pooh
11-21-2004, 10:56 PM
Link (http://www.indystar.com/articles/3/196509-9233-094.html)
Stern strikes a blow for decency
By Bob Kravitz
November 21, 2004
CHICAGO -- It's fair.
And it's just.
It's the sentence NBA commissioner David Stern was morally compelled to hand down Sunday if he wanted to salvage the dignity of his league and his game.
How could he have been expected to show leniency here? He simply could not. He had to send a message. He had to make it clear that no matter how badly a player is provoked, he can never, ever, go into the stands. Anything less, and he risked having his league reduced to a circus sideshow.
Ron Artest deserved the full-season suspension, and should be grateful he wasn't kicked out of the game for life.
Stephen Jackson got what he deserved. As did Jermaine O'Neal. As did Detroit's Ben Wallace. As did everybody else whose actions stained themselves, their organizations and the entire sport.
At some point, it's hoped that Stern will also determine the Detroit Pistons' institutional culpability in this incident, and consider whatever fine might be appropriate. That, Stern said Sunday, will come in time.
In the short term, though, he knew he had to act quickly and decisively. This was arguably the ugliest moment in the history of American professional sports. And there was no time to waste.
"I've seen somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 to 25,000 games," Stern said during an early-evening media conference. "This is the worst one I've ever seen in the NBA. Period."
Clearly, this destroys almost any hope of the Pacers winning an NBA championship, a sad realization given the talent the team has collected. This looks like Reggie Miller's final season, and it's unlikely his team will give him a final shot at a ring. The fans also get jilted, because they paid big money for tickets and will now be left with a team that bears no resemblance to the real Pacers.
But something far more important than one team's season was at stake here. Stern had to strike a blow for civility and basic decency. He had to re-draw the line that's supposed to exist between athletes and fans. It wasn't just his own sport that was on the line; it was all sports, which continue to be marked by escalating violence.
Human nature being what it is, people now will quibble over the specifics of the penalties, scream that Ben Wallace started it and the fans got out of hand.
Here is what we can't forget. They went into the stand. What Artest and his teammates did was patently unforgivable. We may understand their reaction on a very human level; who wouldn't confront some clod who douses them with a beer? But dealing with abuse is an unfortunate part of the job.
At some level, the Pacers have themselves to blame, because they're the ones who continued to keep Artest rather than trade him. They knew he was a time bomb. They knew his peculiar brand of madness might undermine his team. But they knew he could play, and they stayed the course, no matter how many times he ran afoul of the rules.
This is not a time for Donnie Walsh and Larry Bird to be looking at Stern. This is a time for them to be looking in the mirror.
As for Artest himself, the time has come for him to use this opportunity not to promote his music, but to get himself well. The press pass does not entitle us to reach conclusions about another man's physical or mental health, but the body of evidence has grown to the point where it's apparent his problems go beyond simple immaturity and eccentricity.
A normal person does not do the things he's been doing for years.
A normal person does not recline on the scorer's table during an altercation, engaging in what one colleague called "passive provocation."
Of course Stern took his history into account with this verdict. How could he fail to take his past into full account?
The last thing Artest needs now is for people to turn him into some kind of martyr, telling him he was done wrong by the powers-that-be. What he needs now is for people to tell him he does, in fact, need some kind of help.
He's not just a talented basketball player, but he is, by all accounts, a good-hearted person. These days do not have to be wasted. These days could, in fact, prove to be his salvation.
Ultimately, though, this wasn't about Artest or any of the individuals who got caught up in Friday's melee. It was about having the courage to do what was right for fans and players and the game itself.
"We cannot allow our sport to be debased," Stern said.
It's harsh.
But it's fair.
And it's just.
Stern strikes a blow for decency
By Bob Kravitz
November 21, 2004
CHICAGO -- It's fair.
And it's just.
It's the sentence NBA commissioner David Stern was morally compelled to hand down Sunday if he wanted to salvage the dignity of his league and his game.
How could he have been expected to show leniency here? He simply could not. He had to send a message. He had to make it clear that no matter how badly a player is provoked, he can never, ever, go into the stands. Anything less, and he risked having his league reduced to a circus sideshow.
Ron Artest deserved the full-season suspension, and should be grateful he wasn't kicked out of the game for life.
Stephen Jackson got what he deserved. As did Jermaine O'Neal. As did Detroit's Ben Wallace. As did everybody else whose actions stained themselves, their organizations and the entire sport.
At some point, it's hoped that Stern will also determine the Detroit Pistons' institutional culpability in this incident, and consider whatever fine might be appropriate. That, Stern said Sunday, will come in time.
In the short term, though, he knew he had to act quickly and decisively. This was arguably the ugliest moment in the history of American professional sports. And there was no time to waste.
"I've seen somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 to 25,000 games," Stern said during an early-evening media conference. "This is the worst one I've ever seen in the NBA. Period."
Clearly, this destroys almost any hope of the Pacers winning an NBA championship, a sad realization given the talent the team has collected. This looks like Reggie Miller's final season, and it's unlikely his team will give him a final shot at a ring. The fans also get jilted, because they paid big money for tickets and will now be left with a team that bears no resemblance to the real Pacers.
But something far more important than one team's season was at stake here. Stern had to strike a blow for civility and basic decency. He had to re-draw the line that's supposed to exist between athletes and fans. It wasn't just his own sport that was on the line; it was all sports, which continue to be marked by escalating violence.
Human nature being what it is, people now will quibble over the specifics of the penalties, scream that Ben Wallace started it and the fans got out of hand.
Here is what we can't forget. They went into the stand. What Artest and his teammates did was patently unforgivable. We may understand their reaction on a very human level; who wouldn't confront some clod who douses them with a beer? But dealing with abuse is an unfortunate part of the job.
At some level, the Pacers have themselves to blame, because they're the ones who continued to keep Artest rather than trade him. They knew he was a time bomb. They knew his peculiar brand of madness might undermine his team. But they knew he could play, and they stayed the course, no matter how many times he ran afoul of the rules.
This is not a time for Donnie Walsh and Larry Bird to be looking at Stern. This is a time for them to be looking in the mirror.
As for Artest himself, the time has come for him to use this opportunity not to promote his music, but to get himself well. The press pass does not entitle us to reach conclusions about another man's physical or mental health, but the body of evidence has grown to the point where it's apparent his problems go beyond simple immaturity and eccentricity.
A normal person does not do the things he's been doing for years.
A normal person does not recline on the scorer's table during an altercation, engaging in what one colleague called "passive provocation."
Of course Stern took his history into account with this verdict. How could he fail to take his past into full account?
The last thing Artest needs now is for people to turn him into some kind of martyr, telling him he was done wrong by the powers-that-be. What he needs now is for people to tell him he does, in fact, need some kind of help.
He's not just a talented basketball player, but he is, by all accounts, a good-hearted person. These days do not have to be wasted. These days could, in fact, prove to be his salvation.
Ultimately, though, this wasn't about Artest or any of the individuals who got caught up in Friday's melee. It was about having the courage to do what was right for fans and players and the game itself.
"We cannot allow our sport to be debased," Stern said.
It's harsh.
But it's fair.
And it's just.