David Stern is the worst commissioner in sports history

[footey]

I agree with you in the sense that David Stern has been a pretty bad commissioner overall. I was initially a critic of the new no-arguing fouls rule. It does take away from the passion displayed on the court.

After watching all three games today, I am actually starting to like the new rule...How annoying is it to see players like Kobe, Lebron, Amare, ect. run up and down the court complaining to the refs, working them until they get everything called their way? Every possession you see players complain about a call/non-call. If we can get rid of the complaining than we will see a lot less bias from the refs towards certain players. It seemed like the superstars tonight got a lot less of the regular ticky-tack fouls you expect to see them get. No way would Wade get the palming violation he got tonight if the refs would have to listen to him complain for the next three trips up and down the court.

Sure the rule takes away from the emotions that the players can express. However, it allows us to bring our focus away from the officiating and back to the basketball being played.

I agree.

[screwedupmaniac]

I haven't even read any of the posts, but I'm giving the OP a TP, just for the excellent topic title.

[GaBerkowitz]

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?

[fairweatherfan]

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.

[Chris]

As others have said, Bettman is by far #1 in my lifetime.  The guy has destroyed the league with terrible business decision after terrible business decision.  I mean, Versus (at that time Outdoor Network I believe)? really?

Selig is also well ahead of Stern as far as crappy commisioners go. 

While I hate Stern with a burning passion, from a business standpoint, the guy has done a tremendous job.  He has grown the product, and his marketing has been great.  We can complain all we want about the refs, or the crazy rules he has implemented, but the bottom line is those have not stopped people from shelling out the money for the product, and until they do, the possitive far outweighs the negative.

[mmbaby]

Well, my bad, didn't know technical foul went to charity and don't feel like googling it. What charity?

It's the refs having too much power and the power to sway games by the arbitrary way they call techs/fouls.

[CeltsAcumen]

While I agree David Stern can make stupid moves bc of his arrogance...NOBODY is worse than Bud Selig(MLB) and Gary Bettman (NHL).

Both seem to believe that their job title includes destroying the professional sports league then control.

[nickagneta]

I think Stern is an excellent overall commissioner who recently can't see that he needs to address his perceived officiating problem because he's too locked into a long term future set of negotiations with the NBA Player's Association. He's so intent on sticking it to the players that he is losing focus on what is really best for the league as a whole right now. This new focus on techs is a bad ruling and it will hurt the league but it will show the players who the boss is. Kind of immature and dumb if you ask me.

As for last night's games, except for one or two obvious horrible calls, I thought the refs were great.

[StartOrien]

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.

[guava_wrench]

Well, my bad, didn't know technical foul went to charity and don't feel like googling it. What charity?

It's the refs having too much power and the power to sway games by the arbitrary way they call techs/fouls.

If you don't know such things, why jump to such radical conclusions? Why not acquire data first?

How can refs not have power when they are enforcing the rules? The only way they don't have power is to get rid of them.

I don't think there is anything arbitrary in how refs call games. What we have is human beings with imperfect perceptions monitoring a fast-paced physical sport. Any connection to the effectiveness of the commissioner is very tenuous.

[Donoghus]

I actually think that Stern has done a remarkable job with the NBA during his tenure.  Its kinda hard to argue.  He's grown the game exponentially and television rights have soared since he took over.  The NBA has done a great job developing their brand overseas which is partially illustrated by the international flavor in today's game.  The league has undergone several expansions and has generated some mind-boggling revenues.  You really can't ask for much more from a league commissioner, at least from a business standpoint.

[Chris]

I think Stern is an excellent overall commissioner who recently can't see that he needs to address his perceived officiating problem because he's too locked into a long term future set of negotiations with the NBA Player's Association. He's so intent on sticking it to the players that he is losing focus on what is really best for the league as a whole right now. This new focus on techs is a bad ruling and it will hurt the league but it will show the players who the boss is. Kind of immature and dumb if you ask me.

As for last night's games, except for one or two obvious horrible calls, I thought the refs were great.

See, I don't think he is that blind.  I think he knows exactly what he is doing.  And I think there is a lot going on behind the scenes that we are not privy to, regarding the refs.

I do think he is working hard to clean up the refs, however, he also needs to work with their union in doing it.  He knows that dragging them through the mudd is going to both hurt the league itself, by killing the credibility even more, as well as destroy the goodwill he has in negotiations with the refs union, which would make it tougher for him to implement stricter rules for them.

I think it is a calculated risk to take on some fire for supporting the refs, and acting like nothing is going on, while he works to clean things up from the inside out.  He knows that conspiracy theories will do a lot less damage to the league, than dragging themselves through the mudd in a big scandal.  

As for the new technical rules and all that, it is all part of their marketing goal of ridding the league of the "thug" persona it has taken on in a large part of the sports fan base.  There are a ton of people (many of them older, rich guys, who pay for luxury boxes) who are turned off by the way NBA players are percieved, and carry themselves these days.  So Stern is trying to pander to those who sign his paycheck.

It may come accross as over the top, and you could even argue that there are racial undertones to the new rules...but the bottom line is it should help the league make more money.  And ultimately, that is his job to do.

[fairweatherfan]

As for the new technical rules and all that, it is all part of their marketing goal of ridding the league of the "thug" persona it has taken on in a large part of the sports fan base.  There are a ton of people (many of them older, rich guys, who pay for luxury boxes) who are turned off by the way NBA players are percieved, and carry themselves these days.  So Stern is trying to pander to those who sign his paycheck.

It may come accross as over the top, and you could even argue that there are racial undertones to the new rules...but the bottom line is it should help the league make more money.  And ultimately, that is his job to do.

I agree - right or wrong, the league has a problem with public perception.  Toning down the dramatic reactions is a step toward repairing that. 

I didn't really notice it at the time, but in hindsight I liked seeing that game without LeBron pouting to the refs, or our guys swinging their fists at bad calls.  And I don't think they hurt the intensity of the game at all.  If the changes can stick, I'm for them.

And Stern is much, much more savvy than most fans give him credit for.  But what he does in private and how he acts in public are necessarily very different.

[rr9celtsfan]

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.

[Chris]

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.