Of course. Had he complained about a conspiracy against his team or called Dick Bavetta a dick, then yeah, fine away. I don't see any problem with what he posted, especially considering he's right. The officiating in the NBA is the poorest out of all the sports. I know quite a few people who can't even watch the NBA anymore because of it. It's why the NBA is by far my least favorite sporting event to watch.
the officiating is the worst because its the hardest to officiate and that's the message an owner should be putting out. baseball and football don't have constant action like the nba. the nba only has three refs who are supposed to be watching everything as opposed to mlb and the nfl. and when their is action in mlb or the nfl, like a pass interference or call at home plate, then some calls gets questioned. the only difference is, those type of plays happen all the time in basketball making it more difficult and leaving more questions.
I understand that, but this wasn't as much a criticism, but more of a suggestion to make it better. Definitely not worth $100k, regardless of the past. Stern needs to go, that's all there is to it.
But why is it all of the sudden so much worse? It's never been as bad as it's been the last 5 years or so.
I've always heard about hakeem not getting calls, and people have always complained about superstar treatment.
"But the NBA has a huge problem. It doesnt view the playoffs as a place where the very best of the best of officials go to work. It views the playoffs as part of a reward system for officials. YOu get promoted to the playoffs. Its not unusual to see an official work a single playoff game in the first round . In fact, if the info i have is correct, there are officials who havent even been promoted to full time crew cheif who get playoff assignments. How crazy is that ?"
it's undeniable that there is such a thing as "superstar treatment." and just the fact that it exists compromises the integrity of officials. i agree with everything Cuban said in that blog and think a fine was warranted. just not 100k worth.
That's true. But you didn't always have the officials falling for flopping, the completely inconsistent calls (superstar or not) and refs having chips on their shoulders when it comes to various players. It's a lot worse now than it ever has been.
I'm not buying it. Phil Jackson accused the league and refs of bias against Cuban and there wasn't even a fine. JVG does it and there's a $100k fine. Is he an habitual offender?
The problem is that he's bringing up issues that should be discussed privately and not aired out to everybody that has internet access. The fact is that Stern runs the league, and he can fine anbody about anything he wants. I don't think that's reason enough to get rid of the league's most successful commissioner ever. I also don't know if you read the blog, but here are a couple of excerpts: The playoffs are different. THe playoffs are where teams and the NBA itself earn their money. Its where team profits are made, its where TV ratings are made and when TV ratings are good, the league makes more money. In other words, the playoffs are our money product. As with every business, the best people should be on the job with the money products. Thats not the way the NBA does it when it comes to officials. and But the NBA has a huge problem. It doesnt view the playoffs as a place where the very best of the best of officials go to work. It views the playoffs as part of a reward system for officials. YOu get promoted to the playoffs. Its not unusual to see an official work a single playoff game in the first round . In fact, if the info i have is correct, there are officials who havent even been promoted to full time crew cheif who get playoff assignments. How crazy is that ? Thats also a huge, huge, huge business mistake. The playoffs are our most important, most visible product. They should never be used as a stepping stone for promotion. I think that's the main beef that Stern had with the blog and not so much the officiaiting part. Cuban is basically telling Stern that he doesn't know how to run his own league, this in a time when the NBA is more profitable than ever...
I think what JVG did was more serious than what Cuban said in his blog. But JVG is not a habitual offender.
That's no reason to fine him. He wasn't accusing the league of some underhanded behavior. He wasn't personally attacking anyone. That's simply constructive criticism. If the league doesn't agree, then ok. But why fine him? Talk about anti free speech.
The stupid thing about the fine is that if it hadn't happened, no one would have heard about what he posted on his blog. The fine massively increased the number of people who now have heard (and probably agree with) Cuban's comments.
So how much is Cuban worth? How much does he make a year? How much does he make a year off of the Mavericks?
that's a good point, jvg almost went conspiracy and I think he actually angered the commish a lot more than cuban. but think about it like this, what if a director of a publicly traded company came out and criticized its operations. its just not right to come out and criticize a business you are a part of like that. to complain about one game is fine, to call out the practice of selecting officials is another.
I have a question anyway, why does the league fining owners, players or whoever stand as legal? Isn't it a violation of 1st amendment rights?
What about a director who feels that his business is not being run correctly and feels like he has an actual solution to the problem?
