<p>Why is it that when there's a fight in the NBA, the league is "full of thugs and social degenerates", but when the same thing happens in baseball, soccer, football, or hockey, there's no big underlying social commentary? I think we can all agree that basketball and the NBA is the "blackest" of the major American sports, infused with hip hop culture and associated with the streets. You can't really picture the Bloods and the Crips playing a shirts-and-skins game of street hockey, can you? </p>
<p>Last year, there was the Malice at the Palace, and just last night, there was the MSG debacle. IMHO, two fights in two seasons is not a big cause for concern, as all the other major sports seem to average at least that as well. However, none of those sports are as black-dominated or black-cultured as the NBA, and thus are immune to racist accusations. Look at the NHL: it sanctions in-game fighting because it understands that players' tempers will naturally get the better of them during a game. While there are people who deride such barbaric practices, there are vociferous defenders of fighting. Now can you imagine if the NBA allowed two thugs from the streets to duke it out whenever they wanted to? You'd get a horde of racists who say that it's proof of inherent violence and criminal tendencies of blacks, even though white players who do the same are given a free pass.</p>
<p>Hate to pull the race card, but it's racism, pure and simple. The "problems" of the NBA are not any more serious than the NFL, NHL, or the MLB. It's just that since the NBA is so identified with black urban culture, people are more willing to attack it.</p>
<p>well when rich people go buy seats to sit right next to a basketball game are attacked, thats a serious problem for the team, for the teams' finances, and a problem in general. </p>
<p>no incident comes to mind recently in any sports besides NBA where players attacked spectators, or that a whole team got ejected.</p>
<p>I know baseball,hockey,football, etc. have some bad fights but nothing like this. You don't seem to realize just how bad basketball is right now. When a person pays to get beaten up by a basketball player, something is seriously wrong.</p>
<p>Other than the Malice in the Palace, I don't think there's been a player-spectator incident in the NBA.</p>
<p>There's been a couple of player-spectator fights in the NHL, even with the protective glass barrier! But nobody blames the players' violence on their race/culture like they do with the NBA.</p>
<p>The NBA is particularly vulnerable because of the proximity of the players and fans. In the NHL, there's the glass, while in the NFL, the stands are too high for most players to reach. It may very well simply be an architectural problem as a cultural one, but of course, people have more fun being racists than engineering critics.</p>
<p>um, i'm pretty sure people in the NFL are also depicted as thugs when they fight each other. Remember the UMiami and FIU fight in NCAAF earlier this season? I'm sure that didn't play out too well.</p>
<p>First of all, UMiami and FIU are the NCAA, not the NFL. I'm talking about professional leagues here.</p>
<p>Also, there's a difference between NBA and NFL blacks. Black football players tend to be from rural areas, and are thus less "thug-like" than black basketball players, who tend to be more urban.</p>
<p>I don't condone the unlawful behavior of members of the Indiana Pacers, and I think the league should be full of well-behaved and presentable superstars like LeBron James, Steve Nash, Yao Ming, and Dwyane Wade, as opposed to guys like Allen Iverson, Ron Artest, or Carmelo Anthony. But I also think that a lot of the ill-will against the NBA stems from resentment of rich, cocky, Adonis-like black males being idolized, and some people are looking for any means possible to tear them down.</p>
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Also, there's a difference between NBA and NFL blacks. Black football players tend to be from rural areas, and are thus less "thug-like" than black basketball players, who tend to be more urban.
