So much for any lip service paid to sportsmanship and fair play, David Stern has just declared the NBA a war zone and that is ok because it sells tickets and the media just eats it up. David Stern doesn’t care about justice, Stern only cares about profits and his ruling proves he doesn’t care who gets hurt in the process. Not only was a lifetime ban from the league warranted in this case but was in fact, long overdue.

The media was instrumental in forcing professional sports to address the drug issues they had long ignored. Why isn’t the media asking Stern the hard question about the league’s position on street violence that is being played out on their court in front of millions of kids. That is a relevant question. By continuing to downplay Artest’s behavior in the name of the all mighty dollar, the NBA is sending out a very dangerous message. See Seth’s comment. He isn’t discussing basketball, he is discussing gang violence and street revenge, the only thing missing is drive by shootings. That is the message David Stern sent out with this sham of a suspension.

I find myself looking at the player’s union with contempt as well because David Stern sent out another message they are ignoring. He essentually told the players in the NBA they are a piece of meat by allowing Ron Artest back. Considering the length of the suspension after the ’04 brawl in Detroit, he is telling them anything goes as long as they keep it on the court and not in the ticket section. A union’s job is to protect the safety of its membership. Ron Artest poses a threat every time he steps on the floor. I’m sure they were all ready to come to Artest’s defense had the right penalty been put down, but where they should be is by James Harden and every other member’s side demanding this risk to life and limb be eliminated as an unnecessary risk.

Barry Tramel tried to justify this suspension by saying it sent a message to other players in the league, what a joke, most of the players in this league actually possess AND practice self control. He is right though, it did send a message, but not what Tramel thinks.

Russ, Perk, and Serge? You might get pushed into the crowd, or get a sneaker to the face, or a death grip. But retaliating for a teammate? Not sure about that. Only thing I can think of was when Russ tried to posterize Blake Griffin and failed lol

Harden is no wall flower either. Well… he wasn’t. He might not be as confident as he was once was, especially knowing the super star on the team won’t be able to come to his defense. *shrugs*

Artest is Kobe’s goon- the Laker’s goon. OKC doesn’t have that.

#Neverforget http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIcVUzMwkWk