[Thanos]

Whatever happened to the good old days of about five years ago when the athletes were polite enough to wait until the off-season to get arrested? You could probably stock a full All-Star team each for both basketball and football from the number of active NBA and NFL players that get arrested/convicted/killed/kill-someone-else every year.

Gangsta/rapper culture is a curse on the entire African American community, especially on their sports stars. Every single one of these over-paid idiots that pull stunts like this is are a total disgrace to the legacy of real American sports heroes like Jackie Robinson or Willie Mays.

[QBall]

I think what's more important to focus on (can we take the sports-gangster derailment somewhere else?) is what the reaction of the league is going to be. Are they really going to do anything meaningful to a three time All-Star? My bet is the league comes out with a statement that: the evidence is inconclusive (unless a video comes out); we're appalled; guns are bad; gambling is bad; tickets are on sale now.

[Mustang1]

Here's the one of the problems with the NBA - no minors (and college doesn't count), no role models and no guidance for its players. Kids can enter the league out of highschool, get obscene amounts of money thrown at them, get little time to mature and have Artest, Arenas and Sprewell to emulate. Recipe for disaster.

[Thanos]

The corrupt culture of American high school and collegiate athletics is also a huge factor. They pick these kids out when they're still young and basically fast-track them through a dirty system where they're allowed to get away with anything they do. Can't read? Who cares? Sold drugs? Who cares? Runs with gangsters? Who cares? Raped a few girls along the way? Who cares? Don't forget to pick up the keys to the alumini-provided Lexus waiting for you outside, sonny! When they come out of university to a million dollar siging bonus and a clean slate for all the shitty stuff they've already done, it's not much of a surprise when too many of them end up behaving like a pack of well-paid psychopaths.

[2Cdo]

Mustang1 Mustang1:

Here's the one of the problems with the NBA - no minors (and college doesn't count), no role models and no guidance for its players. Kids can enter the league out of highschool, get obscene amounts of money thrown at them, get little time to mature and have Artest, Arenas and Sprewell to emulate. Recipe for disaster.

I believe they did start a program a few years ago for rookies that made reference to money management, being a role model, and player responsibilities according to their CBA. I guess these guys missed it.

[2Cdo]

BTW Dionnie, thanks for starting a poll that found overwhelming support for my statement!

But I noticed that it was promptly locked and ended up where most of your posts should go, the flaming dumpster!

[ManifestDestiny]

I always wondered why Affiramative action does not apply to the NBA its 75% black?

[Monkeyman]

Get the facts straight. No one pulled a gun on anybody. That was Peter Vescey with his usual sensationalist garbage.

Mike Jones is doing a great job covering this in Washington - go there if you're actually interested in the facts rather than stereotyping an entire league.

[PluggyRug]

Basketball for a long time has been basketcaseball.

[Bacardi4206]

Monkeyman Monkeyman:

Get the facts straight. No one pulled a gun on anybody. That was Peter Vescey with his usual sensationalist garbage.

Mike Jones is doing a great job covering this in Washington - go there if you're actually interested in the facts rather than stereotyping an entire league.

So CTV news got it in-correct but some guy I never heard of who runs a sports website got it right?

[Choban]

Donny it's no secret that the Military and Pro sports are the only way out of the ghettos for the majority of inner city youth in america, they get caught in the cycles of violence and drugs and crime that are fostered by poverty. this guy obviously did not pursue an education as quoted from the article

"i wake up this morning and seen i was the new JOHN WAYNE. ... Media is too funny," he wrote.

About 2 1/2 hours later, his tweet was more straightforward: "i understand this is serious..but if u ever met me you know i dont do serious things im a goof ball this story today dont sound goofy to me."

English at least escapes him. Sure a blanket statement was made, but it wasn't nessesarily untrue. The majority of Sports stars from high school right through to college in the US have no interest in pursuing anything but sports and do so because it's an easy out of the life they are stuck in.