Rondo suspension

[itzcoatl]

This whole thing is beyond stupid. Yeah I wish Rondo had just kept his mouth shut but Bill Kennedy deciding to publicly come out now framed this regrettable but minor situation in a way that puts him above reproach and transfers all responsibility to the player who reacted to his abuse of authority. Wake up man! Rondo was pissed off at you because you targeted him for ejection. That has nothing to do with your sexual orientation. You really think Rondo was trying to humiliate you for being gay? Maybe that's because you brought some prior bias against Rondo into this game - a bias which caused you to overreact and throw him out of the game before he even said anything. Maybe it was his close relationship with Doc Rivers? The basketball related issue here as far as I'm concerned is Bill Kennedy's ability to fairly call the game. If he's carrying some kind of personal vendetta which affects his ability to remain impartial that is a matter worthy of investigation. And that relates only to Bill Kennedy the referee, not any other category of human being he may choose to identify with. (I'd argue the NBA should be more concerned with Bill Kennedy the referee than Bill Kennedy the gay man, but I suppose advertising represents the vast majority of their profit margin so it's naive to think what happens on the court takes precedent).

But you can forget any honest attempt to answer that question now. The 'G' word has been broached so now all attention is going to go there. The commissioner issues a statement of support, Vlade Divac issues a statement of support. The fairness of the call is irrelevant now because we supposedly need to set an example for the kids? Forgive me while I find a trash can to vomit into. Zero kids on zero basketball courts are going to be moved by these statements to eliminate that word from their vocabularies. It's just an excuse for moralists to cluck their tongues, point fingers. and pat themselves on the back. I'm happy for Bill Kennedy that he feels he can set a positive example but the timing of this feels crass and opportunistic and unnecessarily vindictive. There's a positive way to send that message without packaging a convenient villain. This is exactly the kind of lowest common denominator reporting that led to Rondo being labeled as a team cancer and the worst signing of the off-season in the first place. People believe what they want to believe. The truth is rarely that cut and dry.

You know what else? I get very offended when people call me white boy. I don't identify anybody on the basis of their race and hate when people do it to me. That's not publicly accecpted as an ethnic slur but to me it feels belittling and ignorant. I'm so many other things which I choose to be, why single me out for categorization in the most meaningless way possible? In fact, I'd rather be called pretty much anything else, even the word Rondo used. I'm not expecting a public apology or a parade any time soon nor do I feel that I need one. I only point it out because it's completely arbitrary that certain words draw the ire of public opinion and others don't. The only way you change people's opinions is through empathy and shared experience. Like a lot of people my age I used to be ignorant in my use of the word gay as a generic pejorative. In certain areas that particular slang usage is as common as the word 'cool'. Kids don't think about what words mean, they just say them cause other kids are saying them. Talking to friends made me understand why they found it offensive and I made the decision to change -- not because some cultural arbiter told me it was the "right thing to do" but because I recognize the humanity in other people and the importance of treating all people with respect. The political correctness dog and pony show, on the other hand, accomplishes nothing. I'm sickened that our culture still puts people in a situation where they feel that they need to hide their sexuality for employment purposes and equally sickened that the kangaroo court of public opinion leaps to convict and vilify without consideration for context or provocation. I refuse to play along.

If you're ever called a "white boy" in a professional setting, you should have a serious discussion with your HR dept. Rondo did this in a professional setting, while he was on the job. We have very specific laws against particularly this kind of conduct. For the record, I'm confident that Rondo isn't a bad dude. I'm pretty confident that Kennedy was doing a lousy job. But Rondo knew the guy's orientation and said a slur that anyone with half a brain knows is not acceptable in a professional setting.

Kennedy's declaration may be self-serving. But that doesn't change the fact that everyone and their momma knows you don't use those slurs on the job.

 

[Iced Espresso]

Oh boy:

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba-re...alleged-homosexual-slur-to-him-174255321.html


Which would explain how a fairly common nastygram insult you hear thrown around when things get heated turns into a suspension. Wonder if Rondo knew, or just got lucky?

