Quote:
|
Now, what if the NBA changed its rules as you hypothetically suggested? One word: Football. It happens all the time in football. And people get injured worse than Cabarkapa all the time, sometimes tragically worse. But it's legal, so coaches coach it, players do it, and fans love it. Do you watch football? Now, football and basketball are different sports, and that's fine with me, because I like both of them, but it's just not accurate to suggest that if the NBA decided to suddenly allow flagrants like the one Fortson commited that they would be blazing a trail of unprecedented disregard for human safety that fans should object to on principles alone, becuase other sports have their foundation built on that sort of violence.
|
I've been watching football for just as long as I've been watching basketball, and I have never heard a football owner complaining about a legal (permitted by the rules) play as being dangerous to the players. And we KNOW that many/most football plays are. Given the fact that football sells violence, however, such a complaint would be even more hypocritical than the complaint that Cuban makes here.
Also, I didn't understand the rest of your comments here. Are you saying that fans wouldn't object to the legalization of flagrant fouls, or that players wouldn't commit them?
Quote:
|
As to Cuban either really not caring if players get hurt, or really not thinking the play is that dangerous. This issue doesn't exist in a vaccum. That logic only works if there are no mitigating considerations in the mix. But there are. Money and competitiveness spring to my mind right off the bat. Cuban wants to win, and he wants to continue to be financially succesful. In order to do that, given the level of competition in the league, you have to take advantage of the rules. It doesn't mean that he has no concern for the players' safety, and it doesn't mean he's making stuff up. It means that his desire to win and have money outweigh any impulse he might have to do the right thing, as it were. Hey, I never said he's a saint, just a good owner.
|
Exactly. He cares more about winning and money than he does about player safety. Good for him, and good for us. I just don't want him pretending his priorities put safety ahead of winning, or money. Because they don't.