Nightmare Off-Season Leaves Stern Unscathed

NBA commissioner David Stern’s summer of discontent is finally over. Fortunately for him, the memories of a referee scandal, arrests of players and an owner, the Anucha Browne Sanders sexual harassment lawsuit, and Seattle’s lawsuit against SuperSonics owner Clayton Bennett will not linger long into the 2007–08 basketball season.Under normal circumstances, Stern would be in crisis mode — but neither sports nor the NBA will ever qualify as a normal business venture. Stern seems to be doing fine despite the summer arrests of Washington Wizards’ Andray Blatche for sex solicitation; Houston Rockets’ Rafer Alston for misdemeanor charges of assault and public intoxication, and the Indiana Pacers’ Shawne Williams, who was taken into custody on marijuana possession and other charges. A former Pacers’ player, Stephen Jackson (who is now with the Golden State Warriors) pleaded guilty in June to a felony charge for firing a gun into the air following an incident outside an Indianapolis strip club last October, and was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine and perform 100 hours of community service. The NBA suspended him for the first seven games of this upcoming season. Last weekend, Los Angeles Lakers center Kwame Brown was charged with disorderly conduct and interfering with a police officer in Valdosta, Ga., in an incident involving his cousin who was driving while intoxicated.Even one of Stern’s owners got in trouble. On May 29, police arrested Los Angeles Lakers owner Jerry Buss for driving under the influence in Carlsbad, Calif. Mr. Buss entered a plea of guilty on September 4 to misdemeanor drunken driving. Stern is also certainly monitoring the aftermath of the Isiah Thomas trial, as well as Seattle’s court action that is designed to keep Bennett and his Sonics in the city through 2010.Bennett wants to leave Seattle because local politicians refuse to put up public dollars for a new basketball venue after rebuilding the present arena in 1995. If he doesn’t get a new arena by October 31, Bennett plans to play out the season in Seattle, and then move the club, even though he owes the city two more years. This is thanks to a lease signed during the 1990s by former owner Barry Ackerley. Ackerley sold the team to the founder of Starbucks, Howard Schultz, in January 2001, and Bennett purchased the team from Schultz in 2006 after Schultz could not get Seattle politicians to build him a new arena.Oddly enough, while Stern has come down hard on his players, he has not disciplined his owners. BesidesBuss, KnicksownerJames Dolan and Thomas were found guilty of sexual harassment. Stern had to be fuming over the testimony and subsequent jury verdict against the Garden, Dolan, and Thomas in the Anucha Browne case. But unless he can unearth something in the Basketball Association of America’s agreement that was signed in 1946 (when the Knicks joined the league) that relates to punishment after civil suits, sexual harassment, and multi-million dollar judgments, there is nothing he can do to punish Dolan or Thomas.In spite of all the problems, the business of the NBA has gone on without any complaints from the people who really matter, those being the ones putting up money for TV and radio rights, sponsors and marketing partners, and the people who are buying luxury boxes and club seats.If the NBA were really toxic, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James would not have hosted the first show of “Saturday Night Live” this season. It is doubtful that GE, which owns NBC, would have allowed James to host the show if the company felt that there would be a backlash because of Stern’s nightmarish summer. GE actually does have a stake in making sure the NBA does well, as NBC has the American broadcast rights for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. The U.S. basketball team figures to be a ratings grabber for NBC, and will generate a good many hits on Olympic Web sites.The NBA’s American cable TV partners and big league benefactors — the Walt Disney Company and Time Warner— did not had a problem with embattled referee Tim Donaghy, Buss, Dolan, the arrested players, or any lawsuits. Both media giants signed longterm rights deals with the league just before the news of the Donaghy investigation hit papers. But neither pulled from their multi-year commitments, even though both could have canceled the agreements.The arrest of Sacramento Kings’ Ron Artest has not stopped officials from the California Exposition and State Fair from entering into negotiations with John Moag, a Stern point man, in getting a new basketball venue built in California’s state capital last week. Sacramento officials are still hoping to cobble together a city-state funding plan for a new building that will satisfy owners Joe and Gavin Maloof, and keep the Kings in town. Last November, there were two arena referendum proposals asking Sacramento taxpayers to fund an arena project. Both lost, 72–28 and 80–20. But local officials decided the public was wrong in its judgment, and are trying to find funding and not put the issue up for a vote.If Stern is worried about damage to his league, he can look back to the summer of 2003 and take some comfort. The July 18, 2003 indictment of Kobe Bryant in Eagle County, Colo., for sexual assault was just one misdeed in an off-season filled with arrests and court cases. Also that summer, Sumner Davenport filed a sexual harassment suit against the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, Donald Sterling. Both Bryant and Sterling were tried and found not guilty. Bryant “repaired” his image and is still one of the league’s biggest stars. Despite all the 2003 arrests, the Detroit–Denver 2004 brawl, and other problems, the NBA remained a global juggernaut — and still is.The summer of discontent for Stern is done, and training camp has started. The league may have suffered a couple of black and blue marks. But none of the summer’s events will leave any scars.evanjweiner@yahoo.com

Nightmare Off-Season Leaves Stern Unscathed

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