Thug Life
So over the weekend we have two separate
incidents in professional sports that are absolutely ridiculous. First, Knicks
and Nuggets at The Garden. 10, count them, 10 players get into a brawl after a
flagrant foul. Let's forget the fact that Denver's starters are STILL in the
game with a huge lead and not much time left. At least Isiah Thomas from the
Knicks got something right in telling Carmelo Anthony that their starters
shouldn't even be in the game. Especially since his team is what, 9-17? Yeah,
Isiah, you could do sooo much better than Larry Brown. Of course the entire
Atlantic Division is under .500.
OK,
enough of that. This is what gets me. Where else but in sports would this
behavior have lead to a worst case scenario of a suspension of a few games? If
I got into it with 9 other employees at my job, do you think for a minute that
my employer would tell me to take a few days off (without pay of course) to cool
down? Not even. I would be fired. Maybe not on the spot, but within 24 hours.
Why is it acceptable to just fine a player and suspend him for fighting. I
understand hard fouls being handled this way as it is part of the game. BUT we
are not watching 10 boxers out there trying to put a round ball in a hoop.
These guys lost their cool. I say suspend the 3-4 guys that really did the
damage for the rest of the season without pay. The others, suspend for a few
games as they really didn't throw any punches. I mean, didn't the league learn
anything from the Detroit-Indiana
debacle?
Then, we have Terrell Owens.
He spits in an opponent's face. Then admits it in a post-game appearance on the
NFL Network (the network that broadcast the game). Then he might not have
anything happen because he admits he did it so quickly? Why won't he get
suspended or fined huge? Now there hasn't been any word from the NFL on what is
going to happen. But I agree with the player that he spit on. Suspend him for
a game. Again, what if he spit on a co-worker, or an employee from another
company visiting. Do you think a little slap on the wrist would happen? Hell
no.
So why did I use the title "Thug
Life?" Well, it's more for the NBA brawl than T.O. Professional athletes of
all colors just seem like they can do whatever they want. It is definitely not
a racial thing here. As much as the word thug now brings up images of rappers,
it used to be a word that referred to anyone that was a bully. No matter what
their color. And we all know that my titles usually have some kind of double
meaning or is a play on words. And sometimes it is meant to get a reaction.
It reminds me of the movie "The Human
Stain." Anthony Hopkins play a professor. He gets accused of racism because he
refers to two of his students as spooks. He says this to indicate that he has
never seen them in class and wonders if they exist. It so happens that the two
students are Black. Since he has never seen them, he would not know this. The
twist on this (spoiler coming) is that he has two Black parents. I know, a bit
of a stretch, but there it is. This is not the entire movie, but is a
significant part of it.
His character's
view is that it was not a racist comment as the context was not racist. Back in
the Cold War era, it even became a term for spies. So hence my title is a
broader commentary on the
situation.
But seriously, over the
years, players' behavior both on the field/court/rink and in real life has
deteriorated. ESPN had a recent story of athletes and their guns. Estimates
from 40-90% of athletes carry a gun with them depending on what sport they are
in. Many of these guys feel like they are in potential danger when they are in
public and need protection. And maybe they have a valid point.
Someone sees the star of some sports
team and maybe they are jealous of the guy's jewelry, car, money, women that are
with him, or whatever. We see it happen in schools where some kid gets killed
over his Nikes. However, how many times is the situation this; the athlete is
somewhere that may not be the safest spot to be. It's never at the supermarket,
or on the golf course, or picking up his kid from school. It's usually at a
club. Everyone is packing, everyone is drunk, and no one saw anything.
Karl Malone says during the story on
ESPN that yeah, he has guns. He doesn't go out packing a gun. He does hunt,
and will go to the shooting range. Has them for home protection. He's even
been a spokesman for the NRA. But the problem is, be aware that you are a
target and not put yourself in a situation that may put you in danger. That
doesn't mean you can't go to a nightclub, but maybe don't go to the nightclub in
the old neighborhood if it's not exactly safe in the first
place.
Being rich can have that affect.
If you came from even a modest financial background, you can become a huge
target. All those people you knew in the past now want a piece of the action.
They want you to give them money. How many times have lottery winners had to
disassociate with the people in their past because of their new-found wealth.
All the people you thought were your friends now have become leeches or worse.
And how do you tell someone who was a friend yesterday that no, you can't have
$100,000 just because you ask for it and not have them hate you? You probably
can't. Just deal with the fact that maybe they weren't that great of a friend
if they expect you to just give them
money.
Anyway, back to these athletes.
Perfect example is what happened here in Chicago. Terry "Tank" Johnson of the
Bears. He has prior issues with gun possession charges. He gets arrested last
Thursday at his house. Guns. And his friend and bodyguard get charged with
possession of marijuana. Then they go to a nightclub called Ice Bar. The club
itself is not in the 'hood or anything like that. But a fight breaks out and
Johnson's bodyguard gets shot and killed outside the bar. Not the first time
Johnson has been in this situation before. He got into a scuffle with police
outside of another club near the same part of town (Rush
Street).
He didn't play Sunday. Go
figure. But was the nightclub thing his fault? Maybe not, but it probably
wasn't the smartest thing to do after getting arrested two days earlier. Again,
why put yourself in a potentially dangerous
situation?
Until athletes have the same
potential consequences as employees of other industries, they will think that
they can do what they want. Just realized...sounds like the celebrities of
movies, tv, and music. Maybe the studios and record labels should do the same
thing. Could you imagine Madonna being fired from her label? No me neither.
Cuz the label makes to much money from her to lose
her.
Guess we need to go a few hundred
years into the future where there is no money like all the Sci-Fi writers say
will happen.
OK, done with the rant.
For now.
Posted: Monday - December 18, 2006 at 11:03 AM