By Jared Lloyd
*Bam! Ka-pow! Whack!*
Sounds like an old Batman episode, doesn''t it?
No, it''s the current trend in the NBA.
Last week, Utah head coach Jerry Sloan got drilled with a seven-game suspension for shoving referee Courtney Kirkland in a game against Sacramento. Indiana bad boy Ron Artest will sit out four games for a flagrant foul, taunting, getting in the face of Miami head coach Pat Riley, and for making immature gestures to the Miami crowd in a game against the Heat.
I''ve heard analysts compare the recent outburst of violence to World Wrestling Entertainment. Of course, if Sloan''s one-handed shove is like the WWE, the WWE is even more pitiful than I thought.
Of course, Artest (who appears to have read Dennis Rodman''s book 'Bad As I Want To Be' too many times) might feel more comfortable in an arena with lame insults and fake falls.
When I talk about violence on the court, I''m not referring to the standard pushing and shoving in the post or the occasional hard foul on a drive. I even see some flagrant fouls as justifiable and not anger-motivated. Should the players be disciplined for being reckless? Of course, but those aren''t hits intended to injure or provoke other players.
I know competitive basketball stirs up a lot of raw emotion. In these days of trash-talking and tattoos, the images of playground confrontations seem to naturally fit in the more formal game.
But should it?
It may be surprising, but I think some in-game arguments are completely justified. As a player, you have to have the attitude that you can be better than the person you play against. I say don''t trash talk if you can''t back it up.
Undoubtedly, sometimes that''s going to spill over. I can handle that, but cooler heads need to prevail and get involved immediately. True, the battles on the court formalize conflict, but sometimes you just need to back down.
Overall, players need to go back to having clean fun on the court, back to playing because the game is enjoyable. Sometimes admitting that you''re wrong or lightening the mood by joking around can stave off all sorts of unnecessary roughness.
Just ask anyone who has played in the ultra-competitive, life-and-death games of BYU intramural basketball. I have no idea why the guys who play in those weird PE jerseys in the RB feel like they need to act like each game is a titanic struggle of good versus evil.
Sometimes the guys blame the other team, but all too often the aggression is directed at the referees, the scorekeepers, or the supervisors. A little secret for all you who curse the poor job these people do: it''s not going to do any good.
So relax.
That''s probably advice that coaches, players, and even referees could take to heart on all levels. It would improve the game, make it more enjoyable to watch, and divorce it from the pitiful comparisons to the WWE.
Besides, if anyone has a real desire to see violence, they ought to wander over to some of the stake centers where I''ve played basketball on Tuesday nights. Who would''ve thought high priests would take things so seriously?