Wednesday, October 19th, 2011 at 9:30 am  |  176 responses

Video: David Stern Called a ‘Modern Plantation Overseer’

Bryant Gumbel shares his thoughts on the NBA lockout.

Bryant Gumbel of HBO‘s “Real Sports” teed off on David Stern last night, calling the NBA Commissioner a “plantation overseer” on television. Yikes.

(H/T: PBT)

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  • zach

    I love how white people like Lakeshow and Jukai love to decide when race should and shouldn’t be interjected into a discussion. All of the sudden, because race isn’t something they’re comfortable with, they now get to decide when someone should point out race-related issues. Lakeshow: I’ve read a bunch of your stupid comments, and who the hell are you to tell any black person what issues should and shouldn’t be important to them? You don’t know a damn thing, and you’re too damn opinionated about the plights of others. Just as you feel people bringing race into this are stupid, I feel like anyone who uses the term “race card” is a condescending racist. