NYT: "In My Next Life" (NBA ridiculed)

[boutons]

I've excerpted the "sports" paragraphs, the other social/political paragraphs being too inflammatory for the inflammable orifices in propinquity.

Op-Ed Columnist: In My Next Life

November 25, 2004

By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN

...

If I can't be a Republican House member, I want to be
Latrell Sprewell, the guard for the Minnesota Timberwolves.
I want to say with a straight face that if my owner will
only give me a three-year contract extension for a meager
$21 million, then he's not worth working for, because "I've
got my family to feed."

Yes, I want to be Latrell Sprewell. At a time when N.B.A.
games are priced beyond the reach of most American
families, when half the country can't afford health care,
when some reservists in Iraq are separated from their
families for a year, including this Thanksgiving, I want to
be like Latrell. I want to make sure everyone knows that
I'm looking out for my family - and no one else's.

If I can't be Latrell Sprewell, I want to be any American
college or professional athlete. For a mere dunk of the
basketball or first-down run, I want to be able to dance a
jig, as if I'd just broken every record by Michael Jordan
or Johnny Unitas. For the smallest, most routine bit of
success in my sport, I want to be able to get in your face
- I want to know who's your daddy, I want to be able to
high-five, low-five, thump my chest and dance on your
grave. You talkin' to me?

I want to be able to fight on the court, off the court, in
the stands and on the sidelines. I want to respect no
boundaries and no norms. And when I make your kids cry, I
want to be able to tell you to just "chill" - that my coach
says "stuff happens" and that my union rep is appealing my
punishment in the name of the Bill of Rights and the Magna
Carta. Yes, in my next life, I want to be The Man.

...

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/25/op...375cd4c33a1653

Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

I'd suggest posting the rest of this in The Club or the Political Forum if you've got some marshmallows you need roasted over numerous flames.

Nice read, both the excerpts and the original text.

[boutons]

I got no marshmallows. The hate, anger, and closed-minds over there make talk radio and Fox News sound "fair and balanced".

Here's more in the same vein, different sport:

===========================================

N.F.L. Issues Reminder on Conduct and Safety

November 25, 2004
By DAMON HACK

In the aftermath of the brawl last Friday between N.B.A.
players and fans in Auburn Hills, Mich., the National
Football League sent a memo yesterday to its 32 teams about
rules on security and fan-player interaction.

The memo from Commissioner Paul Tagliabue, a copy of which
was given to The New York Times by the league, does not
announce new security measures but re-emphasizes points on
fan conduct and the safety of players and others on the
field.

Milt Ahlerich, the N.F.L. vice president for security, said
the fight during the Indiana Pacers-Detroit Pistons game
"did cause us to pause."

The memo said, "We have had few incidents involving serious
confrontation between fans and players or others involved
in the game on the field."

It added, "Our history, however, is not free of such
incidents."

Although football fans sit much farther from the action
than do N.B.A. fans, the N.F.L. has had frightening
moments.

In a 1995 game between the Giants and San Diego at Giants
Stadium, a ball of ice thrown from the stands struck the
Chargers' equipment manager, Sid Brooks, inches from his
left eye and knocked him unconscious.

Five years ago at Mile High Stadium, members of the Oakland
Raiders were pelted by snowballs during the Denver Broncos'
27-21 overtime victory. Offensive tackle Lincoln Kennedy,
who was hit in the face by a snowball, pushed his way into
the stands before security guards and other Raiders helped
remove him.

Tagliabue's memo reminded teams in cold-weather climates to
make an extra effort to remove snow and ice so they cannot
become projectiles.

Teams were also reminded to terminate the sale of beer and
other alcoholic beverages by the end of the third quarter.

"We are in the heart of our season right now, and the
rivalries and emotions can run very high at these times,"
Ahlerich said in a telephone interview. "The games become
increasingly critical in the hunt for the postseason. We
are pleased to see the rules laid out in a detailed fashion
for what is required of the clubs."

Although league officials deemed a reminder necessary,
Ahlerich said no major security changes had been made since
the N.F.L. adopted stricter measures after the terrorist
attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

"We couldn't add to what was there, but it becomes the
execution and compliance," Ahlerich said. "That's where we
are, reminding and encouraging the clubs to do the very
best job they can on this. I think good judgment has to be
involved in security as well."

Each club handles security for home games until the league
takes over for the conference championship games, the Super
Bowl and the Pro Bowl, Ahlerich said.

John K. Mara, the Giants' executive vice president, said
the team followed the league's rules and had tightened its
security measures after the Chargers game in 1995 and after
Sept. 11.

He said the Pacers-Pistons incident had made N.F.L. teams
more aware of their practices.

"Since that event, we're all a little more conscious of
providing as much security as possible," Mara said in a
telephone interview. "We have spoken with our stadium
security and are making sure they are as vigilant as
possible. We have a good security presence behind the
benches, New Jersey state troopers and stadium security.

"You're never 100 percent certain, but I think we're
comfortable with it as well."

Having stood in the tunnels of stadiums throughout the
league, Mara said, he was surprised by some of the fans'
language he had heard as the players walked onto the field.


At the recent Monday night game between the Dallas Cowboys
and the Philadelphia Eagles in Irving, Tex., uniformed
officers removed several fans from their seats, a scene
that has become familiar at sporting events.

The N.F.L. players, in their policy manual, are told that
they must refrain from going into the stands despite abuse
from fans.

A spokesman for the Green Bay Packers said the league had
not asked their players to refrain from celebrating
touchdowns with Lambeau Leaps into the first row of stands.
Players from other teams have copied that flourish.

"The professional athlete today has to have an
understanding that there are certain boundaries," Marty
Schottenheimer, the Chargers' coach, said Monday during a
news conference. "Notwithstanding any events that occur,
you cannot cross that line. For us to continue to be
successful in sport - for it to continue to be a game - we
have to work to try to manage those things because it will
erode what we do."

San Diego running back LaDainian Tomlinson said athletes
must not be drawn into fights with fans.

"As an athlete, you kind of have to turn the other cheek,"
Tomlinson said. "Going up into the stands, I think that was
a bad situation. You want to be treated with respect, but
you just can't do it. In this world we live in, athletes
can't go into the stands."

Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company

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My prediction is that Artest's sentence in the history books will be as limited and negative as Monica Lewinsky's. He deserves no better.