LOL. If he knew justified suspension, if not, people will probably assume he knew. Either way the PR should be interesting.

 

[hrdboild]

If you're ever called a "white boy" in a professional setting, you should have a serious discussion with your HR dept. Rondo did this in a professional setting, while he was on the job. We have very specific laws against particularly this kind of conduct. For the record, I'm confident that Rondo isn't a bad dude. I'm pretty confident that Kennedy was doing a lousy job. But Rondo knew the guy's orientation and said a slur that anyone with half a brain knows is not acceptable in a professional setting.

Kennedy's declaration may be self-serving. But that doesn't change the fact that everyone and their momma knows you don't use those slurs on the job.

What if I shout it out as I'm being forcibly removed from my office and watching my unfinished report get tossed in the garbage? I'm not sure that you can make a 1-to-1 correlation in this instance. It's not like he just walked up to him mid game and said "hey Bill Kennedy I think you're a..." Again the matter of who provoked who does seem relevant to me.

And if this isn't a publicity stunt and is actually about matching a proper punishment with workplace misconduct, why didn't Joakim Noah and Kobe Bryant get suspended for saying the same thing during the course of a game? I think this is the first instance of any player being suspended for it. Or if you really feel a suspension is warranted, why make it front page news?

The vast majority of people reading and responding to the front page article on ESPN didn't even watch the game and have no idea why Rondo was ejected from the game. The conversation has already shifted away from the context of the game and back to what a crapty person Rondo is. From the article itself you'd think Rondo attacked Bill Kennedy for no reason and then got ejected. I don't see the point of dragging anybody through the mud like that. The only person Rondo owes an apology to is Bill Kennedy, in private. And if Bill Kennedy isn't man enough to admit he messed up too than I'm not even sure I'd go that far.

 

[Iced Espresso]

What if I shout it out as I'm being forcibly removed from my office against my will? I'm not sure that you can make a 1 to 1 correlation in this instance.

And if this isn't a publicity stunt and is actually about matching a proper punishment with workplace disconduct, why didn't Joakim Noah and Kobe Bryant get suspended for saying the same thing during the course of a game? I think this is the first instance of any player being suspended for it. Or if you really feel a suspension is warranted, why make it front page news?

The vast majority of people reading and responding to the front page article on ESPN didn't even watch the game and have no idea why Rondo was ejected from the game. The conversation has already shifted away from the context of the game and back to what a poopooty person Rondo is. From the article itself you'd think Rondo attacked Bill Kennedy for no reason and then got ejected. I don't see the point of dragging anybody through the mud like that. The only person Rondo owes an apology to is Bill Kennedy, in private. And if Bill Kennedy isn't man enough to admit he messed up too than I'm not even sure I'd go that far.

If I had to guess, it pissed off Bill Kennedy to the point he came out.

How do you handle the PR on this sort of thing though?

You've got to protect the refs, protect the NBA image as far as the league is concerned.

I usually find the delicacies of things like this amusing however, not that insults or prejudice etc are amusing, but the unfolding of the aftermath.

 

[itzcoatl]

What if I shout it out as I'm being forcibly removed from my office and watching my unfinished report get tossed in the garbage? I'm not sure that you can make a 1-to-1 correlation in this instance. It's not like he just walked up to him mid game and said "hey Bill Kennedy I think you're a..." Again the matter of who provoked who does seem relevant to me.

And if this isn't a publicity stunt and is actually about matching a proper punishment with workplace misconduct, why didn't Joakim Noah and Kobe Bryant get suspended for saying the same thing during the course of a game? I think this is the first instance of any player being suspended for it. Or if you really feel a suspension is warranted, why make it front page news?

The vast majority of people reading and responding to the front page article on ESPN didn't even watch the game and have no idea why Rondo was ejected from the game. The conversation has already shifted away from the context of the game and back to what a poopooty person Rondo is. From the article itself you'd think Rondo attacked Bill Kennedy for no reason and then got ejected. I don't see the point of dragging anybody through the mud like that. The only person Rondo owes an apology to is Bill Kennedy, in private. And if Bill Kennedy isn't man enough to admit he messed up too than I'm not even sure I'd go that far.

