Crime and Punishment
Stephen Jackson. Referee Bennett Salvatore. One of these men is a convicted federal criminal. The answer after the jump.
Before I get to the answer, let me just say that I agree with Gary D’s earlier comment. The calls from Game 2 are in the past. We need to refocus our attention on the keys to Game 3, the subject of a post I should have up shortly. That said, there are two juicy examples of hypocrisy in the fallout from yesterday’s ejections that I can’t let slide by unaddressed.
First, the media’s coverage of Bennett Salvatore’s technicals and Stephen Jackson’s ejection has been filled with references to Jackson’s past misconduct, both on and off the court. What it hasn’t included is the story of Salvatore’s rap sheet:
You can argue that Jackson’s misconduct is relevant to what happened last night. He’s a man who has anger control issues and has been in confrontations both on and off the court. He’s under closer scrutiny because of his past. I’d argue, however, that if you head down that road the same standard should be applied to Salvatore. He’s a man responsible for enforcing a code of conduct among players, but has plead guilty to disregarding the highest code of conduct in the land (more on the refs’ tax scam here). Everytime Jax looks at someone the wrong way, we hear comments about thugs and brawls. Salvatore makes questionable calls, however, and we hear nothing about his honesty or credibility. Obviously, Jackson’s conviction and alleged crime involve violence whereas Salvatore’s is a matter of fraud. Then again, Jackson allegedly acted both times to protect his teammates from physical harm, while Salvatore seems to have ripped off the American taxpayer for his own profit. In the end, I think both people should be allowed to have their past put to rest once they’ve served their time. I just find it frustrating that the media plays by a double standard.
Speaking of double standards, when did Salvatore go from being public enemy number one in Dallas to a quality official? Some background:
I give full credit to LeBreton for making the point, but he’s the only one. Mark Cuban famously whined after the finals last year: “You are an amazing player Dwayne. I love watching you shoot free throws.” That type of sarcasm would have gotten Cuban kicked last night. Since Mavs fans found nothing wrong when Salvatore’s calls broke their way, let me just say: “You are an amazing player Stackhouse. I love watching you shoot free throws.”
To be a credible fan, you can either complain about the refs or avoid the subject entirely. If you choose to complain, however, you have to hold your own team to the same standard. I’m more than aware of the blinders that fandom brings, but that doesn’t make the Mavs’ sanctimonious sniping at the Warriors to “get over the calls” any more acceptable. The double standard is downright Salvatorian.
Ultimately, there’s only one appropriate response to the deafening silence of Mavs’ fans on the matter: CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP.
Clap clap indeed.
Absolutely wonderful, Adam.
I see you took a look at the Mavericks fan’s blogs and forums. Are communicate is held to a higher standard here…until tonight. For tonight we unleash Hell.
Or maybe not (ha ha ha as I laugh at myself) Maybe we’ll fill out posts with typos and grammatical errors. Hopefully I’ll manage to cheer coherently!
Clapping wildly, smilingly sarcastically, waiting patiently for tonight (sorta).
And adding my own typos kuz that’s how it flows y’know?
Hey! Where’d the good time vibes of being a pack of outcasts playing out of their heads go?
T’s, Refs, fines and conspiracies are getting in the way of our R rated Disney movie here.
Thanks for all the research Adam but try not to let the sideshows take away from the furious joy/mayhem that is to be unleashed in Oakland tonight. I was scared from the beginning that the emotions would get the best of the squad when things got hot but so what, bring the fire! Anyone else surprised Barnes didn’t earn a T in that second game? I had him pegged to pop off and start something…well, it’s a long series.
GO DUBS!!!
Since when is the Internal Revenue Code “the highest code of conduct in the land.” The NBA refs were given first class airline tickets by the league (didn’t pay taxes on these tickets because they needed to travel as part of their jobs) and turned them into coach tickets and cash. The airlines were happy to resell the first-class tickets and make a little extra money. Nowhere is this practice specifically prohibited by the enlightened, even handed, clear and appropriately exhalted IRC.
Rather goverment lawyers argued that this was a form of compensation and the refs should have paid additional income tax on it. The case settled so we don’t even know whether a jury would have convicted the refs of tax evasion. You can make a pretty strong argument that no one was harmed by the referees deciding that they valued a coach ticket and $200 more highly than a first class ticket. The airlines were certainly happy to make this trade. The NBA wasn’t harmed because it was the entity that decided to give the refs the first-class tickets in the first case.
You can attack B.S.’s character for a lot of stuff, but a ten year old, dubiously illegal scheme he participated in not knowing that it was against an obscure common law interpretation of “compensation” probably isn’t the strongest case you can make that he’s a bad guy.