Someone Understands Why David Stern Is Wrong

Normally, the commentators on ESPN and elsewhere seem to have a diverse set of opinions. You can find them on each side of any issue. So it was exasperating to me to find no one (e.g. Tony Kornheiser and Dan LeBatard of Pardon The Interruption) criticizing NBA Commissioner David Stern for letting his referees gamble in casinos. They said it was a good idea for Stern to relax the rules and be less authoritarian.

Then I stumbled upon Fox Sports’ Kevin Hench, who had this to say:

The reason refs — and online poker addicts — shouldn’t gamble is because next to a massive coke habit it is the fastest way to financial ruin. And that’s when things get dicey. A broke ref is a susceptible ref. And a susceptible ref — as we thought Stern just learned — is a time bomb for his league.

Of course, Hench is right. The image of refs gambling, even if it is simply at a casino and not at a sports book, is not one the league should be encouraging. The thought of a referee in financial trouble should send shudders down Stern’s spine. And Stern, who has been a stickler for applying the rules as written (and I applaud him for his past decisions of sticking to the rules while the whole world screams bloody murder), decides this is a rule that can be relaxed. Incomprehensible.