Then consult a good attorney because you've just described multiple workplace violations.
I don't know why Joakim Noah and Kobe didn't get suspended.
This was a bad thing for Rondo to do. He has received some punishment and expressed remorse. I don't think the suspension was unjust given the very bad slur, the past history with Kennedy, and what points to some intent to intentionally call out Kennedy's sexual orientation. Rondo didn't have to apologize, but it was good thing he did. Kennedy's poor officiating is a separate issue. Kennedy's poor officiating doesn't justify Rondo's slur.

 

[hrdboild]

If I had to guess, it pissed off Bill Kennedy to the point he came out.

How do you handle the PR on this sort of thing though?

You've got to protect the refs, protect the NBA image as far as the league is concerned.

I usually find the delicacies of things like this amusing however, not that insults or prejudice etc are amusing, but the unfolding of the aftermath.

Yeah I mean, this is the culture. It'd be nice to see an honest conversation happen in a public way that isn't so focused on punishing the supposedly guilty and then moving on but rather on changing the culture, but I guess that's not soundbite-y enough to really play on ESPN. Considering past precedent, if Bill Kennedy is not gay does this warrant a suspension? Probably not. And I have a huge problem with that. The league maybe feels like PR forced their hand but you have to be consistent. There's a thin line here between setting an example and letting the tail wag the dog.

 

[hrdboild]

Then consult a good attorney because you've just described multiple workplace violations.
I don't know why Joakim Noah and Kobe didn't get suspended.
This was a bad thing for Rondo to do. He has received some punishment and expressed remorse. I don't think the suspension was unjust given the very bad slur, the past history with Kennedy, and what points to some intent to intentionally call out Kennedy's sexual orientation. Rondo didn't have to apologize, but it was good thing he did. Kennedy's poor officiating is a separate issue. Kennedy's poor officiating doesn't justify Rondo's slur.

Do you see my point though? Rondo's job is to win basketball games. He was upset with Bill Kennedy because he was removing him from a competive game, a game which his team went on to lose without him. I'm just not sure that any rules of common workplace etiquette can be applied to that situation. Nobody is following me around at work policing my ability to do my job. And if somebody were actually doing that and I had reason to believe they had some kind of vendetta against me, I'd probably get pretty upset. That wouldn't excuse anything I say to them, but it would certainly go a long way toward explaining it. The nature of the game does often pit player and referee as adversaries. Unusually stubborn and competive adversaries.

 

[Iced Espresso]

Yeah I mean, this is the culture. It'd be nice to see an honest conversation happen in a public way that isn't so focused on punishing the supposedly guilty and then moving on but rather on changing the culture, but I guess that's not soundbite-y enough to really play on ESPN. Considering past precedent, if Bill Kennedy is not gay does this warrant a suspension? Probably not. And I have a huge problem with that. The league maybe feels like PR forced their hand but you have to be consistent. There's a thin line here between setting an example and letting the tail wag the dog.

If he is not gay, or possibly was but no one knew it or suspected it, he probably does not get suspended.

And from this point forward, its probably going to be an auto suspension or fine.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

I don't think anyone has ever changed their opinion because of public scorn and derision. Is it the appearance of change that we're interested in or actual meaningful change?

Both.

In the absence of meaningful change, the very least we should expect is for people to simulate it in mixed company. "Fake it 'til you make it," so to speak.

 

[Gliesian]

I don't get it, one of Rondo's best friends is Gay.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

I don't get it, one of Rondo's best friends is Gay.

 

[Merdiesel]

"You're a mother ****in' f*****t, you're a ****in' f*****t, Billy."

... and there is a chance that you might have know he was gay? That makes it so much more then some ignorant insult.

You're not in junior high bro... It's 2015, you're damn near 30 years old and an NBA champion. Whether you like it or not, kids look up to you.

