News » Cuban's out of line and it's Stern's fault
Cuban's out of line and it's Stern's fault
Because I don't work for TNT or ESPN I have the freedom to say this: David Stern is responsible for the ugly fan and Kenyon Martin behavior that has turned a thrilling, on-court Mavs-Nuggets series into an in-the-stands European soccer match.

An NBA spokesman quickly announced the league wouldn't take action against Cuban. The league wants this latest Cuban crisis to go away. Stern is content that Cuban plans to skip tonight's game to attend some awards ceremony in Las Vegas. The commissioner probably suggested that Cuban avoid the Denver trip for safety reasons.

That's not justice. That's an acquittal in criminal court and a conviction in civil court.

I was shocked Wednesday night when Charles Barkley and Chris Webber pretended that Cuban's apology was enough justice. The TNT studio show rarely disappoints me. (And might I add that the C-Webb-for-Magic swap has been absolutely seamless. Webber has major upside as a TV personality. He's John Salley with an NBA resume.)

Sir Charles and C-Webb sounded like Cuban enablers. They must all play in the same charity golf events.

I used to like Cuban and admire his passion. As a lifelong Pacers fan, I used to like and admire Ron Artest and his passion, too. Eventually I figured out that Artest was bat(spit) crazy and needed to be placed in a corner and given a timeout.

The difference between Artest and Cuban is a few billion dollars and a fair complexion.

Stern (and the readers of this column) may not like that conclusion, but I can guarantee you that's the conclusion many NBA players have reached after watching the league do nothing in the aftermath of Cuban's latest transgression.

The seeds of discontent and chaos take root in the absence of justice.

You can e-mail Jason Whitlock at ballstate0@aol.com.