Bad sports, good sports: What first amendment?
I will start this by saying that I am not a fan of Lakers coach Phil Jackson. Sure, he is clearly a great coach. Lots of championships make that fairly obvious. I have always thought, though, that he was a bit of an arrogant, elitist snob. His whole “Zen master” thing seemed a bit bogus to me. I know well, though, that I have often disliked the extremely accomplished players and coaches from teams other than the ones for whom I root. His resume certainly does speak for itself.
Despite my dislike for him, I find myself wanting to defend him against the fine the NBA has levied against him for comments that he made during game 4 of the NBA finals. He made reference to some calls against his players that he felt were bogus. The NBA decided he should pay $25,000 for his temerity. I really disagree with the concept of a league fining its coaches for criticizing officials. An official is allowed to blow a game, but the coach is not allowed to point it out. I guess the leagues feel that it somehow undermines the authority of the officials, if the players and coaches are free to criticize them. Aside from the obvious free speech issues here, the very idea that an official couldn’t successfully do the job if negative things were being said about him or her is ludicrous. They are professionals. If they are any good at their jobs, they can feel secure in knowing that the league is behind them, and that’s who is signing the checks.
It’s even worse in baseball, where there have a been a number of umpires over the years (yes, Joe West, you are indeed included here) who have seemed to believe that the ticket-buying public was actually coming to the games to see them, as opposed to the players. Unless you are a member of the official’s family, there is little likelihood that you are there to see them change calls because someone “showed them up.”
I am sure Phil Jackson has enough money that the twenty-five grand will not make a dent in his pocket money. That’s not the point. The point is that fining him for pointing out some brutal officiating doesn’t make the NBA look good. Quite the contrary, in my opinion.
Bad sports, continued:
2) Brian Bruney, of the New York Yankees, pointed out that Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez goes a bit overboard in his mound celebrations. Rodriguez, aka K-Rod, didn’t take kindly to it. Silliness ensued.
3) The University of Alabama saw 16 of its teams, including the football team, placed on probation this week for a situation that involved scholarship players getting free textbooks for other students. The penalties include three years of probation, and the forfeiture of some wins from the season during which these players participated. Roll Tide Roll.
Good sports:
1) It’s always nice to see an athlete, after millions of dollars made and much adulation received, go back to school and finish the coursework needed to get the degree he was working toward when fame and fortune called. Troy Aikman graduated from UCLA this week. Well done.
2) Soccer star Kaka recently moved from AC Milan to Real Madrid, although he is waiting until the end of the Federations Cup in South Africa. I have nothing to add to this story. I just love that there is a huge soccer star named Kaka.
3) There is very little I like about the New York Yankees. But today, they beat Johan Santana and the Mets 15-0. I hate the Mets.
Bad Sports, Good Sports appears every Monday
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It isn’t a First Amendment issue. “Congress shall make no law” is generally taken to also mean the states and government beyond just Congress (itself controversial in some quarters), but certainly not private enterprises. That’s why Miss America and sports teams and corporations can have morals clauses and all sorts of other policies. The Yankees can require players to have short hair and no facial hair. The government cannot. If you are a spokesperson for Nike, they can fire you if you go on a racist tirade. They can also fire you for badmouthing their product. It makes sense. Imagine you’re paying an athlete millions to promote your shoes, and then he starts saying your shoes suck. He can’t claim his free speech rights were violated when you fire him. I guess the NBA views complaints by players and coaches about officiating to be damaging to its product. The issue isn’t free speech, but the one you raise — although the league has the right to fine players and coaches for complaining about officiating, is it a good idea to do so?
OK, fair enough. Yes, a private organization does have the right to create its own rules. That said, the perception among the general public will be that the league is suppressing any dissent. Yes, that is exactly what they are doing, sure. As you asked, is that a good idea? What is the purpose?