For someone who is supposedly a genius, you looking really ****ing stupid from over here.

Seriously, **** Rondo for this one. I don't care how mad you are, there a couple of words you do not use and that is one of them.

 

[itzcoatl]

Do you see my point though? Rondo's job is to win basketball games. He was upset with Bill Kennedy because he was removing him from a competive game, a game which his team went on to lose without him. I'm just not sure that any rules of common workplace etiquette can be applied to that situation. Nobody is following me around at work policing my ability to do my job. And if somebody were actually doing that and I had reason to believe they had some kind of vendetta against me, I'd probably get pretty upset. That wouldn't excuse anything I say to them, but it would certainly go a long way toward explaining it. The nature of the game does often pit player and referee as adversaries. Unusually stubborn and competive adversaries.

I agree that Rondo's perception that Kennedy has some bias against him would upset another reasonable person in Rondo's shoes. I agree with you that this perception would not excuse anything that was inappropriately said.

If I am understanding you, I think you are essentially saying that Rondo has been unjustly used by the NBA to make an example; and that the punishment he received is out of proportion with similar offenses by other players in the past. This may be the case, but it's difficult for me to say that because I am not too familiar with those past instances.

Nonetheless, standing alone and viewed on its own terms, I think that the punishment was justified. The NBA is essentially functioning as a employer here and is responsible for ensuring a working environment where refs and players alike can compete or officiate without having to undergo derogatory remarks like the one Rondo used. Moreover, the NBA is a business and - bottom line- it needs to be sure that the conduct of players does not take away advertising revenue, or fan revenue. If I owned a business I would think twice before throwing advertising dollars to a sports league that didn't protect against the very kind of homophobic slurs that Rondo used. In my opinion, enforcing these rules provides societal benefits because it ensures that people qualified to do their job (despite what you may think about Kennedy's officiating work) are allowed to work on an equal footing regardless of their sexual orientation. More than that, it's good for commerce because it ensure that fans are not driven away from the league, and that advertisers don't hurt the NBA in the pocketbook.

If the media is using this to try to paint Rondo as a bad character, I think that is unfortunate - especially given the fact that this appears to be his first transgression in this regard. But if Rondo is concerned about his reputation - he knows what needs to be done: act like a professional. He didn't do that in this situation, but I believe that he will in the future. I don't think he should be condemned based upon an in-the-moment lapse of judgment.

 

[KingsFanGER]

Whether you like it or not, kids look up to you.

Kids looking up to Rajon Rondo is not his problem, but the problem of the parents and kids. He gets payed to play a ball game, not to provide moral leadership or ethical advice or an example of role model behaviour.

 

[Bricklayer]

Kids looking up to Rajon Rondo is not his problem, but the problem of the parents and kids. He gets payed to play a ball game, not to provide moral leadership or ethical advice or an example of role model behaviour.

 

[New Era]

This whole thing is beyond stupid. Yeah I wish Rondo had just kept his mouth shut but Bill Kennedy deciding to publicly come out now framed this regrettable but minor situation in a way that puts him above reproach and transfers all responsibility to the player who reacted to his abuse of authority. Wake up man! Rondo was pissed off at you because you targeted him for ejection. That has nothing to do with your sexual orientation. You really think Rondo was trying to humiliate you for being gay? Maybe that's because you brought some prior bias against Rondo into this game - a bias which caused you to overreact and throw him out of the game before he even said anything. Maybe it was his close relationship with Doc Rivers? The basketball related issue here as far as I'm concerned is Bill Kennedy's ability to fairly call the game. If he's carrying some kind of personal vendetta which affects his ability to remain impartial that is a matter worthy of investigation. And that relates only to Bill Kennedy the referee, not any other category of human being he may choose to identify with. (I'd argue the NBA should be more concerned with Bill Kennedy the referee than Bill Kennedy the gay man, but I suppose advertising represents the vast majority of their profit margin so it's naive to think what happens on the court takes precedent).