<p>well you seem to agree that these NBA stars who do these deplorable things are trash. where does racism come into the picture ? i mean honestly, if you remember years back the public hated john rocker, an atlanta braves picture, over a few comments about new york and gays. he just made comments and everyone hated him. these nba players have fought tons of times, and the public do not hate them. so far it is only a few ESPN commentators who are talking about their ghetto thug personalities, so who cares ? </p>
<p>i mean honestly if white people are so racist towards the NBA why are so many rich white kids running out to spend $150 on sneakers every time jordan/carmello/etc. comes out with a new sneaker?</p>
<p>I was LMFAO last night a that fight btw. Espec. lil Nate Robinson. He was probably the best fighter there. Melo's punch was nice too. Its a shame though. But now that I think about it I think (dont quote me) that these fights happen a lot more in baseball and hockey than in basketball. </p>
<p>People live off stereotypes. Like when they see a bunch of huge black men fighting theyre like "O, that makes sense." The same thing is true when an chinese kid gets the highest grade on a math test. They like connecting everything with stereotypes which sux but it just happens like that.</p>
<p>I saw the fight on CNN, it was pretty crazy. I don't think it was because the players were black, it happens in every sport. There will always be people that talk out of their ass, just ignore them.</p>
<p>Wel, first of all, the Palace incident was two seasons ago, not last season, so its two (major) fights in three seasons. Second, Carmelo is a wuss. He reached in to punch that guy, then ran back to his bench before the guy could respond. And I haven't heard anyone characterize the NBA as thugs, in my area they are all mad that the penalties for it are so harsh.</p>
<p>There's actually a method behind the mayhem so to speak with regards to fighting in hockey. There are unwritten rules in it that you don't break like any other sport, the only difference is to make you pay, hockey players will pound on you.</p>
<p>English hooligans are the worst savages in the world of sports. But it's never their race that's blamed. Maybe their social class, but never their race. I can guarantee you if a bunch of black South Africans raise hell in the next World Cup, people will be paying attention to their skin colour than the size of their wallets.</p>
<p>AA is employed because of a HISTORY of discrimination. Whites weren't discriminated against in the NBA. In fact, back in the day, it was blacks who were. If the league happens to 90% black now, that's mainly because of talent.</p>
<p>I think what Jonathan1 meant was that the NBA is 90% black and no one cares, but why is it wrong for colleges to be 90% white or asian. This is a very interesting question. Pofreshnyc, you say that the league has a great black population because it is based on talent. However, isn't academic ability a type of talent? I'm sure that it takes some sort of skill to pull a 4.0 GPA. </p>
<p>Why can't college be the same way as professional sports where the most talented students would get the seats at top colleges, just as the most talented athletes get to play in the pros? AA makes this impossible. In the modern day NBA, are black players benched in place of less talented white players just because there are so may of them? No way! Why then do colleges have to have this idiotic quota system on certain races? If you're the best person for the job, whether it be college student of professional athlete, you should get the job.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I think what Jonathan1 meant was that the NBA is 90% black and no one cares, but why is it wrong for colleges to be 90% white or asian. This is a very interesting question. Pofreshnyc, you say that the league has a great black population because it is based on talent. However, isn't academic ability a type of talent? I'm sure that it takes some sort of skill to pull a 4.0 GPA.</p>
<p>Why can't college be the same way as professional sports where the most talented students would get the seats at top colleges, just as the most talented athletes get to play in the pros? AA makes this impossible. In the modern day NBA, are black players benched in place of less talented white players just because there are so may of them? No way! Why then do colleges have to have this idiotic quota system on certain races? If you're the best person for the job, whether it be college student of professional athlete, you should get the job.
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</p>
<p>This argument is borderline ridiculous, and I think the answer is quite obvious.</p>
<p>Success in professional sports is a numbers game, while admissions is much more vague. What is a more "talented student"? Is the goal of a college to stuff as many valedictorians as they can into a single classroom, or is it to enrich the perspectives of hitherto sheltered and unexperienced young people? If any one of you great minds can come up with the collegiate equivalent of winning an NBA championship so that great educational institutions can really get a grip of what they're actually striving for, I'm sure you'll make millions in consultation.</p>
<p>I don't know what all your racial persuasions are, but if there's any group that has a legit gripe with AA, it's Asians. As much I hate to listen to another Asian proclaim the world is ending b/c he/she didn't get into Harvard, they have the most right to complain. It's their high SAT scores being devalued, and Asians don't have any backdoor AA like whites do with legacies, Title IX, and upper-class sports scholarships.</p>