Wilbon agrees with me:
If the NBA is going to demand that its players not retaliate, that they refrain from taking the eye-for-an-eye revenge that traditionally characterized athletic competition since the beginning of time, then the league is obligated to protect the aggrieved party. ...
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But after having their all-NBA center Stoudemire and valuable reserve Boris Diaw suspended for running 25 feet or so toward where their teammate, and two-time MVP, had been tossed through the air like a Nerf ball, why would the Suns trust the NBA to protect them again? What's the incentive to not retaliate if the league won't be proactive and stand up to the instigator before something truly regrettable happens?
I posted on this a few days earlier:
Second, and more important in my view is the complete failure of the NBA front office to protect Steve Nash throughout this entire series. This failure directly led to the emptying of the Suns bench. In this series, Nash has been (in order): given stitches in his nose because of a headbutt by Tony Parker, kneed in the groin by Bruce Bowen, and finally flagrantly flung from the sideline into the scorers table. The second offense was investigated by the league and no further action was taken.
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So the failure of the league to send a clear signal to Bowen that henceforth his tactics would be severely punished must have sent a correspondingly clear signal to the Suns: going forward, if the NBA won't protect Nash then we have to. Hence, Amare and Boris on the floor.
I'm still too angry to write any further, just hoping that a Stern resignation meme picks up steam. I'm probably asking for too much.
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