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  • It has to stop, man.

  • It's not good for the game.

  • It really, really isn't.

  • And especially people have to understand.

  • The NBA has to understand that people are going to be even more heightened with their sensitivities.

  • In this day and age, we missed the game.

  • We wish we were in attendance for these games.

  • We wish that the arenas were packed every single night, but because that isn't the case, we're at home watching on TV instead and still patronizing and supporting the NBA brand.

  • And we're doing it because we want to see these guys play now.

  • I'm not saying that the guys should get away with saying just anything to you.

  • Please don't get me wrong.

  • There is a level of culpability that falls on the part of the players, but I do think that everybody would recognize that the N B A is guilty of being over excessive with it.

  • You got guys looking at each other.

  • The Greek freak Yonas entered to Campo, dunked on somebody the other day and then just cringed in his face, just gave that look and look and the ref t them because he looked at him after he dunked on him.

  • What the hell is going on?

  • What is going on?

  • You know what?

  • It has to stop.

  • You know what happens when a league goes too far in that direction?

  • When it gets to the word is stayed and and kind of, uh, corporate.

  • What happens is you get a rival league that starts to try to have some more fun.

  • You know, like the A B A was a response to the to an NBA league, that one that fun, you know, and and and by the way, once they got absorbed, the NBA got more fun and a three point shot and and like, something's changed.

  • And I've got like, how would you like to watch a basketball league where guys hang on the rim and taunt each other?

  • And and you know, guys aren't getting thrown out of games like that's part of the show, you know?

  • What would happen is if a fledgling league like that started and had any success, the baby, the NBA would absorb it, and they would have to adopt it.

  • So I I understand what you mean about look, you want to nip it in the bud, so you understand their motivation, don't let it get out of control.

  • This has been going on for years now, but it can.

  • The pendulum can swing too far in the other direction.

  • Let these guys have some fun.

  • It's fun for the fans.

  • And not only that.

  • We love the fact that again to speak, to piggyback off your last point.

  • We love seeing them go at each other.

  • You gotta remember Max win.

  • When we bring up the fact that these players are making so much money, right?

  • It's easy to surmise that Yeah, they'll go out there and they'll play hard, but they don't really care about the outcome.

  • It's easy to assume that I'm not saying that's correct, because I don't believe that for one second.

  • But people on the outside looking at players as entitled and privileged and what have you?

  • It's like they're like they don't care.

  • They don't care as much as we want them to.

  • What shuts all of that noise down?

  • Max, when you see them going at each other because you know that there therefore holding one another accountable because we love seeing them going at each other.

  • I'm not saying that LeBron was wrong.

  • But when LeBron first left the Miami to go back to Cleveland and him and D.

  • Wade saw one another and we're hugging one another and what have you and Cleveland that lost that particular game?

  • You had people calling out LeBron at that particular moment in time.

  • They're like, Wait a minute, That ain't your boy.

  • No, I mean, he's your boy.

  • Off the corporate, on the court, you all got to go at each other blah, blah, blah.

  • People were bloviating about stuff like that, and time and time again, we've seen it.

  • We've seen old school cats lamenting about the affection.

  • Once have another.

  • Pat Riley wouldn't even tolerate that stuff.

  • He didn't want any part of it.

  • He had a problem because he's old school.

  • But it really points to a bigger issue when there's animus between two combatants to some degree.

  • Even if it's friendly and you're going back and forth, it's something that ensures us, you going all out to one up the competition.

  • Therefore, we have faith in you.

  • I think elevates because we're looking at the product fiercely competing with one another, and then we get even more invested.

  • When you take that away from the fans, you're compromising the quality of the competition, at least in the eyes of the viewing public.

  • Because we know what we've seen in the past.

  • We're not seeing that now.

  • And for that to be emanating or descending rather from the league office or from a fit down to officials where you're infiltrating the game in such a way that you're compromising the authentic element of competitive fervor, that's a problem.

  • You cannot do that to people like that.

  • The players ain't doing it.

  • They're actually getting money and going out there and busting their tail to compete in front of us and others are getting in their way.

  • It has to stop.

  • It has to stop, period.

  • Thanks for watching ESPN on YouTube for live streaming sports and premium content.

It has to stop, man.

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