But you can forget any honest attempt to answer that question now. The 'G' word has been broached so now all attention is going to go there. The commissioner issues a statement of support, Vlade Divac issues a statement of support. The fairness of the call is irrelevant now because we supposedly need to set an example for the kids? Forgive me while I find a trash can to vomit into. Zero kids on zero basketball courts are going to be moved by these statements to eliminate that word from their vocabularies. It's just an excuse for moralists to cluck their tongues, point fingers. and pat themselves on the back. I'm happy for Bill Kennedy that he feels he can set a positive example but the timing of this feels crass and opportunistic and unnecessarily vindictive. There's a positive way to send that message without packaging a convenient villain. This is exactly the kind of lowest common denominator reporting that led to Rondo being labeled as a team cancer and the worst signing of the off-season in the first place. People believe what they want to believe. The truth is rarely that cut and dry.

You know what else? I get very offended when people call me white boy. I don't identify anybody on the basis of their race and hate when people do it to me. That's not publicly accecpted as an ethnic slur but to me it feels belittling and ignorant. I'm so many other things which I choose to be, why single me out for categorization in the most meaningless way possible? In fact, I'd rather be called pretty much anything else, even the word Rondo used. I'm not expecting a public apology or a parade any time soon nor do I feel that I need one. I only point it out because it's completely arbitrary that certain words draw the ire of public opinion and others don't. The only way you change people's opinions is through empathy and shared experience. Like a lot of people my age I used to be ignorant in my use of the word gay as a generic pejorative. In certain areas that particular slang usage is as common as the word 'cool'. Kids don't think about what words mean, they just say them cause other kids are saying them. Talking to friends made me understand why they found it offensive and I made the decision to change -- not because some cultural arbiter told me it was the "right thing to do" but because I recognize the humanity in other people and the importance of treating all people with respect. The political correctness dog and pony show, on the other hand, accomplishes nothing. I'm sickened that our culture still puts people in a situation where they feel that they need to hide their sexuality for employment purposes and equally sickened that the kangaroo court of public opinion leaps to convict and vilify without consideration for context or provocation. I refuse to play along.

This post is really pathetic. The fact that you are putting Rondo's minuscule 1 game suspension and your personal feelings as a fan ahead of the big picture is pretty sad. Kennedy "targeted" Rondo for ejection? Have you seen the tape? After the technical foul, he walked to the other side of the floor in an attempt to get away from the situation. Rondo then comes after him and is clearly yelling something to Kennedy. You can see Kennedy put up the "stop sign" which gave Rondo the opportunity to walk away and stay in the game. At that point, I'm pretty sure that's when Rondo started calling him fa**ot and all that.

If you understand the NBA and refereeing you would know that Billy Kennedy is a pretty good referee. He's also a quality human being (I've met him several times). Even Greg Popovich yesterday echoed this sentiment. Believe it or not, almost all of the NBA referees are incredibly professional at what they do. I don't believe for a second that Kennedy has targeted the Celtics, Doc Rivers, or Rondo. They are graded on each and every decision that they make so there is no way he would get away with that type of behavior. After the Donaghy situation, things changed a lot for the refs. Everything was much more transparent so much so that if you had some sort of bias it would be discovered pretty quickly.

Look I'm not a fan of all the political correctness these days either but when a gay man has a player straight up call him that word, then that's a pretty crappy thing. It's possible that this has happened before to Kennedy (see Doc Rivers) and maybe he just felt that the time was right to just come out and be open about it.

 

[New Era]

If you're ever called a "white boy" in a professional setting, you should have a serious discussion with your HR dept. Rondo did this in a professional setting, while he was on the job. We have very specific laws against particularly this kind of conduct. For the record, I'm confident that Rondo isn't a bad dude. I'm pretty confident that Kennedy was doing a lousy job. But Rondo knew the guy's orientation and said a slur that anyone with half a brain knows is not acceptable in a professional setting.

Kennedy's declaration may be self-serving. But that doesn't change the fact that everyone and their momma knows you don't use those slurs on the job.

