NBA's Lack of Credibility Continued

by Notthatgood4

During the time of Bird and Magic, and even prior to that there were horrible calls in favor of star players, but Jordan brought it to a whole new level because his illegal plays were and still are shown repeatedly. I for one can't remember seeing a single Magic or Bird highlight of an illegal play. Yet for Jordan, his most frequently shown play is his push off against Russell, along with many other blatant violations. These plays have ingrained the image of these plays as legal in the minds of the new generation of basketball players, and they are clearly not. It's no wonder a guy like Rasheed Wallace thinks he's never committed a foul in his life, because he has seen others get away with it before.

Some argue that Hue Hollins' horrendous phantom foul call against Scottie Pippen shows that the league was not biased towards the Bulls. This is correct. The league was biased towards its "star of all stars" Michael Jordan, not to the Chicago Bulls themselves. Perhaps this heinous call was due to human error, perhaps not. Maybe the league wanted Jordan and his hype back in the NBA so badly that it ordered its officials to favor the Knicks in a close game. Michael Jordan was playing baseball at the time and if the Bulls were to have advanced far in the playoffs, perhaps it would have reaffirmed his decision. Instead, the Bulls early playoff exit may have stirred Michael Jordan to reconsider his decision and comeback two seasons later. This call may have made the NBA millions while possibly denying a great player but not a "mega star" in Scottie Pippen a chance to enhance his own legacy.

The NBA has tried to steer away from these type of blatantly biased calls a bit, but it has already jeopardized its credibility. Perhaps the league decided it wasn't worth protecting Kobe after his image took a hit. At this point, the league has done little to confirm it deserves the benefit of the doubt. The fact that an official was gambling on games without league knowledge only increases the skepticism.

Some people argue that they don't want to see games decided by official. My reply is, "Then go watch AND 1 Street Ball, because I for one want to see the game played according to the rulebook. You can't have different rules in the 1st and 4th quarters."

The NBA has an obligation as the top professional basketball league in the world to promote the game in its natural, unaltered state. It's not some Micky Mouse league like the Arena Football League that can do whatever it wants in order to attract the public. If the NBA wants to value entertainment over the game itself then fine, but the American public deserves a viable option of the sport played according to the book.

The NBA has the right to do what it wants, but what it doesn't have the right to do is lie to the public about what it is doing. If it wants to favor star players, then go ahead and say it, but don't deny it ever happens when visual evidence suggests otherwise.

At this point, why should anyone believe that the league will reform its ways?