stay classy, nba!

i didn't intend for my first blog ever to be about sports, but this story was too bad to pass up:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4802267

to paraphrase the article, gilbert arenas of the washington wizards was been indefinitely suspended for brandishing a weapon (a handgun, of course) in the team's locker room. this coming after news of an altercation with a teammate during a card game.

while the league's front office mulled over an appropriate punishment for bringing a deadly weapon to somewhere it clearly didn't belong, arenas jokingly cocked his forefinger and thumb - during a televised game - as if to mock commisioner david stern's attempt to bring any semblance of dignity to the situation.

i guess you can bring the thug out of the ghetto, but you can't bring the ghetto out of the thug.

one of my favorite angles of this story is how arenas and al sharpton have begun some kind of cyber feud via twitter:
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dcsportsbog/2010/01/arenas_responds_to_sharpton_hu.html

an arenas quote from the above article that shot milk out of my nose:
"It's kind of funny how people like him are supposed to be for the people, make a comment like that when he hasn't really heard anything."

yes gilbert, because al sharpton, racist pillar of justice that he is, condemns bringing a gun into a professional locker room, he is clearly no longer a voice of the people.

let's look beyond this incident, though. the nba's credibility as a legitimate professional sports association has been circling the drain for some time. at this point, the wwe almost seems classier by comparison. why is this, you ask? simple. the nba is clearly chock full of trashy thugs.

yes, every league has some bad apples:
nhl - mike "put a hit on my agent" danton and todd "sucker shot" bertuzzi

nfl - mike puppy power" vick, leonard 'drink 'n' drive" little and ray "stabby" lewis

mlb - randy "mr. child support" johnson, roger "all-around jackass" clemens and milton "clubhouse cancer" bradley

the list goes on. yet somehow, nba thug activity transcends these isolated incidents with habitual behaviors that continue to drive fans away.

some low points in the league's thugism include, but are not limited to:
latrell spreewell's famous choking of his coach in new york, and then upon his suspension whining that he's got a family to feed. sorry if the consequences of choking out your boss have inconvenienced you.

ron artest asked for time off from a possible playoff run to promote his hip hop album. no really. following that, mr. artest started a redonkulous riot when someone threw a cup of ice at him by running into the fans and swinging fists wildly at the people who pay his salary, the fans. awesome.

i could go on with examples like allen "it's just practice" iverson pulling a gun on any number of people, i'll just hope the nba continues to circle the drain and that a new league will emerge with talent and teamwork at the forefront. i want the baskteball i enjoyed as a kid. michael jordan, magic johnson, kareem, byrd, etc. instead, i'm stuck with this gangsta train wreck. stay classy, nba.

(and yes, i realize this comes across as a crotchety "back in my day" blog, but when you're right, you're right.)