Yeah, the Kings showed up in Mexico City with half the team looking like a bunch of drunks and getting their a** handed to them by the Celtics, but you're "pretty confident" that Kennedy was doing lousy job. Please....

 

[King Baller]

Everyone who possibly could from the Kings has apologized, including Rondo. Rondo was ejected from the Celtics game and is suspended for the Rockets game tonight. Rondo will lose a game check for the suspension. Rondo's fine will be 1/82 of ten million dollars. I think around $121,000.

Justice has been served.

 

[kingjatt]

(Dick Vitale) @DickieV: This is another turnover 4 Rondo & is his biggest . Apologize like a man - not thru Twitter

This is getting ridiculous, everyone taking the chance to grandstand on Rondo's mistake.

Oh and should women be offended because Dickie V said apologize like "a man"??

Everyone who could have apologized has done so, its time to just move on.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

:: sighs ::

Some posts which are not appropriate for this forum have been removed. You guys know that the 'Report' feature works, right?

 

[Merdiesel]

Rondo showed his true colors as well as half the people in this thread.

Wonder what the reaction would be if Casspi dropped the n word out there... Same BS excuses apply for him? He's a basketball, not a role model right.

Hate is hate.

It doesn't belong in our society, let alone in a Kings uniform.

 

[The_Jamal]

(Dick Vitale) @DickieV: This is another turnover 4 Rondo & is his biggest . Apologize like a man - not thru Twitter

This is getting ridiculous, everyone taking the chance to grandstand on Rondo's mistake.

Oh and should women be offended because Dickie V said apologize like "a man"??

Everyone who could have apologized has done so, its time to just move on.

Yep and Yep. Anytime we get into socially unacceptable issues like this, it has to be blown way to hell out of proportion so people can tell the world how holy and noble they are. No one's disagreeing that Rondo was in the wrong; he's getting punished for it. But no, everyone has to get there 2 cents in about how big a scumbag Rondo is now.

 

[Bricklayer]

Rondo showed his true colors as well as half the people in this thread.

Wonder what the reaction would be if Casspi dropped the n word out there... Same BS excuses apply for him? He's a basketball, not a role model right.

Hate is hate.

It doesn't belong in our society, let alone in a Kings uniform.

Hate is a fact of human existence, it will always exist in our society, in all societies.

The question here is whether this was hate for a single man or hate for a group. I'm leaning toward hate for a man, accompanied by the language to express it.

As an educational point btw: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faggot_(unit)

Even the word itself is not as inherently magical as many make out. Most don't think these things through anymore, but its the hatred for a group of people that the word represents that makes it vile. Take away that hatred from the user and its just a brusiing nastygram that shouldn't be used but is apropos of not much.

Some of the deleted comments in this thread stray too far into politics and whatnot, but raise good points of proportionality. There are actual hate crimes committed every day in this country, let alone around the world. There are political parties who make homophobia a plank, there are extremist preachers who will tell you that every American soldier who dies does so because of gay people, there are countries where they will cut off your head if you're discovered to be gay.

And then there is pissed off Rajon Rondo using a playground slur against a man he doesn't like. Its a bad look and he shouldn't have done it, but people acting like its the end of the world quite frankly haven't lived in that world much. If Rondo went after a gay guy in a park we would be having a different conversation. If he posted a dismissive tweet on Gay Pride Day it would be more indicative of hate for a group. But Rondo got into an argument with a man he has issues with and dropped a couple of bombs in it. Let he or she who has never said something they shouldn't have in an argument stand up.

 

[Letsgokings13]

I love my boy Rajon!

 

[Merdiesel]

Hate is a fact of human existence, it will always exist in our society, in all societies.

The question here is whether this was hate for a single man or hate for a group. I'm leaning toward hate for a man, accompanied by the language to express it.

As an educational point btw: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faggot_(unit)

Even the word itself is not as inherently magical as many make out. Most don't think these things through anymore, but its the hatred for a group of people that the word represents that makes it vile. Take away that hatred from the user and its just a brusiing nastygram that shouldn't be used but is apropos of not much.

