Egoatdoor said:
From today's Detroit Neighborhood Times:
Ron Artest, a controversial basketball player and would be rapper who earlier this month was denied permission by his team to take a 30 day leave from the team in order to participate in a publicity campaign for his new rap album, was given the longest suspension in NBA history Sunday by commissioner David Stern for attacking at least two fans during a game Friday night in Detroit. The suspension is for the remainder of the NBA season.
Artest attacked two fans in the stands and on the court after he had intially been involved in a shoving incident with the Detroit Piston's player, Ben Wallace. The game was on national television and viewers saw vivid pictures of Artest, first pummeling a fan in the stands repeatedly with punches to the body and face and then Artest sucker punching another fan on the court a few minutes afterward.
Artest had been in headlines during previous seasons for his numerous suspensions by the league for flagrant fouls and other offenses. This suspension will cost him millions of dollars in salary and it appears likely there will be civil lawsuits bought against Artest and the NBA for bodily injury and other offenses against those attacked by Artest. This may cost the parties more millions of dollars.
Some talk show hosts and callers to their shows across the country expressed their appall at the incident and apparent lack of security measures to first prevent the initial incident from escalating and then in stopping the actions of the players as the incident unfolded. They also suggested that the incident is an outgrowth of the NBA's marketing of its product to the hip hop culture, of whom's values include violence as a means to redress real and perceived insults to a person's manhood or masculinity.
#1 Ron Artest was producing an R & B album, not a rap album
You do know the difference don't you
(Luther Vandross, R. Kelly, Anita Baker, etc)
#2 I get so fed up with close minded people attributing
non-acceptable social behavior to RAP music because of the
lyrics of most mainstream rap music. Hip Hop culture
does not or has it ever embraced violence as a means to redress
issues of masculinity. That's just a few
of the artist, not all
#3 Question, has the young man who stormed onto a tennis court and stabbed then #1 ranked tennis star Monica Seles, was he a hip hop
fan, NO...
Has the immigrant Hmong deer hunter who this past weekend
viciously hunted down 6 deer hunters in Wisconsin a Hip Hop fan, NO.....
Has the father/son dual that stormed onto a baseball field during the 2003
baseball season and ASSAULTED an baseball umpire, are
they fans of Hip Hop, NO
My point is blame the actions of the individual, not
the music that they listen to.
#4 I believe that RON ARTEST was wrong in his actions for going into the stands and attacking the WRONG PERSON BUT
I ask you, what would you do if someone assaulted you;
in case you didn't know, assault is when you throw an object at
(fist, feet, shoe, cup of beer, spit, etc) at another person with the intent of
striking them. What would you do? This whole incident started because
a FAN threw a cup of beer or soda/ice onto Artest and Artest retailiated?
I wonder what kind of music does the fan listen to? I'm pretty sure no
one can say for that he does listen to RAP.
#5 Rob Dibble, former relief pitcher of the Cincy Reds 1990 World
Championship team, stated on the ESPN's Dan Patrick show
"Fans who attacked pro athletes, as long as the foul fans
are not charged by the respective pro leagues,
the respective pro athlete is going to start defending themself."
#6 The brawl in college football this weekend,
are all of thoses players fans of Hip Hop, who knows
#7 The numerous fights between pro HOCKEY players
and the player/fan fight at a pro Hockey game last year,
which by the way Hockey has an
OVERWHELMING non- African American fan base,
are those actions attributed to Hip Hop culture?
Baseball, Hockey, tennis, and Football do no
more marketing to the Hip Hop culture
than any other sports entity but yet
Hip Hop is to blame for the actions of
a few basketball players. GET REAL PLEASE
BTW Ego, you still have not answered the ?
as to who do you prefer in society
the RAP artist or the criminal?