Subcultural engagement for the 21st Century...
Barbelith is a new kind of community (find out more)...
You can login or register.

Underground > Switchboard >

Nader's new Investigation

11:41 / 06.06.02

In an letter to the NBA released Wednesday, Nader protested what he called "notorious" officiating during a crucial playoff game last week between the Lakers and the Kings that he said favored the defending champions.

Many Sacramento fans and sports writers have charged that the Lakers benefited from bad calls and if the review confirms that, Nader said the league should apologize to the Kings "and forthrightly admit decisive incompetence ... especially in the crucial fourth quarter."

"At a time when the public's confidence is shaken by headlines reporting the breach of trust of corporate executives, it is important, during the public's relaxation time, for there to be maintained a sense of impartiality and professionalism in commercial sports performance," Nader said.

Full article here

Um...what???? As much as I hate Kobe Bryant and the Lakers, it's nowhere near on par with coporate scandals. What's Nader on about?

No one had better let Chomsky watch the Tyson/Lewis fight this weekend...

15:59 / 06.06.02

It's perfect.

Nader's always been the ordinary guy who sees something wrong and goes to the highest authorities to fix it. Heheh.

18:15 / 06.06.02

Normally, I would completely agree with you, but the officiating of that game was bloody ridiculous. It made me so mad that I had to stop watching before the (entirely predictable) outcome of the game was decided.

Ahem. But this isn't a Sports Board.

It is pretty funny that Nader wrote to the NBA about it...

02:47 / 07.06.02

Do the words "desperate for attention" ring a bell?

Nader is a sad little man....

We're The Great Old Ones Now

08:08 / 07.06.02

No, he ain't. He's one of your few straightforward political figures. Treasure him.

12:40 / 07.06.02

This baffles me. In the same week that Bush dismisses his own 'bureaucracy's' report on the environment and the FBI is given sweeping new authority Nader is complaining about NBA referees? It doesn't make any fucking sense.

13:13 / 07.06.02

Sure, he's straightforward. But that doesn't mean he can't be a little dotty. He's definitely doing a disservice to the push for corporate accountability to equate the Enron/Andersen scandal with the officiating in a basketball game.

We're The Great Old Ones Now

13:16 / 07.06.02

I didn't say he was consistent, or even right, or sane. I just objected to 'sad little man'. Words like 'hero' are perhaps a little closer to the mark.

And who says basketball isn't business?

13:21 / 07.06.02

Of course, basketball is business. BIG business. But, in the public arena, it's entertainment, first and foremost. You know, opiate of the masses, etc.

I suppose a way to justify this maneuver by Nader is to say that he's trying to talk about corporate accountability interms "the man on the street" might understand it. Saying, in effect, if you were mad at the officiating in Game 6 (which IMHO, was not terribly egregious, discounting Bryant's flagrant elbow. And besides, the Kings lost the series because they choked big time in game 7.) , you should be mad at the "officating" of corporate "referees", e.g. auditors, the SEC, etc.

14:18 / 07.06.02

Nick, Nader is far from straightforward. I should say, up front that to me, Nader will always be the guy who felt that extending his five minutes of legitimate fame was more important than getting someone of value to run the US. He divided the liberal vote consciously, irresponsibly, recklessly, and for no reason of merit. Then he stupidly and childishly denied that his actions had any consequences. He is, as the Simpsons pointed out, the most important asset the Republicans ever had.

17:45 / 07.06.02

blah, blah, blah about Nader costing the election... you won't ever find me voting for a Dem or Repub again in my life (wait, i never have voted for a Repub). what really is the difference? and, oh yeah, didn't someone actually appoint Bush? get over the Nader thing because third parties are the only thing that have any chance of reinvigorating US democracy.

also, as an ex-sports journalist, i'm glad to see nader address this issue. the NBA is by far the worst offender, not much different than the WWF to my thinking. it's so easy to make a few calls here and there and affect the outcome of a game. and these refs have been in all kinds of legal trouble before. refs-vegas-mob... hmmm, lots and lots of money being bet on games. tell me how they couldn't try to control the outcomes.

shirtless, beepers and suntans

22:27 / 07.06.02

i say MLB is the more corrupt organization. the whole mcgwire-sosa home run thing wasn't concocted in smoke-filled rooms by MLB bigwigs to renew interest in the sport after public disgust peaked with the strike. i may be biased 'cause i hatehatehate baseball, but any sports league that looks the other way when half its players use steroids completely undermines the spirit of the game.

23:24 / 07.06.02

PS--i wish the cry-babies who whine that "nader cost gore the election" would explain to me how, if that is so, he cost Gore his home state of Tennessee, hmmm? Jesus, If Gore had won his home state, Florida wouldn't have mattered.

With the help of the 9 referees on the Sup Ct, Gore lost his own damn election by pandering to the right wing big business interests, choosing the hideously conservative Joe Lieberman, and running away from Clinton, and remaining silent during the whole Florida debacle. The man wouldn't risk a hair on his coifed head if he thought it might have political consequences.

There's no "entitlement" to the liberal vote; in 1865, Republicans were the liberal party. You have to earn it, damnit. The democrats had better realize that damn quick and STOP WHINING ALREADY about Nader, if they want to be anything but Republicans-lite. The Greens are the fastest growing party in the country.

But on the issue at hand, i'd say this is small potatoes and the problems that other people have mentioned are far more deserving of Nader's attention.

13:03 / 10.06.02

I like that. As though the Green Party is filled with anything but crybabies whining at the Democrats for only GRADUALLY fixing all the things that are wrong with politics and thus failing to make the world better the instant they're in office... as though Ralph has a magic wand....

awww, that's enough of me rotting the thread. Carry on.