Some of the deleted comments in this thread stray too far into politics and whatnot, but raise good points of proportionality. There are actual hate crimes committed every day in this country, let alone around the world. There are political parties who make homophobia a plank, there are extremist preachers who will tell you that every American soldier who dies does so because of gay people, there are countries where they will cut off your head if you're discovered to be gay.

And then there is pissed off Rajon Rondo using a playground slur against a man he doesn't like. Its a bad look and he shouldn't have done it, but people acting like its the end of the world quite frankly haven't lived in that world much. If Rondo went after a gay guy in a park we would be having a different conversation. If he posted a dismissive tweet on Gay Pride Day it would be more indicative of hate for a group. But Rondo got into an argument with a man he has issues with and dropped a couple of bombs in it. Let he or she who has never said something they shouldn't have in an argument stand up.

I hear what you're saying and only posted my frustrations with him in here. Not any social media outlets. There are no pitchforks.

I'm thinking about the kid whose in the closet at the game with his parents hearing that bs. Heat of the moment, I get it. I just expect more from from a guy who has been on the big stage for a decade.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

... Let he or she who has never said something they shouldn't have in an argument stand up.

This seems like an interesting point of view for a lawyer to have.

 

[hrdboild]

This post is really pathetic. The fact that you are putting Rondo's minuscule 1 game suspension and your personal feelings as a fan ahead of the big picture is pretty sad. Kennedy "targeted" Rondo for ejection? Have you seen the tape? After the technical foul, he walked to the other side of the floor in an attempt to get away from the situation. Rondo then comes after him and is clearly yelling something to Kennedy. You can see Kennedy put up the "stop sign" which gave Rondo the opportunity to walk away and stay in the game. At that point, I'm pretty sure that's when Rondo started calling him fa**ot and all that.

If you understand the NBA and refereeing you would know that Billy Kennedy is a pretty good referee. He's also a quality human being (I've met him several times). Even Greg Popovich yesterday echoed this sentiment. Believe it or not, almost all of the NBA referees are incredibly professional at what they do. I don't believe for a second that Kennedy has targeted the Celtics, Doc Rivers, or Rondo. They are graded on each and every decision that they make so there is no way he would get away with that type of behavior. After the Donaghy situation, things changed a lot for the refs. Everything was much more transparent so much so that if you had some sort of bias it would be discovered pretty quickly.

Look I'm not a fan of all the political correctness these days either but when a gay man has a player straight up call him that word, then that's a pretty crappy thing. It's possible that this has happened before to Kennedy (see Doc Rivers) and maybe he just felt that the time was right to just come out and be open about it.

Please understand that I don't support Rondo's actions, nor do I think punishment is unwarranted. I don't think this says much of anything about Rondo's character though other than he's a bit of a hothead (we already knew that). And I don't feel that a 1 game suspension (or really any kind of suspension) means justice was served. This incident took place in the third quarter of the game. I don't think a 1 minute clip of what the cameras happened to capture at that moment tells the whole story. And the one thing I'm never going to do is make blanket statements about an incident or a person's character on the basis of some scant video evidence and hearsay.

I'm just trying to put this in perspective. We see players and refs jawing at each other all game every game. We've seen a lot of questionable calls over the years too. What exactly is a player allowed to do at this point if they feel they're being treated unfairly? Apparently it's now against the rules to even look at a referee in a manner that may be deemed offensive. The NBA wants them to simply suck it up and take it. It's probably my distrust for authority in all its forms speaking, but I feel more sympathetic toward the players than the referees. And I'm a bit of a hot head myself. If I think you're dicking me over I'm going to have something to say about it. Especially if you walk away with a smug "what are you going to do about it?" look on your face.

