Blog
Has the NBA crossed the line?
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Deon Price
This year's NBA playoffs have been extremely competitive and exciting for regular basketball enthusiasts. I enjoyed the tough and aggressive play for the most part until I realized that in some cases players have crossed the line.
So far there have been an unusual number of technical fouls and ejections and we just finished the second round of the playoffs. Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard was suspended for a game for throwing an elbow. Houston Rockets forward Ron Artest was ejected from a game for a flagrant foul that could have resulted in an injury.
Lakers guard Derrick Fisher was ejected and suspended for exploding into a player like an NFL linebacker that resulted in an injury. And Rafer Alston of the Orlando Magic was also ejected and suspended after he slapped an opponent in the back of the head after a three point basket which lead to an altercation.
It has been flat-out ugly. As an athlete and a coach, I truly understand and encourage aggressive competitive play but don't condone the type of dirty, below-the-belt type of action that the NBA is currently showcasing to the world.
There is an unwritten rule or code that NBA players follow that have players literally pummeling each other as they approach the basket. What's even more disturbing is that the basketball community, particularly analysts and commentators, are encouraging or even instigating this nonsense with comments such as, 'he should have kicked him in the n...s' which was the sentiments of the great Charles Barkely. I heard one comment from a former NBA all-star turned commentator: 'A good elbow to the midsection just sends a good message to your opponent.'
These foul suggestions are being broadcast to the world. This is not a healthy competitive spirit. This is blatant dirty play and poor sportsmanship. This is what happens when you allow your competitive spirit to get the best of your moral integrity.
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban did just that when he took it to a even more personal level by verbally attacking Denver Nuggets forward Kenyan Martin's mother by yelling, 'Your son is nothing but a thug.' Have we gone too far? I think so.
Here's what really bothers me. Who do you think this poor display of grown men misbehaving affects the most? Of course, our youth, the millions of young athletes who idolize these NBA superstars. They mimic their every move and unfortunately take on some of their personality traits.
This powerful, yet negative, influence undoubtedly affects today's younger generation. While working with and training young basketball players this week I had a young player give his own teammate a so-called hard foul that sent both players to the ground. I asked the aggressive young man what was he doing and why was that necessary? Before he could complete his response, which was probably something he witnessed or heard on TV, I re-emphasized the difference between being competitive and dirty.
What we are witnessing in the current NBA playoffs is nothing new. The 1990s had some of the dirtiest actions with the Detroit Pistons implementing what they called the Jordan rules. This meant if superstar Michael Jordan or any one else came close to the basket they were instructed to 'put him down hard.'
During the 1980s and the showtime Lakers era, coach Pat Riley instituted the unwritten rule of no friendly gestures which meant no matter how hard you fouled someone or even if you knocked someone down there would be no helping them up, no apologies or any gesture of sportsmanship whatsoever.
Thanks Pat, that's exactly what the NBA has turned into, a game with 'no sportsmanship whatsoever.'
Deon Price is a youth advocate and freelance writer. He can be reached at deon.price@cmcast.net or www.PriceEdutainment.webs.com.
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