The NBA issued a stern statement last week when it suspended the Dallas Mavericks’ Jerry Stackhouse for Game 5 of the NBA Finals after he delivered a hard flagrant foul to Miami’s Shaquille O’Neal in Game 4.
It cost the Mavericks their top bench player for a crucial game in the most important series in franchise history, and they lost that game 101-100 in overtime.
The suspension was a source of much talk around the league, mainly because it surprised nearly everyone.
O’Neal joked about the foul after the game, thanking Stackhouse for saving him $50 because he could now avoid a trip to the chiropractor.
But the Mavericks weren’t laughing about it. Coach Avery Johnson strongly voiced his displeasure with it. Everyone involved with the Mavericks must be steaming after a third straight loss to the Heat that put Dallas in a 3-2 hole in the series.
The one thing that is clear is that the NBA is making a strong statement. Regardless of how things have been officiated in the past, the league wants to eliminate hard play such as this.
Surely, last season’s “Malice at the Palace” incident involving the Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers is playing some role in the crackdown on physical play. That on-court melee that escalated into the stands started when Detroit’s Ben Wallace was fouled by Indiana’s Ron Artest.
Suspensions in the playoffs, regardless of the sport, have always been rare.
You needn’t look farther than the 1996 incident involving the Baltimore Orioles’ Roberto Alomar.
In the final week of the season, Alomar was upset at a call made by umpire John Hirschbeck and after the two exchanged words, Alomar spit in Hirschbeck’s face.
Alomar received a five-game suspension, but wasn’t forced to serve it until the start of the 1997 season. That allowed him to play in the playoffs for the Orioles, where he hit a game-winning home run in Game 4 of the Division Series against the Cleveland Indians to win the series for Baltimore.
While I don’t think this particular foul warranted a suspension, I like that the league showed it wasn’t afraid to suspend a player during the postseason.
Players need to know that they will be held accountable for their actions during a game.
Whether it’s players in the NBA or in the CCS playoffs, they need to know that they have to be mindful of their actions.
It’s a good example for the young people that watch the sport to know that kind of play won’t be tolerated.
While Johnson, Stackhouse, O’Neal and myself can be surprised about this call, 10 years from now this may be the norm. That’s a good thing.
For once, professional sports is setting an example for our young athletes that is a good one to follow.