To clarify, the part of the situation that I think is beyond stupid isn't Rondo being punished for uttering a slur during a game. The part that's beyond stupid to me is the culture of parading him about in the town square to supposedly set an example to others about tolerance. It's unnecessary and in my opinion, a little bit disgusting. Should we have him wear a scarlet H on his jersey too in atonement? My friends who don't watch basketball "know" one thing about Rondo now... he's a bigot and a terrible human being. Nothing else he does is going to matter. Buys toys for low income children at Christmas? Doesn't matter. Founds charity to keep at risk youth off the street? Doesn't matter. Terrible human being. On to the next soundbite.

And Merdiesel you know nothing about my "true colors". My roommate is gay. Many of my closest friends are gay. I've argued on behalf of gay marriage for 10 years. If you know what hate actually is, systematic and organized hate that affects peoples lives, this doesn't even show up on the radar.

 

[SacKings384]

If Rondo sees two guys hugging on the street and he goes up and calls them "****ing faggots" and goes off on them, then I can assume Rondo is a crappy person and homophobic. If Rondo calls a guy that he has some history with a ****ing ****** in the heat of the moment, I will give him the benefit of the doubt that it was a stupid mistake.

 

[New Era]

Please understand that I don't support Rondo's actions, nor do I think punishment is unwarranted. I don't think this says much of anything about Rondo's character though other than he's a bit of a hothead (we already knew that). And I don't feel that a 1 game suspension (or really any kind of suspension) means justice was served. This incident took place in the third quarter of the game. I don't think a 1 minute clip of what the cameras happened to capture at that moment tells the whole story. And the one thing I'm never going to do is make blanket statements about an incident or a person's character on the basis of some scant video evidence and hearsay.

I'm just trying to put this in perspective. We see players and refs jawing at each other all game every game. We've seen a lot of questionable calls over the years too. What exactly is a player allowed to do at this point if they feel they're being treated unfairly? Apparently it's now against the rules to even look at a referee in a manner that may be deemed offensive. The NBA wants them to simply suck it up and take it. It's probably my distrust for authority in all its forms speaking, but I feel more sympathetic toward the players than the referees. And I'm a bit of a hot head myself. If I think you're dicking me over I'm going to have something to say about it. Especially if you walk away with a smug "what are you going to do about it?" look on your face.

To clarify, the part of the situation that I think is beyond stupid isn't Rondo being punished for uttering a slur during a game. The part that's beyond stupid to me is the culture of parading him about in the town square to supposedly set an example to others about tolerance. It's unnecessary and in my opinion, a little bit disgusting. Should we have him wear a scarlet H on his jersey too in atonement? My friends who don't watch basketball "know" one thing about Rondo now... he's a bigot and a terrible human being. Nothing else he does is going to matter. Buys toys for low income children at Christmas? Doesn't matter. Founds charity to keep at risk youth off the street? Doesn't matter. Terrible human being. On to the next soundbite.

And Merdiesel you know nothing about my "true colors". My roommate is gay. Many of my closest friends are gay. I've argued on behalf of gay marriage for 10 years. If you know what hate actually is, systematic and organized hate that affects peoples lives, this doesn't even show up on the radar.

Fair enough but you can't pin this on Kennedy simply because the media is now painting Rondo in a negative light. That's on Rondo. He made the decision to use those words towards Kennedy. This story will blow over and not many people will care after a couple of weeks. This is what the media does because it sells. Also, it's not like Rondo really had a stellar reputation before this incident anyway. I know he's been great with us so far but he hasn't exactly been a saint his career.

 

[Merdiesel]

Please understand that I don't support Rondo's actions, nor do I think punishment is unwarranted. I don't think this says much of anything about Rondo's character though other than he's a bit of a hothead (we already knew that).

And Merdiesel you know nothing about my "true colors". My roommate is gay. Many of my closest friends are gay. I've argued on behalf of gay marriage for 10 years. If you know what hate actually is, systematic and organized hate that affects peoples lives, this doesn't even show up on the radar.

being a hothead has nothing to do with it.

Maybe it's just me but there are lines you don't cross even if you're pissed off. If you do end up crossing that line, there is a good chance you've already had that **** inside you. This is coming from a pretty big hothead btw.