The NBA and how the Media runs it
By Kevin Lim
“10 Seconds on the clock, he goes for the shot, Its good!” My favorite childhood memories came from playing in my backyard pretending to be a NBA player on my makeshift baskets. Commentating as I shot the ball, imagining thousands of fans chanting my name. For me being in the NBA was the coolest thing on the planet and I always wanted to a NBA player. The NBA (National Basketball Association), the highest level of professional basketball. Athletes can get paid millions of dollars to play a simple game of basketball. Growing up, NBA players were like my idols. Unfortunately, not everyone looked at NBA players in the same light I did. In 2004, NBA player Ron Artest and his team were provoked by fans and assaulted. A massive brawl shortly ensued.
People call it one of the darkest days in the NBA, it could have led to serious injury or death. See, at that time there was this stigma around NBA players stemming from racism, that they are “thugs.” They embodied the “ghetto” and bring a bad influence on young children. The media and public viewed the players as thugs who did whatever they wanted. This incident only fueled that fire and gave them motivation to push the agenda that these players are thugs. While the incident was the players just defending themselves, the media viewed it as the players assaulting defenseless fans.
In this newspaper section, “Pacers Pollard sickened by Brawl.” Details the night of the incident. It describes vividly of what they players did but does not go into much detail of what the fans did to them. Even the headline is a quote of a white player that says, “glad I can tell my kids that I didn’t participate.” Reinforcing the perspective that it was the player’s fault. There was also video evidence of fans provoking the players physically and escalating the situation. However, media outlet chooses to ignore it and paint the players as the villains.
This brings into question the authority and impartially of the newspaper. People who read this story should know the full story and not the partial truth. Yet, the media bias and its disdain for the players presents the story like a one-sided beating. Multiple details were left missing, like how the fan threw a cup at Ron Artest’s head while he was vulnerable that started it. All this newspaper piece does is start an unfair witch hunt for the players.
What did the NBA do? Defend its players? It decided to do what the media wanted and tossed out fines and suspensions to players costing them millions of dollars and potential championships. Ron Artest, who was impacted the most, was suspended for the rest of the season by the NBA. Pacers CEO at that time, Donnie Walsh even voiced his support for the players, even trying to get the suspensions for his team overturned. The power the media had was huge. They were able to push a multi-million company to punish its players who were attacked. I remember as a kid I would see the news and media outlets bashing some of my favorite NBA players.
Now were Ron Artest and the Pacers saints that night? No, but should they have received all the blame? Unfortunately, because of the backlash from the fans and media, the NBA needed a scapegoat, so they sacrificed the Pacers players, costing them millions and potential championships. The media played a crucial role in the punishments. It was able to push the NBA to punish the players that were defending themselves.
Abrams, J. (2014, May 12). The malice at the palace. Grantland. Retrieved October 4, 2021, from https://grantland.com/features/an-oral-history-malice-palace/.
