It was five years ago to the day when the NBA finally got gangsta. The melee that broke out in the Palace of Auburn Hills came off to some as simply mind-blowing television. Others interpreted it as a message on the state of a Jordan-less NBA.

This is a disgrace.

The fact of the matter is that the NBA managed its image about as poorly as any professional sport could have, and didn’t react soon enough. Call it a “thug mentality” or “hip-hop culture” or whatever you want, but the NBA had too many guys, important guys, that were just looking out for number one. And this was the culmination: a workforce of jaded, spoiled “me first” guys collided not only with itself, but with its fans. Don’t get me wrong: the referees lost control of the game first, but then the players lost control of themselves. And the fans followed suit. No sport has endured a chain reaction of lapses in judgement as egregious as this.


Ron Artest has a look in his eye that’s very scary right now.

But somehow that doesn’t stop anyone from comparing it to other sports. Jemele Hill couldn’t wait to point to players in other sports and their issues. But no other league can touch the Malice at the Palace. And that’s a good thing.–vid from FanDome.

MORE FIGHTS: Brawl erupted at Alabama HS basketball game. [2/18/09]