acrappywebsite.com

For those of you who don't follow sports very closely, about two and a half weeks ago was one of the ugliest nights in sports, let alone NBA, history. The Indiana Pacers were playing the Detroit Pistons in Detroit. Toward the end of the game, Pacers guard Ron Artest fouled Detroit star Ben Wallace. Wallace gave Artest a two-handed shove in the chest. Artest, who is known for being possibly the most troublesome NBA player since Dennis Rodman, was man enough to calmly back away from Wallace rather than start a fight. He lay down on a scorer's table when a Pistons fan threw a plastic cup containing beer at the lying Artest. Apparently Artest is man enough to back down from a shove from another player, but can't handle a cup of beer thrown by a fan. He jumped to his feet and ran into the stands, throwing punches at whoever got in his way as he ran toward the fan whom he thought responsible for the cup throwing. What ensued was possibly the ugliest player-fan melee in all of sports history. Punches were thrown between fans, Artest, and at least two other players. The game was stopped by officials and all players involved were quickly herded out. NBA commissioner David Stern decided to suspend the whole lot of players, including suspensions of 25 and 30 games for two Pacers players who threw punches at fans, and Artest was suspended for the remainder of the current season.

Reactions to the severity of the punishment have in some cases been mixed, but almost everyone agrees that drastic measures were needed. Some people have said they feel Stern was too harsh in benching Artest for an entire season, other people. myself included, feel he should be kicked out permanently. Some people, myself included, feel that David Stern made the correct decision in laying down the law and letting the NBA players and the world know that the NBA will not be run by out of control players and that player aggression is not tolerated. And then there's Jesse Jackson.

In an interview I read with Jesse Jackson, apparently he doesn't feel Stern was justified in suspending Artest for the entire year. Jackson said in the interview that he understands that Stern is trying to uphold the integrity of the NBA, but that due process must be followed. He called Commissioner Stern in person to tell him how very disappointed he was.

Now this is where I get lost. Since when did Jesse Jackson become an authority on sports whose opinion means something? I have developed a theory to explain this phenomenon. I call it the Jesse Jackson Hypothesis, and have outlined it below.

Jesse Jackson Hypothesis: Jesse Jackson is an ignorant ass clown who just likes to see his name in the news.

Just how is it that Artest's suspension did not follow due process? Let's examine the situation more closely. Due process is a concept found in the Constitution whereby citizens' inalienable rights to life, liberty, and property, are protected from government interference without due process of law, i.e. the afore agreed-upon set of procedures used to determine punishments for behavior detrimental to society. Bearing that fact in mind, let's compare Artest's suspension to that definition. Due process of law is a government concept. David Stern is not a representative of the government. He is the commissioner of the National Basketball Association. Due process guards citizens from having their inalienable rights denied to them. Making millions of dollars a year playing basketball is not an inalienable right. It is a privilege that many strive for and few achieve, therefore if an individual abuses this privilege, it can be taken away and given to a more deserving person.

Ignoring those points, let's pretend for a moment that due process of law must be followed in this particular case. Due process means that Stern, as governing authority, must follow the agreed upon procedures for the discipline of unruly players. This is where Jackson seems to think he has a case. But wait a minute, according to the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NBA and the players' association, the reigning commissioner, Stern in this case, has the lone authority to discipline players for transgressions occurring on the basketball court, including the implementation and length of suspensions. So that means that the players and the organization both agreed that Stern has the final say, and in fact the only say, in this matter. So Stern, under the rules of the C.B.A., is fully within his authority as commissioner to suspend Ron Artest for the remainder of the year when he throws haymakers at fans out of revenge for getting a plastic cup thrown at him. In other words, Stern is no more out of line for his decision than a judge would be for giving someone the maximum allowable sentence for a crime. So upon further examination of the facts, Jackson's assertion that Stern ignored due process is entirely unfounded and ignorant.

But perhaps maybe I'm being too hard on Jesse. Perhaps Jesse didn't know the rules of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. In that case, I have a remedy for the situation. Maybe Jesse Jackson should just SHUT UP! SHUT THE FUCK UP! You don't know what the hell you're talking about and nobody gives two shits about your opinion in this matter. You don't speak for anybody but yourself so you need to stop acting like an ass just to see your name in the news. I mean Jesse Jackson thinking he has an expert opinion on discipline in the NBA is like me doing a national interview criticizing the committee in charge of national bass fishing tournaments. I don't know anything about bass fishing and nobody gives a shit what I think, so I don't say anything. I find more important things to do, like bitch about things I do know about. Like the fact that Jesse Jackson is an ignorant ass clown.

back to articles