11/05/24
March 01, 2009
Banned Aid?: The NBA, doing its best impression of the NFL, wanted to stop the self-promotion.
posted by BoKnows to basketball at 06:48 PM - 25 comments
Just gay! The NBA is in need of dealing with real issues.
posted by BornIcon at 11:09 AM on March 02, 2009
And by gay, you mean...?
posted by jmd82 at 02:43 PM on March 02, 2009
Fabulous!
This is the wrong sports forum in which to call something "gay" as a form of insult. At least I sincerely hope so.
posted by rcade at 07:32 PM on March 02, 2009
I guess the Dora Band-Aids are out. I wonder if those would have gotten the same reaction...hmmm.
posted by BoKnows at 09:20 PM on March 02, 2009
A thought on the title of the post: I think it is funny that many fans will criticize the "No Fun League" and yet be more passionately devoted to watching and financially investing in it than in the other "more fun leagues." Maybe the NFL just gets that their "boring, squeaky-clean image" in the end makes them more popular and financially profitable. If the NFL is "no fun," then why is it hands down the most successful league in America right now? One last thought. Which is more "fun": making a big play or the dance afterwards? I think most of us would agree that we enjoyed Santonio Holmes' actual catch more than we did his celebration. I think people need to quit piling on the nfl for their policy on this. If you think cheesy dance moves are the height of fun, then go to a high school prom.
posted by brainofdtrain at 11:57 PM on March 02, 2009
Fabulous!
Now that's exactly what I mean.
This is the wrong sports forum in which to call something "gay" as a form of insult. At least I sincerely hope so.
Sorry for the politcally incorrect remark and I apologize if I offended anyone but taking away D-Wade's fashion statement band-aid is just dumb. Who was he really hurting?
posted by BornIcon at 10:26 AM on March 03, 2009
If the NFL is "no fun," then why is it hands down the most successful league in America right now?
I think the other major sports devalue their product by playing so many games. Playing a limited schedule makes each NFL game a bigger deal, and events like Monday Night Football more important (back in the day).
Pro football also benefits from having the most successful college sport as its feeder league, and the marketing of the Super Bowl and the NFL Draft were two of the most brilliant moves in sports history.
I don't think the NFL's popularity has anything to do with the rules against fun. I think that hurts the league by making it less entertaining on TV, which is all that really matters in terms of popularity. They could unclench the sphincter a little bit and let players celebrate. It wouldn't turn the NFL into the XFL.
posted by rcade at 11:36 AM on March 03, 2009
Sorry for the politcally incorrect remark and I apologize if I offended anyone
Interesting choice of words. I find that the terms "politically correct" or "politically incorrect" are generally used by bigots who wish to be lauded as champions of free speech instead of held to account for their use of derogatory, hateful and/or offensive terms. I wouldn't label you a bigot, but someone who hadn't been reading your posts for as long as I have might come to a different conclusion. That also brings up another point: is it really possible, BornIcon, that as long as you've been posting here, you'd think that the use of the word "gay" as a derogatory term would be welcomed here? That, I find questionable.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 11:51 AM on March 03, 2009
To be honest, my "if I offended anyone" comment was my ode to Dan Patrick that may have gone over your head. I'm not going to debate with you about whether my choice of using the word "gay" was as a derogatory term or if I was using it as slang for "stupid". There's no need to get all bent out of shape and question my use of the word, maybe I meant that I was happy with what the NBA did to D-Wade. That is another use for the word "gay"
posted by BornIcon at 01:27 PM on March 03, 2009
I'm not going to debate with you about whether my choice of using the word "gay" was as a derogatory term or if I was using it as slang for "stupid". Do you really believe that "using ['gay'] as slang for 'stupid'" is not a derogatory usage? Perhaps you also believe that the expression "You throw like a girl" isn't derogatory either?
posted by lil_brown_bat at 02:45 PM on March 03, 2009
Man D-Wade made a real BornIcon move by wearing that band-aid.
posted by HATER 187 at 05:22 PM on March 03, 2009
Do you really believe that "using ['gay'] as slang for 'stupid'" is not a derogatory usage? Perhaps you also believe that the expression "You throw like a girl" isn't derogatory either?
Well, I do think context matters. In this context, I'm probably not going to hang BI for using the term. I've used it similarly. I do think that policiing words is not akin to bulding bridges. It's an interesting discussion at any rate. Certainly more interesting than the NBA deciding to ban band-aids - which I could care less about.
rcade is right about the NFL though. It's spectacularly unique in the pro-sports universe.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 07:42 PM on March 03, 2009
I think that hurts the league by making it less entertaining on TV, which is all that really matters in terms of popularity.
You may be right rcade, but i guess i don't understand how watching a 30 year old man pull out a cell phone, resucitate a ball, or sign the ball with a sharpie makes the touchdown more entertaining.
I know they are stereotypical examples, but did anyone watch Jerry Rice or Emmitt Smith and think "if only they had done the dirty bird, now that would have been entertaining!"
Honestly, I think that these matters are ultimately subjective. For every person that thinks such actions are entertaining there is a person a bit more like me who would be turned off by such actions. Further, each person defines excessive celebration differently. I think that is the reason the NFL has decided to be so conservative on this.
posted by brainofdtrain at 08:59 PM on March 03, 2009
I know they are stereotypical examples, but did anyone watch Jerry Rice or Emmitt Smith and think "if only they had done the dirty bird, now that would have been entertaining!"
