"Where's the outrage?"
--Bob Dole, quoted during his 1992 Presidential campaign

We have become a sports society without morals.

No, we are not morally challenged. No, the rules are all gone. Our expectations for athletes and their public behavior are lower than Vern Troyer taking a nap.

Nobody dares to "judge" anybody or anything, lest he be called old, racist, cranky, nit-picky, square or, God forbid, "a player hater."

Excuse me. "Playa hatah!"

Things that are wrong do not deserve a defense. Still, even when everybody knows it, these decisions and acts are greeted with a shrug and a "whatever."

Two incidents this week have deepened my cynicism about any remaining ability of sports to raise the moral bar or to set a higher standard than society in general.

The first is Carmelo Anthony's inclusion on the 2008 Olympic basketball team.

I ask a simple question:

Why?

Yeah, yeah. He's one of the best players in the world. Yeah, yeah. He was great two years ago in the World Championships (where we again took third place. Hooray!). Yeah, yeah, he wants to "make up" for the 2004 disappointment in Greece.

So what?

This is a guy who openly yearned to go home last time, simply because he was sitting on the bench. He admitted to sitting in his hotel room, playing video games and wishing the whole experience was over.

So much for the ol' "pride of representing your country."

I'm somebody who believes in the "fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me" theory. 'Melo got us in 2004 with a cancerous, selfish, immature, "can't do" attitude and we've got the bronze to show for it.

Not again. This is not holding a grudge. A grudge is a more irrational unwillingness to let bygones be bygones. This is just simple principle. We tried it, 'Melo. It didn't work. Have a nice day.

We don't need Carmelo Anthony to win the gold medal going away in China. In fact, we probably need a few more guys to set screens and rebound. With Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James already on the team, the position of "scoring show pony" is stocked.

Oh, and I didn't even bring up the DUI arrest that has landed him a two-game suspension starting next year for the Nuggets. Or the 15-game suspension he got for sucker punching Mardy Collins of the Knicks in a brawl two seasons ago. Or the cameo appearance in Baltimore's pro drug-dealer video called "Stop Snitching."

Call me a stickler for protocol, but if the Olympics are considered a higher privilege than just playing in the NBA, why would we allow a suspended criminal to be one of our Olympians?

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Recent Talkbacks ...

Posted by mkelover on June 25, 2008 at 2:53 p.m. (report)

How can some of you be apologists for Shaq (or Kobe for that matter)?!?!? It doesn't matter if Shaq was joking or messing around...have we completely degraded our society's norms and values down to this? To the point where one of the most recognizable names in sports is using racial pejoratives to call out one of his peers who is equally as well known? Come on, that's absurd. Is this the type of behavior we want our youth to emulate? Should all of those kids with Shaq jerseys wear them with pride now? Sheriff Arpaio in Phoenix did the right thing...he yanked Shaq's honorary badge and said that if any of his deputies had done something like this, they'd be kicked off his force. Can we not have a modicum of decency in this country???

Posted by Z_boy on June 25, 2008 at 11:02 a.m. (report)

AverageGuy: it isn't a double standard at all. You have Internet, do some searches, and you'll find out why it's okay for blacks to call one another nigga, but not whites to do so. I really thought most of us knew why already, but I guess not. It has literally been written to death and that's the truth. Again, I'm not condoning the use of the word nigga among blacks, but I can totally see the rationale behind it.

Posted by Z_boy on June 25, 2008 at 10:45 a.m. (report)

Just gotta add that I just found the video clip and watched it of Shaq rapping, and without a doubt, he is just being completely silly. When he says, "Kobe, tell me how my ass tastes," he is obviously joking. The crowd can be heard laughing, and Shaq is saying the words with a big smile and grin on his face. So yeah, Shaq is just playin' and having fun. There is no evil intent at all throughout the rap. Lighten up, Czban!

Posted by AverageGuy on June 25, 2008 at 10:44 a.m. (report)

Z_Boy I think Czaban is pointing out how it's not racist for black people to use the "n" word referring to each other but when a white person utters the word they are immediately labeled racist. If the term is not racist then why does Shaq require the reference "white boy" as an attempt to be more "nigga"? Just a statement of the obvious double standard.

Posted by Z_boy on June 25, 2008 at 10:01 a.m. (report)

I think it's safe to say that Czban is an older white guy who doesn't truly grasp some of the subtleties of black culture. The whole use of the the word "nigga" among blacks has been explained many, many times now. Yet, Czban is still insulted by its use. I'm not condoning the use of nigga, but I'm certainly not in an outrage over its exchange between and among blacks. We've all heard the saying: "Hey, it's a black thang." The only person who matters in this is Kobe. If he's insulted, then he's the one who needs to come forward. For all of us, it isn't any of our business. Kobe is a big guy now, and if he has a problem with it, I'm sure he'll be able to handle it. It's no mystery that Kobe and Shaq have issues with each other. For those of us not involved in their beef with each other, we'll never truly know how much they dislike one another. It's between them, not us. Shaq has a master's degree, so he's no dummy. If he says he's just playin' with Kobe, he's just playin'. So no, Czaban, I'm not outraged by this whole ordeal.