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Message: <blockquote data-quote="GlassJaw" data-source="post: 3233868" data-attributes="member: 22103">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 <a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=aw-brawl121706&prov=yhoo&type=lgns" target="_blank">article</a> 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?</blockquote>