David Stern is the worst commissioner in sports history

[Assassin70]

posts like this deserve negative TP's.
David Stern is arguably the best commissioner and sports today.  his league is more popular than it has ever been.  They do a tremendous job of marketing its stars and star teams.

his negotiating power is so strong that i the players dont cave he is going to lock them out...miss half of next year and get the players to make sacrifices all over the place.  does anyone remember what happened in '99.  what makes anyone think that things are all that different today?

I agree with what you said "Tremendous job of marketing its stars and star teams".

And why the NBA is in the state it is in. 

[mgent]

Amen. Besides the factual errors, look, we all love to rant about Stern, largely because Stern is also the most public of commissioners. In a world where Bud Selig is the commissioner of baseball you can never even say he is the worst current serving commissioner in sports. When Stern took over the Association it was in shambles. Look at where it is now. Of course we pick on him, and complain about the things he does, but a little perspective. Selig is clearly the worst. He is out of touch and has ruined baseball, be it through the willful blind eye towards steroids/hgh, never attempting to get a salary cap, not to mention p.r. mistakes. Stern at least tries to change rules in the off-season, Goodell changes the way the game is officiated from week to week. Look, I love to complain about Stern as much as the next guy but the title of this thread is so shortsighted and oblivious to history it is laughable.

Forget Selig - Gary Bettman just about killed the NHL.  That's gotta put him at #1.

I could care less about the commissioners.  At least in the NHL the officials do a good job of making the right call and never attempt to take over the game.

[guava_wrench]

for 2 reasons... mainly the first one below

1) the referees/fouling/technicals situation. refs have been steadily increasing the # of fouls they call each year. this ruins the flow of the game, especially when they call cheap fouls that wnba referees most likely don't even call. now calling technicals for complaining? that takes away from the passion for the game and fans won't be able to see what makes players like KG special.

2) the nba is losing money... stern should've seen this a while ago since he's been commish for centuries it seems

3.  Banning upside down headbands.

I think that is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. Wearing a head band upside down is tradition for some players and to make them stop is ridiculous. Some players have been doing this since they were kids and now they have to stop because of some stupid rule. Rondo wore it every game and and it was something that was a part of his game and now he just looks weird without one.

I think the rule makes perfect sense.  Would it be OK if they wore their jerseys backwards?

Those headbands are voluntary, but if they wear them, it is a part of the uniform, as well as an advertisement for the league.  If the league logo is not being represented correctly, then they are missing out on promotion.  It is a small thing, but in the world of marketing and branding, those small things can matter. 

Makes sense to me too.

There are already restrictions on wearing any branded headbands. If they are only allowing the NBA headbands to be worn, doesn't seem surprising that they are also saying how it should be worn.

In Rondo's case, wearing the headband upside-down was not something he did as a kid and wearing it one way or another won't make a difference in a person's game.

[guava_wrench]

Amen. Besides the factual errors, look, we all love to rant about Stern, largely because Stern is also the most public of commissioners. In a world where Bud Selig is the commissioner of baseball you can never even say he is the worst current serving commissioner in sports. When Stern took over the Association it was in shambles. Look at where it is now. Of course we pick on him, and complain about the things he does, but a little perspective. Selig is clearly the worst. He is out of touch and has ruined baseball, be it through the willful blind eye towards steroids/hgh, never attempting to get a salary cap, not to mention p.r. mistakes. Stern at least tries to change rules in the off-season, Goodell changes the way the game is officiated from week to week. Look, I love to complain about Stern as much as the next guy but the title of this thread is so shortsighted and oblivious to history it is laughable.

Forget Selig - Gary Bettman just about killed the NHL.  That's gotta put him at #1.

I could care less about the commissioners.  At least in the NHL the officials do a good job of making the right call and never attempt to take over the game.

NBA refs don't try to "take over a game". They just try to call violations correctly. They also try to stop escalating violence on the court.

Hockey allows checking and even fighting and there are just far less calls to make. It is just an easier game to ref/police when it is legal to hit someone taking a shot on goal. I don't think it is even close in reffing difficulty.

[CoachCowens]

Amen. Besides the factual errors, look, we all love to rant about Stern, largely because Stern is also the most public of commissioners. In a world where Bud Selig is the commissioner of baseball you can never even say he is the worst current serving commissioner in sports. When Stern took over the Association it was in shambles. Look at where it is now. Of course we pick on him, and complain about the things he does, but a little perspective. Selig is clearly the worst. He is out of touch and has ruined baseball, be it through the willful blind eye towards steroids/hgh, never attempting to get a salary cap, not to mention p.r. mistakes. Stern at least tries to change rules in the off-season, Goodell changes the way the game is officiated from week to week. Look, I love to complain about Stern as much as the next guy but the title of this thread is so shortsighted and oblivious to history it is laughable.

Forget Selig - Gary Bettman just about killed the NHL.  That's gotta put him at #1.

