"The Isiah Rules I": Thomas vs. John Paxson’s Tenure
"The Isiah Rules" II: Media Gives John Paxson Free Pass

 

New NBA Crisis: Okay, this was just mentioned in “The Isiah Rules II: John Paxson’s Free Ride”, but is potentially disturbing enough that it deserves some additional emphasis. There are sports reporters out there ask David Stern to INTERVENE.  More gambling charges against NBA referees? Nope. An NBA player went into the stands to take on the fans? Not quite? Another dog-fighting ring bust. Nada. So what exactly is the crisis? The New York Knicks have not been playing very good basketball. …But before we get into all that…

Mob Rule: The second that I heard that Pacman Jones was being suspended from the NFL before actually having been convicted of any crime, I became very concerned. The issue was far deeper than Pacman himself. The Pacman precedent would make it possible for sports reporters to pontificate on just about any athlete misbehavior and whether the said commissioner should “take action”. This would now essentially open up future commissioner decisions up to “mob rule”. If enough people believed something negative, then that would be enough information to take action, you know, "in the best interests of the game". Next thing you know, sports casters wanted Vick suspended BEFORE his day in court, and would exert heavy influence over Barry Bonds career despite no actual conviction (yet, anyway — we’ll talk about the "federal mob" on another day), and the fate of any athlete who got into ALLEGED trouble would be subject to a public opinion poll.
Mob Rule and Race: And then I was troubled by the whole racial aspect to mob rule. I mean, let’s face it: the infamous phrase “court of public opinion” often means “court of WHITE public opinion”. For example, public polls show racial differences in perceptions on whether Barry Bonds and Michael Vick have been treated fairly. In such cases, it would be more accurate AND honest to say “court of WHITE public opinion” or “white mob rule” for short (I also like the whole 3 syllable thing!). So if polls show that most African-Americans DIDN’T want the asterisk on Barry’s 756th ball, well, the black mob loses. So sorry. Too bad. You just happen to be in the wrong mob! But the least that could be done is to use the term “white mob rule” which at least ACKNOWLEDGES the racial difference that “court of public opinion” doesn’t. But I digress. Let’s get back to the subject at hand: The Slippery Slope of Mob Rule.

Around the Bull Horn: COSELLOUT rarely critiques the resident blowhards on ESPN’s “Around the Horn” for good reason. It’s almost like writing a critique on the bad journalism in the National Enquirer. There are simply bigger fish to fry.  But last week broke new ground – even by their standards. The subject: Isiah Thomas. Here are the responses:

Bill Plaschke:  “I think Isiah’s finally gotta go. I think David Stern’s gonna make it happen. …They are an embarrassment to the league. It’s Stern’s league. He would take action if there was something else going on like this. He needs to force their hand.”

Woody Paige: “He [Isiah] lost control of the city. People are booing him… The best interests of the game… It’s done in baseball all the time. When you got a marquee city as you do and the Mecca of basketball at MSG. You’ve [Stern] gotta do something”

Jay Mariotti: It’s up to Stern to push the envelope. This is the signature franchise of the league and I dare say in all of pro sports. There has never been a team more dysfunctional on and off the court. They had 27 turnovers last night. They have all this turmoil off the court. Stern’s got to get involved.

Tony Reali (Host): “The Clippers have stunk for 25 years. The Grizzlies haven’t been good for a while. He’s not sweeping down and fixing those teams. Now YOU guys have a New York bias…

 

Some Reflections:

  • Can someone pleeeeeease give host Tony Reali a hefty raise for having to deal with this crap on a daily basis!  
  • What is Woody Paige talking about?  Isiah “lost control of the CITY. People are booing him…” Is Paige confusing Isiah with Mayor Bloomberg? And since when did booing fans become a reason for commissioner intervention.
  • More Paige: And Exactly WHAT is done in baseball all the time?
  • What is Jay Mariotti talking about? So had the Knicks cut down their 27 turnovers to 15, would he call off the need for Stern to intervene?
  • If David Stern never intervened in the Tim Floyd era in Chicago, I think that this Isiah thing is a long shot!
  • It’s worth noting that Host Tony Reali is a New jersey native who went to school in New York (quick Wikipaedia check). The point here is that it might have helped to call others out on their "New York bias" even if an "Isiah bias" would probably be more accurate. In any case, kudos to Reali.
 
The Slippery Slope: The exchange on Around the Horn was EXACTLY my worst fear when the NFL commissioner Roger Goodell suspended Pacman without any conviction. The floodgates would open and the media mob would take over. So David Stern should INTERVENE in management decisions because the Knicks played crappy basketball? Should Goodell flex his muscle and shake up the Jets too? Should Bud Selig force the Kansas City Royals to change managers every year?

Journalists calling for Isiah’s head is nothing new, but the concept of commissioner intervention for poor play is. Black Sox Scandal? Brawl in the stands? Videotape your Opponents? = Commissioner intervention. Too many turnovers? Poor interior defense? Didn’t box out your man? Let the team handle it. The only thing more preposterous than the Stern suggestion was that THREE out of four panelists all expressed the same opinion. But be forewarned because this is where the sports media mob is going, and it’s very scary stuff. It is at a point where the only criteria for demanding commissioner intervention is "we don’t like that guy". In this particular case, it’s another installment of “The Isiah Rules”. But it in the broader scheme of things, it is the new possible frontier of media mob rule. 

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Related:

"The Isiah Rules I": Thomas vs. John Paxson’s Tenure
"The Isiah Rules" II: Media Gives John Paxson Free Pass