The Other “F Word”

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Last night, in Game 3 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals between the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat, Bulls center Joakim Noah picked up his second foul midway through the first quarter. As he took he seat on the bench, clearly frustrated, Noah’s mouth appeared to form the two “F words” that should not be said on live television.

Later in the broadcast, it was confirmed that others appeared to see the same words being formed. By this morning, it was reported on ESPN Radio’s Mike and Mike in the Morning that a fan in Miami’s arena had been heckling Noah, and Noah returned fire. To be clear, the words in question would rhyme with “ducking maggot”.

Oh NO, Mr. Noah! UH OH! 2

NOWHERE TO HIDE

Just last month, Los Angeles Lakers star guard Kobe Bryant was fined $100,000 for being seen saying the same two words in the direction of a referee with whom Kobe had a difference of opinion. Once is a coincidence; twice is a pattern; three times is a trend. Bryant apologized and recanted quickly after his fine was handed down. Noah, only in his fourth year in the NBA, earns nowhere near the salary that Bryant earns, yet I would not be surprised to see the NBA hand down a fine of a similar dollar amount to deter this pattern from becoming a trend in the NBA.

To be clear, I am not attempting to paint Noah as some gay bashing, homophobic Neanderthal. Sports are intended to be competitive and, by their nature, the competition can become heated. Add to the equation a fan, possibly a fan on the Liquid Courage Diet, and the most gentlemanly person could let out utterances that would never be heard on Sesame Street.

In addition, basketball is different than the other three major North American team sports. Football players’ mouths are obstructed by helmets and face masks. When on the bench, they are dozens of feet away from the front row of spectator seats. Baseball players are seated underneath the fans and below the field surface in a darkened dugout. Hockey players are separated from fans by a tall layer of fiberglass.

NBA basketball is unique in that it is far more up close and personal with the players than any other sport. There are no helmets or pads. The most expensive, prestigious, and profitable seats in the entire area are at courtside. Fans can literally sit behind and (almost) next to the players.

Sorry, Kobe. You can't say "filth flarn flarn filth" in front of people. 3 

WHO TO BLAME?

What the NBA has is an immensely popular sport that sells its players’ personalities to fans paying top dollar to sit as close to the action as possible. These players are participating in a sport, like all sports, that is highly competitive, can get very heated, and can produce very colorful language from the participants in the heat of battle. It is also a sport, unlike other sports, in which more fans, many of whom feel entitled to say what they want because they purchased a ticket, can speak (or scream) within earshot of players than in any other sport. Finally, we live in a time in which broadcast technology allows us to see players more closely than ever and more clearly than ever. We also live in a time in which the slightest incident that garners attention can be shared and discussed with millions of people in seconds because of the Internet, especially Twitter.

Athletes, especially NBA players, no matter how heated, have to be mindful of their actions and the image it projects to fans about them and their sport at all times. NBA players have a heightened degree of liability and accountability. They also have significantly higher average salaries than other professional athletes*.

Fans pay a premium for tickets for seats closer to the court. Ticket sales enable franchises to pay for a substantial portion of players’ salaries. This does not, however, necessarily make the fan “the boss”. The customer is not always right when he harasses employees, often well beyond a harmless verbal barb.

Regardless, the NBA is trying to sell a family friendly image. Words like the traditional “F bomb” are not family friendly, but tolerable in moderate doses when not audible on television. These are alpha males, basketball is a sport, and fans expect intense competition. Four letter Anglophone profanities can be expected. The gay slur, on the other hand, has absolutely no place in the NBA. It is a word that encapsulates hatred of and bigotry towards other human beings. Regardless of one’s personal feelings on the topic of alternative lifestyles, no mainstream business wants it product associated with hatred of other people.

Twitter has even turned The Bieb's world upside down. 4

WITH GREAT POWER COMES GREAT RESPONSIBILITY

NBA players are the immediate extension and face of the league itself. While it may not be fair, relative to the privacy of other pro athletes, that basketball players, due to the logistics of the game, are under constant observation and therefore must be continuously aware of all of their actions, they are nonetheless responsible for their observable actions.

The only constant in life is change. NBA salaries have changed for the better of the players. Interest in the sports has changed for the better of the players. Media coverage and exposure of the sport has changed for the better of the players. Basketball players have empowerment parallel with that of small to medium sized businessmen, as evidenced with the joining of forces in Miami by Chris Bosh, LeBron James, and Dwayne Wade. With great power comes great responsibility. NBA players, like Bryant, Noah and hundreds of others, have no choice but to be more aware of their surroundings and change their standard of behavior, specifically their language, in the heat of battle.


*Source: Sports Illustrated via freemoneyfinance.com (2006)
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