Never mind that the salary cap has ruined the league. Never mind that the “I” mindset of the current players makes the game basically unwatchable. Today the last vestige of anything resembling a competitive sports league was removed by David Stern.

Saturday night Isaiah Thomas ordered one of his players, Mardy Collins, to give a hard foul to a Denver Nuggets player. The resulting play caused one of the ugliest brawls in NBA history. Not as ugly as the brawl in Detroit a couple of years ago, but that was in a class of its own. The reason behind Thomas’ thugery - because George Karl, head coach of the Nuggets, kept his starters in the game even though they were ahead by a large margin. I though this was sports and the coach had every right to play who he wanted to. But nasty boy, Isaiah Thomas and all the testosterone that fuels the NBA was insulted. Insulted enough to start this brawl.

So with plenty of proof of what Thomas did (video, players admitting it) David Stern blamed the players, but refused to blame Thomas. Stern said there was no definitive proof that Thomas ordered the foul. Let’s for a minute play moron, and believe this. Thomas is the leader of a team that lost composure and led to an embarrassing brawl - by virtue of his position, he is culpable for the actions of his players. By letting Thomas off the hook, Stern basically condones this type of play, and moves the NBA closer to the WWE than the NFL.

David Stern: I have stopped watching your product. If it were only because I believe that the current structure of the salary cap enforces the opposite of parity, I probably wouldn’t say anything. But it appears that you’ve allowed this league to become a mismanaged mess.

If you don’t have the stomach to enforce law and order - then maybe it’s time you find someone that does. Otherwise you force more people away from your sport shaking their head in disgust.

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