You Know Things Are Bad When Even The White Guys Are Making You Look Bad!
The NBA has seen its share of troubling stories in the past several seasons.
Many quickly point to Ron Artest, the loose cannon that dove into the stands of the Detroit arena after a fan hit him with a cup of liquid while he was on the court after walking away from an altercation instigated by his opponent.
His actions sparked a melee which included several of his teammates joining him in the audience to duke it out while some rowdy fans also took to the court.
The negative image of its primarily Black players is an issue that the league has dealt with severely in order to teach them a lesson and dispel the thoughts that automatically come to the minds of many fans.
This week David Stern, the hardnosed commissioner of the NBA, has to deal with one of the most damning and damaging stories of misconduct to hit the league since the Detroit melee. The NBA acknowledged Friday that the FBI is investigating referee Tim Donaghy for betting on games, including ones in which he officiated.
According to a law enforcement official, authorities are examining whether the referee made calls to affect the point spread in games on which he or associates had wagered over the past two seasons.
It looks like the NBA can come up with darker stories than bar fights, marijuana busts, and dirty rap lyrics by their players. Now, we can imagine Donaghy in a poorly lit mob boss’ cellar, sitting at a card table, begging for another day to get $400,000 before the goons behind him break his legs. Instead of imagining the intimidating 6’9” man with cornrows being arrested for fighting an everyday Joe Schmo in a bar over something we’ll never know, let’s stop and think about Tony, Pauly, and Tim having a meeting about the best way to get their friggin’ money back.
Its quite ironic that possibly the biggest scandal in the sporting world has been committed by one of the squeaky clean referees of the game. Commissioners of major sports are known for laying down hefty fines on their players and coaches for even hinting that the officials sometimes have an underlying agenda while calling the games.
Although its highly important for them to protect the integrity of the game by keeping the players that experience the game first hand quiet, it’s even more important that they ask themselves why some players feel this has happened to them and keep an eye on the integrity of these men in charge.
"The players are just overgrown, overpaid crybabies. Tell them to shut up and put the ball in the hoop while they get seven-figure paychecks. They don’t care about the regular season, no one shows up to play until the playoffs.” These are some of the stereotypes that are slung by detractors of the game and its 7 foot tall employees. It seems that Stern was buying into these mudslingers’ anger so much that he overlooked the possibility that someone else besides Allan Iverson can give the league a Black eye.
Now Donaghy is receiving death threats and visits to his home for endless questions, which have caused him to have law enforcement officials visit to ensure his safety. After seeing this new negative face of the NBA on the headlines, maybe many sports fans and non-sports fans around the country will stop and realize that thugs, illegal activities, and dishonesty isn’t only seen associated with cornrows, tattoos, and rap lyrics. But I doubt it.
Keep talking, it’s the only way they’ll ever hear you.--JJJ