Tuesday, September 11, 2007
NBA Thugs
For a long time now the NBA has been labeled as a "Thug" league and many people stick their noses up at because of this label. However, I believe that this label should be applied to the NFL. Although the NBA does have its fair share of thugs (Ron Artest, Steven Jackson) the NFL has had more players arrested in the last 2 years than the NBA. The reason the NFL doen't have the "Thug" label is because it is the more popular league and makes a lot more money, but if you think about the NFL has to have more thugs because there are lot more players and football is a violent sport. You have to be the biggest, meanest, and toughest dude out there or the game will chew you up and spit you out. Some players have seem to have that kind of mentality in the real world too and that has lead to a lot of arrests over the past couple of years. I'm not saying all NFL players are thugs because most of them are probably really good guys but there are some who definitley deserve the thug label. Football is a great sport but you have to be a bad dude when you are playing the game and some guys obviously don't know how to turn it off when they are finished playing and this gets guys into trouble with the law. So the next time your thinking of calling the NBA a "Thug" League stop and think if you are labeling the right league.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
I agree that the NBA shouldn't have the title of the "thug" league and I think you brought some good points up. I also like how you compared it to the NFL. However, I disagree with the NFL should be named the "thug" sport. I think the NBA got the title because of the fights that went on during the game. Everyone knows about the Detroit and Indiana fight, and how players can go off. The NBA isn't supposed to be a "physical" sport and football is. Football is suppose to be a contact sport. Football players are more acceptable by society to do bad things then a basketball player. You can look at all the cases with Vick and Tank and Pacman and etc. However when a basketball player does things bad he's known as someone who contributes to being a "thug" in the NBA. It's interesting that once you realize the situation it seems very shady and deceptive.
I like your point about how the NFL is obviously the league with the most problems now but what kind of problems? A DUI, dogfighting, and drugs is bad but think about the Pacers game. Think about when Jermaine O'neal ran up and tried hit an innocent fan or how about when Ron Artest was bashing the back of some guys head who just was a fan watching the game. To me that's thuggary. Not drinking and driving or smoking some pot. Let's be honest there's a lot more people in this world that drink and drive and smoke pot then people who run around punching innocent people and trying to break there noses. Yeah football is a rough sport and it's "supposed" to be that way that's why it's football. But basketball? Who fights or gets thrown around in basketball? I thought the ball was supposed to go through the hoop and that was it. How do you stop a guy running with the football? Hit him as hard as you can and try and hurt him. That's what every player is looking to do and that's hurt anyone they can on each play. It's football for a reason. So in my opinion the NBA is the thug league.
I like the way this article is presented. I do think you need to keep in mind a point you made in the middle of your article though. The NFL has more players than the NBA. I mean alot more. When you have more than four times the number of players on an NFL roster than an NBA roster, you’re probably going to see four times the number of problems. The NBA definitely is beginning to clean up its act, especially after the Pistons-Pacers fight almost three years ago http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zr_tr6aq9zY. The NFL is definitely out of control, but change is imminent with Roger Goodell as the new commissioner. I don’t like to think of either league as thugs, because as you pointed out, the majority of the people in the league are good standing citizens who are out there making their living. Once the day is done, they return home to live a clean and healthy lifestyle. I like how you give some possible justification as to why these NFL players are so violent and aggressive. However, as you also said, the players we are discussing for these actions tend to represent the minority of all the players, not the majority.
Ok, I don’t see where you get the idea that any professional sports league should be referred to as the “thug” league. The term thug itself has become so over used in today’s society that its true meaning has been practically lost. The fact is that people are just brought up in different ways and different environments. Lets take the Vick case for example; Mike Vick is from the south! Dog fighting is just part of the southern culture, he most likely grew up around it, that doesn’t make him a “thug”. Tank Johnson has a gun…wow, that means absolutely nothing other than the fact that he knows he has money; and in the wrong neighborhood he would be an obvious target, so he is prepared to protect himself if he needs to do so. The same can be said for Stephen Jackson, who in all likelihood was raised that you fight for your family, and in sports your team is your family. And a quick comment on lavin1 and hammersmith10, where do you get the idea that basketball is not a contact sport? Go outside and play some ball, then try to tell me that you don’t get bumped around at the least.
Your point about the NFL is right that it has the most problems. Everyone knows that it has not been a good year for the NFL. But I still believe that the NBA is the thug league. First of all David Stern actually had to make a rule so NBA players don’t look like thugs when they come to the arena and when they are on the bench. In football the players are wearing the clothes of their team and are supporting their team. Second of all have you ever watched an NBA press conference? When do you see the players dress like professionals? You always see the gold chains and the long T's and they look like thugs. NFL players always look good and dress like they should. Football is supposed to be a violent sport. So when you see little fights on the field its ok. But when basketball players are jumping into stands and run around punching each other there is no excuse. So yea the NFL might have more problems but the NBA is still the thug league.
Growing up around football I have always thought that there were a lot of “thugs” or “wanna be gangster” players. On the field they act so tough and sort of carry that attitude off the field. Sure there are lots of players who act respectful on and off the field, but a lot of them fall into the stereotype of a thug: big baggy pants, huge “ice” or “bling” around their necks, on their fingers, in their ears. Basketball does have some players who follow this role, but I feel that there are more in the game of football today. I agree with you when you say that some players seem to have the same mentality on and off the field from pervious experiences. In 2005 I traveled to Hawaii for the Pro Bowl with the Steelers coaching staff. All of the players and coaches stayed in the same hotel. Being around these player all day for ten days really showed me a lot about them. Hearing how they talk and seeing how they dressed made me rethink about them as a person and how I labeled them. For example, one player who sticks out in my mind is Donte Culpepper, who at the time played for the Minnesota Vikings, always walked around with a huge jersey on and the biggest diamond studded pepper around his neck. As soon as I saw him, without questioning, I labeled him as a “thug”. Even his personality made him sound like one. Overall, I don’t believe this is truly a bad label, but I do think that the NBA should not be considered a “thug” league.
Post a Comment