Technically, it turns out every single current NBA referee has gambled in some form, after all -- although none of them are going to be punished for it.

And, strange as it may seem, those very same referees will now be permitted to gamble in a multitude of ways.
...an internal review had found that all of the league's 56 referees violated the contractual prohibition against engaging in gambling, with more than half of them admitting to placing wagers in casinos."Our ban on gambling is absolute, and in my view it is too absolute, too harsh and was not particularly well-enforced over the years," Stern said. "We're going to come up with a new set of rules that make sense."First, this is the same jackhole who fought tooth and nail to hand down suspension on players because they "violated the rule," which was, mind you, "absolute." I, for one, backed him on this. Because I felt it was the one time he didn't bend for the star/team/outcome that everyone was crying for. I'm regretting that move. Screw that, this guy once again proves that he will enforce the laws when and where he feels like it; irregardless of the situation.

Second, what the hell kind of solution to the problem of officials violating their contracts is CHANGING THE G*DAMN RULES TO ALLOW THEM TO CONTINUE? Not after a board review, not after negotiation, not after meetings/discussions/planning.....just right now, because this a-hole feels like it. You see, for all the lecturing he did on how the rules must be enforced because that's his job and blah blah blah he did after that SA/PHX ruckus last season. He promptly goes and decides to sidestep the rule when he finds it appropriate and then ARBITRARILY changes it to HIS liking. This guy is the worst kind of commissioner a sport could have.

Stern is more than willing to whore out a sport that doesn't need to be, in order to bring in more money for the league while simultaneously urinating all over the integrity of the game. It's nice to know that the officials ARE above the players and allowed to violate their contract agreements with no ill effects, however, he and a handful of media mouthpieces are quick to pounce on and vilify any player who so much as mouths off to the coach or criticizes an official.

The NBA has just about run it course with me as long as David Stern is commissioner. He is singlehandedly turning this game into the America's Next Top Model of the sports world. I get so sick of everybody blaming the players for everything in this league when the biggest problem is the commissioner. For all the smart assed comments I hear about "thugs and punks," people never seem to get quite that upset about Commissioner Jackass flexing his theoretical muscle at the drop of a dime. It's amazing how the 5% of the players that get in trouble can represent 100% of the player makeup in most people's eyes, but a ref gets caught violating FEDERAL LAW and everyone is quick to give them the benefit of the doubt and continue to regurgitate the league Kool-Aid of a rogue referee (who the hell uses the word "rogue" anyway? 3 answers, David Stern, Orlando Bloom...oh, and Eddie Griffin).

Owners please come to your senses and give this guy his walking papers.



Source (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3079309)

I wish you would stop tip toeing around this stuff, and just tell us honestly how it makes you feel. :gun1:

I don't have a problem with an NBA official going to a casino and playing a couple games of blackjack. It was a dumb rule and Stern is doing the right thing to correct it.

Great post Low. You hit the nail on the head this time.

This is just one prime example of why I refer to him as Napoleon.

:hoops:

Stern painted himself into the corner by having a term in their contracts that he didn't think was meaningful. Now, he looks inconsistent for waiving it.

Add to the list of unpopular moves by Stern:

Stern: Seattle failing Sonics (http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/basketball/336871_arena26.html)

Stern basically says that if you can't pony up for a new stadium, then you aren't a real fan.

Screw Stern.
Sheed for commissioner!!!

I wish you would stop tip toeing around this stuff, and just tell us honestly how it makes you feel. :gun1:

Yeah, I'm actually considering taking the gloves off.

Why is it that only the fans do not like this guy? Most media think he is the greatest commish of all time, although they mostly site what he did back in the 80's. Owners never talk about him . Players sometimes complain but always get fined.

I would love to see a new commish and a new direction for the NBA. A direction back to honesty and accountability.

Screw Stern.
Sheed for commissioner!!!


We'd need Lindsey Hunter as an assistant "buffer" type of position for those who don't understand the communicative style of Sheed.:gun1::gun1:

Great post Low. You hit the nail on the head this time.
Agreed. Excellent post Low.

I don't have a problem with an NBA official going to a casino and playing a couple games of blackjack.
Neither do I, but the fact is that it IS a rule and that the MAJORITY of the officials have broken it. How can we expect them to fairly and objectively officiate a game when they themselves break the rules? Gambling rules no less.

I think it's a stupid rule and should be removed, but that doesn't mean that past infractions should be pardoned IMO. If they broke a rule while it was a rule - stupid or not - they should be punished.

Stern painted himself into the corner by having a term in their contracts that he didn't think was meaningful. Now, he looks inconsistent for waiving it.
I completely agree.


And on a slightly different note, is it just me, or is this >> :evil: a David Stern smiley? Especially the \ / eyebrows. Did you guys watch the video in Low's link? His eyebrows are freaking diagonal. I'm not just talking about the still image from the video. He wasn't caught in an unfortunate facial expression. No, his eyebrows are naturally diagonal. That should be a sign right there that this man can't be trusted. :icon_evil:

I would love to see a new commish and a new direction for the NBA. A direction back to honesty and accountability.

Agree wich ya, Max, but these folks tend to leave when they want to. As long as the owners -- save Cuban -- are making bank, they salute this guy.

And I gotta say that referring to him as "Baggins" makes me laugh every time. :pound:

I believe that as men (I can't speak for women) get older and our physical abilities start to deteriorate even if we work out regularly, (LOL) than the focus of most men goes toward power and control.

Of course most of us have at the most just a little empire to control and exert power over but then some like Stern have a virtual empire to exert power over and control.

That is as I have posted previously what appears to me to be the main reason that Napoleon is expanding the NBA, which he controls, into international markets, so he can increase his personal power base and make more money along the way.

For someone like Stern who probably has an awful lot of money right now it appears to me that the increase in his power base is primary to his wanting to expand the NBA into international markets and the increase in financial well being that will thus result is only icing on the cake.

Of course most all of us may eat a specific cake primarily because of the icing on it. LOL

:hoops: