I always hear people & sports radio callers complaining about the NBA being a league full of thugs. I'm a big fan of the NBA although even the playoffs can't really compare to March Madness. I'm constantly amazed at the ability of the players and my opinion is that the players are generally decent guys. Just off the top of my head, Nash, Dirk, D-Wade, Shaq, Duncan, Ginnobli, Brand, Yao, Amare Stoudemire, Dwight Howard, Ray Allen, Lebron, Vince Carter, Garnett, Ben Gordon, Paul Pierce, Tony Parker, Chris Paul, Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, Gasol, Boozer, Redd etc. To me, these are likeable guys and all current superstars. It's also great that the foreign influence is present on every team. I think it only makes the league more exciting. The players intentionally left off the list were Kobe, Iverson, Carmello, & T-Mac. I can understand why these four may not be liked although the only one I dislike is Kobe. With Kobe, it may just be that I'm a big Shaq fan. Kobe was raised in Italy and "cultured" and really can't be considered a thug. The NFL is obviously the #1 sport in the U.S. and would be on my list also with the NBA coming in 2nd. To me, the NFL is much more of a thug league with the off-field incidents. However, you never hear people say they don't like the NFL because of the "thug" players. With hockey, fights are a part of the game and defended as such. In the NBA, there are only a handful of fights yet it's always because of the "thuggish" behavior. The NBA fans are so close to the action compared to other sports and I'm almost amazed there haven't been more serious incidents when you factor the things that drunk fans will say. I have my own theory but wanted to hear if any of you have one.
This is a great topic, though I'm guessing most people that have the thug perception of the Association won't offer much of value to the discussion. How on Earth did you lump T-Mac in with Iverson, 'Melo, and Kobe???? The league hasn't done much to help itself in past years, both on and off the court, to attract the mainstream fan. On the court, for too many years, the game was slowed down with ugly, brutal play in the paint, with over/unders of about 180 (think Starks/Ewing/Oakley/Van Gundy-era Knicks.) The same thing happened to hockey, and hockey still hasn't recovered. The NBA is back to being an excited league with fun games, due to rules changes and better talent. The international pool of players has increased the overall quality of talent in the league, even if most of them are still soft whiners (e.g. Dirk Pop Tart.) The new NCAA rule will also help. Off the court, the players are battling ingrained race-based perceptions, which is nothing new. The Association went through this in the 70's as well. Then when you have guys like Sprewell and Artest acting a fool, it only serves to solidify folks' misconceptions. Sometimes it's just too much to ask normal crackers to ignore tattoos and cornrows. Or the attitudes of young players that is largely foreign to older generations that had more stable father-figures and less coddling (hello, AAU). They can't look past that and just watch them on the court. Iverson is the perfect example. The guy has played with as much effort and heart as anybody to ever step on the court. If he was white, he would be the most beloved guy in the league based on the way he plays. Incidentally, people's dislike of Kobe because they are fans of Shaq is hilarious. It's like a pro wrestling drama with those two, and neither cares to admit that they wouldn't have won a championship without the other -- hence it being a TEAM game.
That was my favorite era. I loved those Knicks teams. I had posters of each of the starting 5 from that team. Also, that era of basketball was when the NBA was at it's highest in popularity. I don't watch much NBA ball anymore, because the game has changed. They may still call it basketball, but ot's no longer the sport I grew up playing.
Cowherd actually spent a full day on this a few weeks ago - NBA Thug image. Their are way too many good guys in the league that people don't know about but the media wouldnt make any money focusing on that.
You don't get it man, T-Mac dissed N.O. the motherland... the holy grounds... the place with more murders than anywhere else in the country... the place labeled by CNN as "the most dangerous place in the country." Who in the hell does he think he is caring about his own safety? Edit: and to add to the point of the thread... WAY WAAAAAAAY more NFL guys get put in the pen than in the NBA. I'd say more Bengals alone have been put in the pen in the last year, than the entire NBA. The only ones I can think of are Artest, Tinsley and Jackson.
Obviously, the NFL has more of a thug problem then the NBA. I believe the perception exists because the NBA is rooted in hip-hop culture right now. Alot of older mainstream America isn't comfortable with this image and just make generalizations. Hell, just look at any rap thread on Tigerforums and you can see some people's ignorance of hip-hop.
90% of the bengal guys being starters may have something to do with it being besides the point. and even then, I guarantee a larger ratio of NFL guys get sacked up.
I have always wondered though if this behavior that we catorgize as thug isn't just being immature! Remeber a lot of these kids are VERY young and they have been thrown into adult situations and with A LOT of money! I remember some of the comments and things I did in High School and college now and cringe. I can't imagine if I would have a had the money to do whatever I wanted to! Jeez...the thought of it almost makes me sick!! Just on opinion though and I am not excusing thier behavior either because if I would have gotten in trouble with all that money my parents would have still whipped my butt!
