<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">In recent years the NBA has gone to great lengths to clean up its negative image, instituting policies such as player dress codes and issuing zero-tolerance mandates on excessive in-game outbursts designed to create a more fan-friendly image and bring back a disillusioned audience. Yet despite these superficial changes, the league continues to be victimized by the behavior of its players. While the NBA is still reeling from the events of the brawl in Detroit -- civil lawsuits were still being filed as recently as last month -- several of its members have failed to learn from past lessons. Last month Pacers guard Stephen Jackson, one of the principal perpetrators in the 2004 melee, was arrested and charged with felony criminal recklessness for allegedly firing his gun in the air outside an Indianapolis strip club. Earlier this week Sacramento Kings coach Eric Musselman was arrested and charged with driving under the influence after police pulled him over in Sacramento. Those offenses, however, pale in comparison to reports that link Boston Celtics guard Sebastian Telfair to the shooting of rapper Fabolous, a.k.a. John Jackson, in New York City. By now the facts of the case are well known: Last Monday, Telfair -- a Brooklyn native in town to play an exhibition game with the Celtics -- was robbed outside Justin's, a popular Manhattan bar and grill owned by rap mogul Sean (Diddy) Combs. Just after 10 p.m., Telfair, who was having dinner with fianc?e Samantha Rodriguez, was confronted outside the restaurant. According to reports, the assailant, who made off with Telfair's $50,000 necklace, was at the restaurant with Fabolous. Several hours later shots were fired as the group was leaving, one of which struck the rapper in the right thigh. Yet despite published reports connecting Telfair to the incident, sources tell SI.com that Telfair's role in the attack is a nonexistent one. Telfair's alleged involvement centers on a phone call he made shortly after the robbery. Telfair, who left the Celtics game against the Knicks at halftime and was taken to a local precinct to view a lineup (he did not identify anyone), has denied any involvement in the shooting, and two league sources with knowledge of the investigation tell SI.com that NYPD detectives do not consider Telfair a suspect and that they consider any connection between the phone call and the shooting "not credible." On Monday the NYPD would neither confirm nor deny to SI.com that Telfair was no longer a suspect. Though Telfair's association with events last week cast another black cloud over the NBA, his exoneration, should it prove true, would go a long way toward creating a silver lining.</div> Source
the "behavior" of the average NBA player is downright saintly compared to MLB which is overrun with drug-addicts (YES, steroids ARE a drug) and cheaters. People just think NBA is worse because theyre racists
<div class="quote_poster">olskoolFunktitude Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">the "behavior" of the average NBA player is downright saintly compared to MLB which is overrun with drug-addicts (YES, steroids ARE a drug) and cheaters. People just think NBA is worse because theyre racists</div> I don't know if you know this, but over 35% of NBA players have some kind of violent offense on their record, including over 20% of the league have some sort of weapons charge. We don't hear about it all that often because that's what labor unions are for. Some of the most lowdown dirty lawyers in the world are PR reps for unions, which of course means they are some of the best. As for the NFL, more than 60% of their league consists of violent offenders, with over 45% having weapons charges, and 18% being convicted felons. Name a work force you've been a part of with that much consistency.
how about MLB, where an estimated 80% have used steroids at some point in their careers. What does it say about a league when crime is so much of a problem that people just ignore it and pretend it doesnt happen. MLb is much worse than NFL and NBA in this regard
<div class="quote_poster">olskoolFunktitude Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">how about MLB, where an estimated 80% have used steroids at some point in their careers. What does it say about a league when crime is so much of a problem that people just ignore it and pretend it doesnt happen. MLb is much worse than NFL and NBA in this regard</div> How about when Charles Oakley said that 80% of the league smoked weed? I don't see any difference between those two fast facts. The other thing is, we're talking convictions here, not heresay. These players have been in court and as a result, in the legal system as a result of their actions. MLB does, of course, have problems with players using drugs, but every league does, some more than others. That being the case, it's still tough to prove that that many players use drugs anyway. Have you ever thought of the fact that if you look at your favorite starting eleven in the NFL, chances are good that 7 of them are convicted violent offenders, and 4 or more of them have used weapons to commit a crime? Has anything like that ever crossed your mind? Chances are that it hasn't, the reason that is the case is because the NFL is a culture of violence, and moreoverly (of late anyway) a culture of crime. To think that these players who make millions every year still sell drugs (Jamal Lewis, Tamarick Vannover, et al.), run guns (Maurice Clarett), and solicit prostitutes (Eugene Robinson, among others) - and still don't have it talked about as if it were the most important thing the NFL has to deal with - is a miracle of the modern press. I think the American press has only failed more mightily in its coverage of one other topic in the history of our country, and that's saying something pretty impressive, for a press corps that is so dramatic in number and reach.
