch me off guard. Typical NBA in my view. I can only assume that is the exact reaction NBA Commissioner David Stern is trying to destroy, it may be too late.

I have read many columnists from various papers and media outlets say that David Stern is trying to take away what many call, "the hip hop culture", from the NBA. They say this is why Stern has said that all players when inactive must be dressed up. This is why the Chicago Bulls do no allow headbands for their players. They say it's why the officials are calling so many more technical fouls this year for complaining. To a certain degree, I do agree with this assessment. The dominant race as far as players go is clearly African-American. Therefore, the majority of people being affected by any rule change in the NBA will be African-Americans. Does this make David Stern racist? Some would say yes. I don't really know the man, but my guess is that he is trying to make the NBA a little bit more respectable to a wide range of fans. If this means T-ing up guys for arguing and cursing, I'm fine with that. If the Chicago Bulls want to make it so their players look the same by not allowing headbands, I am fine with that. I have no problem with the NBA trying to cut back on some of these things.

Here's where we get into a gray area. There are some activities that are not seen as offensive, headband wearing, some complaining, tattoos, saggy shorts, etc. No big deal to your average person. Not anything that would cause your typical fan to turn on the game. However, it's when those things are added on top of major offenses. A few years ago Carmelo Anthony appeared in a video made by some friends of his from Baltimore. No big deal right, well, it turns out those friends were drug dealers and suspected murderers. Suddenly this is a much bigger deal. I recall reading that Anthony was no penalized in anyway but was pretty much told be the league to make sure he was careful with who he associated with. Again, not a huge deal. It was a fairly big story when it happened, some writers stuck it to him, other stuck up for him. Those that stuck up for him claimed that the public was being unfair and maybe even racist for jumping to conclusions. I remember thinking to myself, "Okay, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. I don't know him, and I'm not really that proud of some of the people I run into from time to time." I let it go. However, now with that story and this brawl at Madison Square Garden this weekend, Carmelo Anthony suddenly isn't looking too good. This is what the NBA wants to cut down on. There isn't anything wrong with hip hop culture, hip hop is responsible for some very positive movements, it's when violence is thrown on top of it. That's a risky place to be.

Not only is a violent league not very marketable, it's bad for the country in general. I can remember looking up to every player on the Pistons in the early 90s. I loved those guys. Today is no different. Athletes are role models. No one can deny that anymore, not even Charles Barkley. I work with middle school and high school youth and intend to do so for the rest of my working days. I see kids everyday with NBA jersey's on. NBA jersey's are cool and it's a lot cooler to have a Carmelo Anthony jersey than a Ray Allen jersey. Certain players are cooler than others. Carmelo Anthony is cool because he's a great basketball player. Carmelo is cool because he's on advertisements. Carmelo is looked up to. Carmelo has great responsibility. The NBA is close to losing me. They have assuredly lost others and seem primed to lose even more.

The NBA can embrace it's hip hop culture, I'm fine with that (no one hates hearing Rob Thomas music during the playoffs more than me). The NBA can allow headbands and tights and whatever clothing trend they want, I'm cool with that too. What they cannot do, what they will not recover from is if they continue to have a culture of violence. There is enough violence in music, television, video games, cities across the country, and overseas that we don't need it in our hobbies. We do not need it in our role models.

Prediction: The NBA will hand out some stiff penalties. Some guys will get around 10 games. The league will be applauded by some and jeered by others. However, the suspensions could have gone longer and the suspensions could have been heavier. What you will not hear though is how sorry the players are for setting such an awful example. The angel that will be played is how the team will play without Carmelo for a couple of weeks. How Isiah may have ordered the hard foul.

-Blake-