NBA Ugliness

[BOZ]

man, i wonder why basketball players have been so aggressive lately? i expect it from hockey of course, and even american football where there is a lot of physical contact anyway. but basketball? you're not even really supposed to be touching each other.

 

[GlassJaw]

It's what the second brawl in two years? That's really not a bad track record.

The problem is that the NBA is under such a microscope. David Stern has tried greatly to "clean-up" the NBA and hasn't been very successful. He's goes after the players' dress code and owners like Mark Cuban for standing on the sidelines with his team and tells the refs to enforce more ticky-tack fouls instead of *gasp* actually trying to improve the quality of play on the court.

This is a very good article on the NBA's image, especially this quote:

"The rules are different in the NBA, where boorish behavior gets treated differently than the rest of sports. These images stay with the public, shaping stereotypes of those beneath the headbands and tattoos. Albert Haynesworth can smash his cleat-clad foot into the unmasked face of a Dallas Cowboy and baseball can empty benches with beanball brawls, but those acts are never made to stand up for the entirety of the sport."

Bottom line is that the NBA can't afford these incedents. People are all too willing to label the NBA as a bunch of "thugs", which, to me, is racial stereotyping in disguise yet it's considered socially acceptable to do so. Aren't these the same players the NBA has heavily marketed?

 

[GlassJaw]

man, i wonder why basketball players have been so aggressive lately? i expect it from hockey of course, and even american football where there is a lot of physical contact anyway. but basketball? you're not even really supposed to be touching each other.

Do you watch the NBA? You could argue that the NBA is just as, or even moreso, physical as hockey and the NFL.

 

[BOZ]

well, i guess my un-watching of the NBA makes me pretty naive on the subject, then.

 

[Olaf the Stout]

Do you watch the NBA? You could argue that the NBA is just as, or even moreso, physical as hockey and the NFL.

But basketball is, in theory, supposed to be a non-contact sport.

Olaf the Stout

 

[BOZ]

i guess hockey really is, too. i mean, unlike football there is no reason that the players need to come into physical contact with each other (their sticks, but not their bodies).

 

[GlassJaw]

But basketball is, in theory, supposed to be a non-contact sport.

Not really. I don't think anyone expects no contact when going up for a rebound.

If anything, hockey could be played as non-contact much more easily than basketball. The interesting thing is that when hockey is played non-contact, it's a much better game.

 

[Crothian]

The interesting thing is that when hockey is played non-contact, it's a much better game.

I don't know you anymore....

 

[Ranger REG]

Well, we had another huge brawl in the NBA today...10 ejections.

I'm thinking its time to equip the refs with tasers & pepper spray.

To protect themselves from slapfighting?

BAH-HAHAHAHA!!!

 

[GlassJaw]

I don't know you anymore....

I guess you don't know the Russians and Canadians either. How do you think they've earned the reputation they have?

The concept of full-contact hockey (aka goon hockey) is an NHL creation only and certain isn't the way Olympic or college hockey used to be played.

The Russians and Canadians focused on speed and passing, not hitting and checking. They utilized the larger rinks and open style of play to their advantage. NHL, with its smaller rink and watered down talent pool, relies on thuggery and goons to tie up the stars and skilled players. Why do you think the NHL has been implementing new rules? To improve play, that's why. The product of NHL hockey has basically sucked for many years.