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Posted on Mon, Nov. 22, 2004
Black players in particular should heed Stern warning
JASON WHITLOCK
NBA commissioner David Stern sent a message to his players Sunday.
By issuing three of the harshest penalties in league history — a 73-game suspension of Ron Artest, 30 games for Stephen Jackson and 25 games for Jermaine O'Neal — Stern let his players know that the league will aggressively try to clean up its image problem.
For their role in Friday's ugly brawl at Detroit, the Pacers, favorites to represent the East in the NBA finals, received the death penalty. Indiana's season is over. O'Neal, Artest, both All-Stars, and Jackson are Indiana's three best players.
Stern had no choice. TV ratings for the league have been steadily falling since Michael Jordan's heyday. The league's image has been in decline since Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Jordan ruled.
Allen Iverson, Latrell Sprewell, Kobe Bryant, Dream Team failures, an embrace of all the negative aspects of the hip-hop culture and a horrid style of play have conspired to make the NBA easy to ignore. By decimating the Pacers and publicly acknowledging that there has been a lowering of expectations in terms of player (and fan) behavior, Stern made it clear he's not in denial about the NBA's troubles.
I am, however, concerned that the league's players will remain in denial. Surrounded by groupies and yes-men, fortified by multimillion-dollar contracts and endorsement deals, it will be easy for NBA players to misinterpret Stern's warning.
In this column, I am calling on my peers in the media to level with NBA players (and all professional athletes) and tell them what's really going on.
American sports fans, particularly those who consistently s out the hundreds of dollars it takes to attend a professional game, are fed up with black professional basketball players in particular and black professional athletes to a lesser degree.
Yeah, let's cut through all the garbage and get to the real issue. The people paying the bills don't like the product, don't like the at ude, don't like the showboating and don't like the flamboyance. The NBA, which relies heavily on African-American players, is at the forefront of fan backlash. Stern realizes this, and that's why, spurred on by the Detroit brawl, he is reacting decisively.
What the players must come to grips with is that just because race is an element in the backlash, that doesn't mean the backlash is fueled by racism.
We're witnessing a clash of cultures. A predominately white fan base is rejecting a predominately black style of play and sportsmanship.
Who is on the right side of this argument? The group that is always right in a capitalistic society. The customer. That's why Stern, endorsed by his owners, came down hard on the players. He stated that the NBA would take steps to ensure that its fans improved their behavior. But Stern knows the real solutions are in the hands of his players. A good businessman caters to his audience. They don't play country music at my dad's inner-city bar for a reason.
Stern's players must bow to the desires of their fan base.
In general, African-American athletes have always been — for lack of a better description — more expressive and flamboyant on the field of play. Go back to the Negro Leagues — showboating was part of the entertainment package. The Negro Leagues catered to a predominately black fan base.
We, black people, begged for integration. We demanded the right to play in the major leagues, the NBA, the NFL, the NHL. These leagues accommodate a white audience. As long as the customer base is white, the standard for appropriate sportsmanship, style of play and appearance should be set by white people.
This is fair, particularly when the athletes/employees earn millions of dollars and have the freedom to do whatever — and I mean whatever — they want when they're not playing or practicing.
If African-American players are unwilling to accept this reality, NBA owners will speed up the internationalization of their team's rosters. Many African-American players with NBA-quality skill will soon find themselves circling the country playing basketball with Hot Sauce and the And 1 Tour while Yao Nowitzki collects a $10 million NBA check.
The black players will have no one to blame but themselves.
Honestly, I think there is indeed a racial component to the general public reaction to this incident. People do tend for better or worse to identify with those who, well, look like them. I wish it wasn't the case, but it is.
Ignoring the race of those involved, any player in any sport who runs into the seats of an arena and beats up a fan(s) is certainly subject to a serious suspension as well as other civil and criminal penalties. I'd say the same is true when a player applies a chokehold to a coach.
I really wonder what this author's notion of an ideal punishment for Jack, Artest and JO'Neal would be.
As for Kobe Bryant, I'd say the league treated him quite well, all things considered, since the summer of 2003.
Whitlock does black people a great disservice by suggesting that chasing and slugging fans is a "black style of play."A predominately white fan base is rejecting a predominately black style of play and sportsmanship.
I am very confused by this column... he knows the suspensions were over a brawl, and not celebration right?
I'd have to agree.Whitlock does black people a great disservice by suggesting that chasing and slugging fans is a "black style of play."
I'm sure that is a factor with some people... but I don't think it had anything to do with the suspensions.Honestly, I think there is indeed a racial component to the general public reaction to this incident.
So NBA players who happen to be predominantly African-American are being exploited because the predominantly Caucasian-American fan base makes it possible for the players to earn million$ annually? What part of his argument am I missing?
I think he's seriously misdiagnosing this thing. While the majority of the players in the NBA are African American, there are white players who do the chest thumping, "Who da man" bull . Jason Williams for one. Bill Lambeer was quite the trash talking fight machine in his day. I can't figure out for the life of me the ethinicity of Doug Christie and Mike Bibby, but whatever the they are they fall into the category. The reality is that this culture is not an African American athlete thing, its an AMERICAN athlete thing. The reason you don't see this stuff from a huge amount of white players is because a bunch of them didn't grow up watching high light reels of Bob Costas licking Jordan's balls.
