Editorial: NBA shows its immaturity

Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2006 | 7:07 a.m.

That fracas that capped the Denver Nuggets blowout win Saturday over the New York Knicks comes down to this: The Knicks felt "dissed."

Yes, indeed, a number of professional basketball players grabbed, tackled and punched each other because the Knicks thought the Nuggets violated an unwritten sports rule: Don't rub it in when you have a big lead.

The problem with that logic is that it assumes the two teams have a certain level of class - or even basic manners - and that was obviously not the case Saturday. Knicks coach Isiah Thomas warned Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony not to go near the basket shortly before Knick Mardy Collins grabbed Nugget J.R.Smith, who was going in for a layup, and pulled him to the floor.

That hard foul quickly turned into a fight, capped by Anthony taking a roundhouse swing at Collins, who was being held, and landing an open-handed punch on his head.

Still smarting from the ugly 2004 player-led melee in the stands in Detroit, NBA Commissioner David Stern rightly cracked down. He suspended Anthony, the league's leading scorer, for 15 days and suspended six other players for a total of 32 days. He also fined both teams $500,000 each, and threatened action against general managers, coaches, players or anyone else who further tarnishes the image of the NBA.

It may be a little late for that.

The NBA has earned its reputation, furthered by Thomas and Nugget coach George Karl, who have since blamed each other for the incident. And these are the adults of the sport?

It is no wonder fans balk at paying high ticket prices to see crybaby millionaires push and shove over perceived insults. It is beyond time for the league's coaches and players to start growing up.