While I'm in the camp of passing on him for character reasons, I think it's going too far to say that any team that takes him on is advocating violence. It's also not fair to Morris to think that this wasn't an isolated incident or something he wants to learn from and change his behavior.
That said, it worries me that he's had these behavioral issues both on and off the court and he's just not enough of an upgarde on what we already have to take the risk.
Of course everybody will have their own view on the subject of criminal punishments, but I'm personally not one of those who believes everybody deserves a second chance - I think it depends on the nature of the crime you commit, and some things just aren't forgivable.
I don't necessarily feel this crime is unforgivable (because I don't know the full nature of the scenario, nor exactly how much damage they did to the man and how permanent that damage is) but even if I DID conclude that he deserved a second chance, I wouldn't give him a free ticket. He deserves to be put in prison for his crimes and to serve a suitable sentence, just like any other non-celebrity out there would if they committed the same crime.
I absolutely hate seeing situations where celebrities (or high profile people) are given special treatment as a result of who they are - if you kill a man (for arguments sake) then the fact that you're famous and wealthy doesn't make that person any less dead. Of course that's an exaggeration of the current situation, but the principle remains - if you commit a crime, you deserve to face justice...no matter who you are.
If he wants a second chance, let him get that after X years of prison time.
Also I really do believe that taking on a guy like this reflects heavily on your team. I think people need to realise that the NBA is a business, and being an NBA player is a job. You know how hard it is to get a job out there if you have a criminal record for aggravated assault after committing this type of crime? It's not easy. You know why? Because no company wants somebody like that on their payroll, and nobody wants a name like that associated with their organisation.
Whether it's for ethical reasons (you feel strongly against violence, and so you don't want them) or for business reasons (impact on the reputation of your company) - either way you don't want it.
I don't see why a professional sports team any different. If anything you are even more in the spotlight (and hence in a position for public scrutiny) then most other organisations.
I might be old school, but I feel pretty strongly about things like this - criminals like this are a danger to society and need to be behind bars so they don't hurt somebody else. The system is in place to protect the people from monsters like this.
