In one of the dumbest articles I believe I’ve ever read, MSNBC.com’s Michael Ventre dares to call the scuffle between the Nuggets and Knicks last night worse than the fight between Indiana Pacers players and Detroit Pistons fans.
His argument is that the Pacers were provoked and there was beer involved. Really.
Somehow, I get the feeling that Ventre didn’t actually see the fight between Denver and New York, because all that involved was a few punches and a lot of posturing. Nobody got seriously hurt and there’s nothing different about this than the Cubs/White Sox fight this summer or any previous fight in any other sport. This wasn’t Malice at the Palace, this wasn’t the Madison Square Melee. This was a fight. Like Magic/Sonics in January only worse. It didn’t spill into the stands, it didn’t involve fans on the court, it didn’t involve the game being stopped before it was over.
It was a fight. It was a lousy fight, with immature combatants who need to be punished severely for their stupidity. But this is not the end of the NBA, and this is not the last fight the NBA will see. If Major League Baseball can have five to ten bench clearing brawls each year, then why the hell can’t people get off the NBA’s case when they have one every two years? Nobody got hurt. The fans weren’t involved. It got out of control for approximately ten seconds, when Jared Jeffries decided to act like the man he isn’t and tried to chase Carmelo down the court.
I’m certainly not making excuses for the behavior. But it’s about time people realized or at least acknowledged the disgusting double standard that allows them to crucify the NBA for the same things that happen in every other sport.
If a player in the NBA fires a gun, the entire league has a gun. Tank Johnson of the Bears was arrested for gun use and his bodyguard was shot dead days later. I don’t think the entire NFL will be categorized as a criminal league. If a player in the NBA argues with an official, it’s because he’s a whiner and a crybaby. Exactly how many baseball players and managers get into loud screaming matches with umpires again? How many baseball players and managers rip out the bases and throw them across the field?
It’s ridiculous, and it’s unfair. And David Stern knows that, but his goal isn’t to stop the double standard, but to make sure the people criticizing the NBA grow to love the league. So he’s going to make the players conform to the double standard, hence the no tolerance rules, hence the dress code, hence all the horrible rules he’s put into practice since the real brawl back in 2004. And the players are the real losers, as are the people who can actually look at the league rationally, without the lens of racist ignorance.