One of my favorite players growing up was Billy "White Shoes" Johnson. I think players with showmanship make the game entertaining. I still talk about the Cowboys/Niners game where Owens disrespected the star, Emmitt Smith responded, and when Owens did it a second time Kenny Gant knocked his block off.
posted by rcade at 10:03 PM on March 03, 2009
rcade,
I see your take. I think you and i just don't view this stuff the same, but like i said above i am not sure if this is more than a preference issue. I am unsure if there is a right or wrong on this issue.
And i have to admit, when Kenny hit Owens i enjoyed it. Of course, that may be more due to the fact that I've never been an Owens guy.
Thanks for discussing.
posted by brainofdtrain at 11:10 PM on March 03, 2009
To me this is different than TO showing of, or a pitcher pumping his fist after a strike, or trash talking after a dunk. This is just a guy wearing something that is not part of his uniform. Its more like the time John Vanbiesbrouck used red tape on the butt end of his goalie during a home game (back when home sweaters were white)
posted by HATER 187 at 11:14 PM on March 03, 2009
I think you and i just don't view this stuff the same, but like i said above i am not sure if this is more than a preference issue.
It is a preference issue, but it is also an age issue. Kids love that showy stuff, and it gives them something to do on the playground. The high-stepping thing that Deion Sanders did was all over the playground. That gets a whole new generation of people excited about football. The NBA does this with the slam dunk contest. Kids always want to do whatever the cool move is that NBA players are doing. I don't know why they want to take the fun out of it. I think kids showing up on the playground with a band-aid would be good free promotion for the NBA.
posted by bperk at 09:55 AM on March 04, 2009
Well, I do think context matters. In this context, I'm probably not going to hang BI for using the term. I've used it similarly. I do think that policiing words is not akin to bulding bridges.
I have to slightly disagree with you, Weedy. Context matters; so does intention. That's why I said to BI that I wouldn't label him a bigot; however, the phrase he used is a derogatory phrase. Context and intention aren't the only thing that matters. So maybe BI used the phrase in total innocence (his subsequent statement, while it totally boggles my mind, seems to indicate that). So maybe a lot of straight people do the same. Doesn't make it okay. If I've been told all my life that African-American people like to be called "nigger", I can claim innocent mistake if I use the word...once. I can't claim it if I've been informed otherwise, and no one who informs me so is "policing words".
In simple terms: using "gay" to mean "stupid" is a derogatory usage, just as using "you throw like a girl" to suggest weakness and ineptitude is a derogatory usage. It creates associations -- illogical, maybe unconscious, but nevertheless real -- between a group of people and inferiority. It's not on a par with taking up a baseball bat and going out gaybashing, but please don't pretend to yourselves or others that it's a harmless act.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 10:55 AM on March 04, 2009
I think what it boils down to from the NBA's standpoint is the ad space. Obviously a regular band-aid is fine, but a self promoting fashion statement is not. That perplexes me because most of the bigger name star players wear shoes designed solely (heh,heh) for them, and mostly with fashion in mind. So, my guess is if Johnson & Johnson were to offer a NBA line of Band-Aids (and giving the NBA a cut), those would then be okay.
I don't think the T.O./Star/High Step comparison is the same here. Now, if an NFL player were to adhere a logo to his helmet, promoting his foundation or clothing line, then there would be a reasonable comparison to refer to.
posted by BoKnows at 12:44 PM on March 04, 2009
bperk.
Are you intimating that at the age of 26, i am now an "old-man?"
posted by brainofdtrain at 01:38 AM on March 05, 2009
Maybe, brainofdtrain, you are just an old soul. You might be yelling at kids to get off your lawn by the age of 35.
posted by bperk at 10:20 AM on March 05, 2009
Maybe, brainofdtrain, you are just an old soul. You might be yelling at kids to get off your lawn by the age of 35.
Hell, why wait until you're 35? Start now! It's fun!
posted by lil_brown_bat at 10:47 AM on March 06, 2009
Perhaps you also believe that the expression "You throw like a girl" isn't derogatory either?
Not if you actually throw like a girl or are a girl throwing something.
Man D-Wade made a real BornIcon move by wearing that band-aid
Sweet! That took some imagination to come up with that one.
Look, my use of the word wasn't meant to be taken in a derogatory way. For people to use profanity all the time on here and not hearing a peep from anyone and then suddenly I use the "G" word and a discussion ensues, I have to say that I'm damn proud of bringing up a subject (unintentionally) that most people won't dare touch. I'm all about discussing things without going overboard so if this will helps in any way, I'm all for it.
posted by BornIcon at 01:04 PM on March 06, 2009
Sweet! That took some imagination to come up with that one.
Nah dude, I stole it from a commercial in the WB or CW or whatever that channel is called. And they in turn stole it from someone else. I don't think you're a bad guy or anything, I just think that you don't realize how offensive what you said can be to someone. Think before you speak, that is all I would ask.
posted by HATER 187 at 10:51 PM on March 08, 2009
Hey Dwayne, let your play speak for you!