A quick re-read of the article after my initial quick reading leaves me with the impression that he would agree with us that the players are responsible for their actions, but it's somehow an unfair standard for the average African-American NBA player and one which they are incapable of living up to.
The article reads like part Malcolm X, part David Duke.
It may just be me, but isn't a "predominately white fan base" nearly inevitable with a 1-9 ratio of black to white in this country?We're witnessing a clash of cultures. A predominately white fan base is rejecting a predominately black style of play and sportsmanship.
I wouldn't be surprised if the TO issue played a part in this article as well, though.
Actually, I didn't read it that way at all. My read was that it doesn't matter what the style of play is...the customer sets the rules, have every right to set the rules, and that's the right thing to do. And "black professional athletes" need to adhere to the rules.
I didn't see him saying that they couldn't adhere...merely that they had to.
Personally, I'm not willing to call it a "black style of play".
But without a doubt, the play in the NBA has gotten more aggressive, more in your face over the years. For whatever reason.
To the extent that these suspensions can curb that...they are a good thing.
I think hes talking about Tpark.
Flamboyance is one thing...showboating is another. For every black athlete who acts unsportsmanlike there are 10 more who act like professionals. Artest got harsh treatment because of a history of this behavior. Whitlock drops the race card as much as he drops donuts into his mouth. Just because a black athlete recieves some sort of punishment it does not automatically mean it is racially motivated. There is no evidence that this was racially motivated except in Whitlock's cholesterol soaked brain. Isn't it possible that these players were suspended because..oh, I don't know...they screwed up?
I think a problem is the length of Artest's suspension. Those who aren't familiar with his history might find it excessive, but clearly the NBA (well, Stern) thought it appropriate given his history.I'm sure that is a factor with some people... but I don't think it had anything to do with the suspensions.
Jack's suspension is a better gauge, since he had pretty much never had never gotten into any trouble prior to last Friday night. 30 games for running into the stands with his fists flying does strike me (ok bad pun) as being appropriate.
The author I am sure would agree that if the players were white and they rushed the seats after one of them was hit with a plastic cup full of beer that the public reaction would be somewhat different. I would agree with that.
Also, if say a Larry Bird instead of a Stephen Jackson went into the stands with fists flying after a teammate did the same I could see him getting a lesser than appropriate suspension. In a situation in which race was not a factor I feel the public outcry would be much less.
I do not feel the situation though is as dramatic as the author makes it out to be, nor that players who happen to be African-American are somehow incapable of being just as civil and capable of good sportsmanship as those who happen not to be.
Black is not an issue, you do not need to be black to beat up fans. Just look at Hockey, they have 10x the violence that the NBA has.
Actually, I didn't read it that way at all. My read was that it doesn't matter what the style of play is...the customer sets the rules, have every right to set the rules, and that's the right thing to do. And "black professional athletes" need to adhere to the rules.
I didn't see him saying that they couldn't adhere...merely that they had to.
He makes that standard out to be unfair, almost de facto because the NBA fan base is predominantly white.
I don't think you people understand what hes talking about, as per usual.
There you go. Violence has long been a part of major league sports in this country. But when it's in the NHL it's regarded as being normal. If a fan throws a beer on a player and the player kicks his ass then he got what he deserved. A fan does the same in the NBA and the players are out of control.Black is not an issue, you do not need to be black to beat up fans. Just look at Hockey, they have 10x the violence that the NBA has.
Geez, one brawl in the NBA and suddenly the players are out of hand.
Oh sure, he's saying the white people are oppressing the black people because they are the source of the $. What part is missing?I don't think you people understand what hes talking about, as per usual.
No, I disagree completely. Here's the relevant quote from the article:
"...We, black people, begged for integration. We demanded the right to play in the major leagues, the NBA, the NFL, the NHL. These leagues accommodate a white audience. As long as the customer base is white, the standard for appropriate sportsmanship, style of play and appearance should be set by white people.
This is fair, particularly when the athletes/employees earn millions of dollars and have the freedom to do whatever — and I mean whatever — they want when they're not playing or practicing..."
So the "white" standard is "fair" only because the "white" folks are the customers. If not for the fact that the "white" money is the source of the player salaries then such a "white" standard would be unfair to hold the predominantly "black" players to.
I think if it was Bird then you might be right but it would be because of superstar status, not race.Also, if say a Larry Bird instead of a Stephen Jackson went into the stands with fists flying after a teammate did the same I could see him getting a lesser than appropriate suspension.
If a white player with with same history and talent level as Jackson did what Jackson did and did not recieve an equal suspension, then I think the issue could be there. If that did happen it would be unfair.
What if it was an Austin Croshere instead of a Stephen Jackson who rushed into the stands to back up his teammate Artest with fists flying? Think about that for a minute.If a white player with with same history and talent level as Jackson did what Jackson did and did not recieve an equal suspension, then I think the issue could be there. If that did happen it would be unfair.
Last edited by Marcus Bryant; 11-22-2004 at 01:12 PM.
Race should never be a part of this.As long as the customer base is white, the standard for appropriate sportsmanship, style of play and appearance should be set by white people.
I think it is fair to say that the "customer" does and should drive any standard.
I don't see the need to draw the conclusion you seem to be drawing from that statement.
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