Via Deadspin, this New York Daily News article goes into some detail about new rules and regulations in the NBA that you might not have heard about. The league actually sent an official to a Knicks/Wizards game the other night to look for players who did any of the following:
- Untucked their shirt after being taken out of the game.
- Wore a rubber band with their name (or anyone else’s) on it.
- Chewed gum during the national anthem.
- Shifted and swayed as they stood in line listening to the national anthem.
But a little later in the article is the following quote, and this is what I find most interesting about the situation:
“The image problem is a subtle way of talking about black ballplayers and how they appear to the populace,” [Players Union boss Billy] Hunter said. “When we had our last round of negotiations, David told me that he was consulting with one of President Bush’s political consultants. The issue was, what they can do to make the game and players more appealing to the red states?”
I don’t know… a return to the days before Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton might help.
But there you go. The quote from Hunter explains quite a bit about David Stern and why he’s doing what he’s doing. We can dance around the issue by saying “image problem,” and “red states,” but the issue is right there. David Stern wants to sell the NBA to people who aren’t entirely comfortable with black people. That’s it.
It’s a complicated issue, and we’re not going to cover all of it. But there are people in the world who are fine with happy, smiling, non-confrontational black people like Wayne Brady… and not fine with other black people who doesn’t seem quite so non-threatening. That’s racism just the same, and David Stern is endorsing it by catering to those people.
And just because I enjoyed it… The Onion, indirectly, on similar issues.
Mark S. Says:
November 17th, 2006 at 4:33 am
When we had our last round of negotiations, David told me that he was consulting with one of President Bush’s political consultants. The issue was, what they can do to make the game and players more appealing to the red states?
That is wrong on so many levels. Here are a few of them:
1) Is there anyone you should listen to less right now than one of President Bush’s political consultants?
2) Who gives a damn if people in Peoria are really enjoying the NBA?
3) Who gives a damn if NBA players wear a rubber band with their name (or anyone else’s) on it?
4) Is that some gang thing I’m unaware of?
5) Would Daniel Stern perhaps be more comfortable being the commissioner of the PGA, or perhaps NASCAR?
Mark Says:
November 17th, 2006 at 10:13 am
If you want to make the NBA more appealing to EVERYONE, Mr. Stern, cut these astronomic salaries in half.
Fuckin’ douche.
Dave's Football Blog Says:
November 17th, 2006 at 10:56 am
Does Billy Hunter need to choke a bitch?
Big Daddy Says:
November 17th, 2006 at 12:40 pm
I have to admit, I’m confused. Why are they trying to makeover the basketball player image? What? Isn’t it time that we move beyond this? Which image is scarier? A professional basketball player who happens to be black wearing his jersey untucked and chewing gum during the national anthem, or Bill Romanowski working with youth football? Is David Stern really serious about this? Catering to this type of mentality will not make this a better country to live in. OK – I relinquish my soap box. Who’s next?
Yamabushi Says:
November 17th, 2006 at 2:01 pm
David Stern does not care about black people.
Ted Says:
November 18th, 2006 at 4:40 am
Exactly MJD, exactly. Who are these fuckheads and why is Stern catering to them?
C. Says:
November 18th, 2006 at 8:04 pm
Here’s an easy solution: don’t start the regular season right in the middle of pro and college football season.
tom greene Says:
November 23rd, 2006 at 12:06 am
it’s not anti-black…it’s anti-thug
Jimmy Greer Says:
November 23rd, 2006 at 6:16 am
Tom, I’d buy that excuse if I ignored what happens in the other sports. Hell the Cincinati Bengals gave the NBA a run for their money on their own. Leonard Little is still in the NFL after commiting vehicular manslaughter and Ray Lewis knows nothing. I remember Texas Rangers pitcher Frank Francisco threw a chair into the crowd while the Rangers were playing the Oakland A’s. He did more physical damage than to one woman that what happened during the Pacers-Pistons brawl and you probably heard 1/20th about that than you do Ron-Ron.
I think Charles Barkley said it best when he said in a black dominated league with no real white superstar (Nash and Nowitzki aren’t american, its matters) there will be a bigger microscope on the players. Stern knows this, so he’s trying to make his players look more lie business men than bums.