I could care less about the commissioners.  At least in the NHL the officials do a good job of making the right call and never attempt to take over the game.

NBA refs don't try to "take over a game". They just try to call violations correctly. They also try to stop escalating violence on the court.

Hockey allows checking and even fighting and there are just far less calls to make. It is just an easier game to ref/police when it is legal to hit someone taking a shot on goal. I don't think it is even close in reffing difficulty.

But there are illegal checks, hooking and roughing calls etc. that aren't always black and white,  and they are going at a higher rate of speed. 

[arctic 3.0]

thought i'd ask this here instead of starting another thread.
If the league contracted, any idea what would happen to the contracts of players effected?

[anthony83]

David Stern is a manipulator and a scoundrel.

[KobeShesNotConsenting!]

I'm not gonna say he's been a terrible commissioner, but there's definitely things i absolutely hate about the man. Guy's an absolute control freak and i dont think anyone's envoked as much anger i me without me actually meetin them. Latest example; he banned rajon rondo from wearing his upsidedown headband! what the heells up wit that? Seriously get over yourself. And the technical bull speaks for itself. He just seems real smug and i never say this bout old men but i wouldnt mind if someone smacked the self righteous smile off his face. Literally. Keel over Stern!

[JSD]

Who was Baseball's commissioner in 1919? He's gotta be up there too. The Black Sox happened on his watch.

[Celtics4ever]

Anyone who thinks the refs don't try to keep stars in the game or pad their stats is delusional. They don't call violations correctly look at those charges on LeBron James last night.  NBA refs are the worst ever they do think they are bigger than the game.  Stern is trying to make it so you can't talk about to them.  But its not the players who matter, they should respect the refs during the game, its us fans who pay the bill.  Ref's should learn call a fair game, call it even, screw the star calls and don't try to keep teams in the game or break momentum.

[Donoghus]

Who was Baseball's commissioner in 1919? He's gotta be up there too. The Black Sox happened on his watch.

There wasn't a commissioner.  It took the Black Sox scandal to change that.  That's when Kennesaw Mountain Landis came in.  First baseball commish.

[JSD]

Who was Baseball's commissioner in 1919? He's gotta be up there too. The Black Sox happened on his watch.

There wasn't a commissioner.  It took the Black Sox scandal to change that.  That's when Kennesaw Mountain Landis came in.  First baseball commish.

Well then, you learn something new everyday.

[mmbaby]

Chris, you made some good points and I like your open-minded point of view. But the new technical rule could really cause some serious problems and giving the refs too much power can allow them to sway a game for the players or team they like, and we all know it's been done before, for various reasons.

This gives them more power to make arbitrary calls.

And frankly, I consider myself part of the 'public' and fan base and I attend some games. I actually like to see my player's reactions, i.e., KG's mean and scary looks. I'm really going to miss that. It takes away so much of a player's freedom to just be himself in a very emotional game.

I don't see that the public has a poor image of the NBA, quite the contrary. The NBA is considered to be the kindest sport as compared to football, hockey, baseball. What image problem is there?

[guava_wrench]

Amen. Besides the factual errors, look, we all love to rant about Stern, largely because Stern is also the most public of commissioners. In a world where Bud Selig is the commissioner of baseball you can never even say he is the worst current serving commissioner in sports. When Stern took over the Association it was in shambles. Look at where it is now. Of course we pick on him, and complain about the things he does, but a little perspective. Selig is clearly the worst. He is out of touch and has ruined baseball, be it through the willful blind eye towards steroids/hgh, never attempting to get a salary cap, not to mention p.r. mistakes. Stern at least tries to change rules in the off-season, Goodell changes the way the game is officiated from week to week. Look, I love to complain about Stern as much as the next guy but the title of this thread is so shortsighted and oblivious to history it is laughable.

Forget Selig - Gary Bettman just about killed the NHL.  That's gotta put him at #1.

I could care less about the commissioners.  At least in the NHL the officials do a good job of making the right call and never attempt to take over the game.

NBA refs don't try to "take over a game". They just try to call violations correctly. They also try to stop escalating violence on the court.

Hockey allows checking and even fighting and there are just far less calls to make. It is just an easier game to ref/police when it is legal to hit someone taking a shot on goal. I don't think it is even close in reffing difficulty.

But there are illegal checks, hooking and roughing calls etc. that aren't always black and white,  and they are going at a higher rate of speed. 

It is much easier to see an illegal check or hooking than judge fouls. What is difficult about judging hooking? Imagine having 2 refs watching Rondo with the ball running his man off a Pierce pic, Shaq fighting for post position, and Ray running around a KG screen at the same time, while also counting 3 seconds.

[freshinthehouse]

I'd have to say that in my personal opinion, Jack Tunney was the worst commissioner of my lifetime:

He allowed Jake the Snake Roberts to get away w/ far too much, including what should've been a LOVELY wedding.

Amazing.  TP+