Source:http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2003/bask...l.ap/index.html 'Ignorant and offensive' NBA commissioner Stern responds to Wallace interview Posted: Friday December 12, 2003 8:09PM; Updated: Friday December 12, 2003 8:30PM PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- NBA commissioner David Stern responded Friday to a torrent of criticism from Portland Trail Blazers forward Rasheed Wallace, calling his comments "ignorant and offensive to all NBA players." In a wide-ranging interview published in the Oregonian newspaper on Thursday, Wallace charged that the league's white establishment is exploiting young black athletes to enrich itself. The 29-year-old Wallace said he's not like the younger players who get "caught up and captivated into the league." "No. I see behind the lines. I see behind the false screens. I know what this business is all about. I know the commissioner of this league makes more than three-quarters of the players in this league," he said. Stern issued a statement in response to the interview on Friday. "Mr. Wallace's hateful diatribe was ignorant and offensive to all NBA players," Stern said. "I refuse to enhance his heightened sense of deprivation by publicly debating with him. "Since Mr. Wallace did not direct his comments at any particular individuals other than me, I think it best to leave it to the Trail Blazers' organization and its players and fans to determine the attitudes by which they wish to be defined." The Trail Blazers did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment on Stern's statement. Wallace, who rarely speaks to the media, did not talk to reporters at the Blazers' practice Friday morning. Portland hosts the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night. Wallace, in his eighth year with Portland, is earning nearly $17 million this season. Wallace, who is averaging 16.4 points and 7.3 rebounds this season, set the NBA record with 41 technical fouls in the 2000-01 season. Last season, he was suspended by the league for seven games for threatening an official on the loading dock at the Rose Garden Arena after a game. It was the longest suspension ever handed down that did not involve physical contact or substance abuse. Wallace's comments are the latest problem to befall the Blazers, who have been plagued by player arrests and team infighting since last season.
