Being the basketball nerd that I am, I recently started reading “Playing For Keeps” by David Halberstam. The book details Michael Jordan’s career, as well as what went on in the NBA as his fame grew. It’s a fascinating read, and highly enjoyable. Yet, the passage that sticks out most from the book so far is hardly positive.
Quite the opposite, in fact.
As Halberstam wrote, the NBA in 1979 “… was considered to be badly tainted. It was seen as far too black, and the majority of its players, it was somehow believed, were on drugs and willing to play hard only in the last two minutes of the game.” Thirty years, one brawl in Detroit, and four Gilbert Arenas-owned handguns later, has that perception really changed? If there’s one thing about the latest incident with Arenas that bothers me most, it’s that it reinforces the ridiculous stereotype that the NBA is a league of “thugs” who don’t respect the game.
The NBA has dealt with this image problem for decades. No surprises here, given the league is composed largely of African-American players. Outside of sports, blacks are often labeled as lazy, unintelligent, violent, or some mix of the three (if you don’t think this still goes on, you need to open your eyes).
The NBA is really no different.
Though the league is wildly popular with youths and college-aged adults, older generations seem skeptical. They hear about incidents with Arenas or Ron Artest and decide the “purity” of the college game is much better.
That view is misguided in many ways. For one, the college game is hardly pure. People are naturally attracted to the passion of the fans and the fact that players aren’t paid. As the story goes, they play merely because they love the game, and money is uninvolved.
Sorry guys, but many college players do get paid. It may not always be in straight cash, but it certainly happens (does O.J. Mayo ring a bell?). Then there’s the matter of recruiting violations, which are out of control.
Still, what people really need to realize is that the NBA is not a league full of gangsters. Don’t believe me? Take a moment and Google “NBA Cares.” Dating back to 2005, the foundation has raised around $115 million for various charities. Players have logged one million hours of community work, and that number will only continue to grow.
Those figures are admittedly broad and hard to quantify. How about some personal examples? Shaquille O’Neal recently paid for a North Carolina girl’s funeral. Last year, Dwayne Wade helped buy a new house for a displaced family in South Florida. In 2007, Lebron James bought Thanksgiving dinner for 800 people in Cleveland. Many more NBA stars are just as active in the community.
Really, the NBA is very similar to the rest of society. Sure, there are a few bad apples. There is no doubt that Gilbert Arenas was wrong to bring weapons into a locker room. No one will ever forget the image of Ron Artest charging into the stands.
But for every Ron Artest, there are 10 Shaquille O’Neals. We can’t allow these isolated incidents to cloud the image of a great league.
Take it from me. I watch more NBA games than I should, and the majority of these guys play hard every game. Most of them seem like fundamentally good people, and that’s why it bothers me that many people look down on the NBA.
Good writing is meant to withstand the test of time, and Halberstam’s certainly has. Still, the fact that a single passage about the NBA’s poor image could seem so prescient today is deeply saddening. Thirty years from now, perhaps we will be able look back on that excerpt and laugh.
I can only hope.
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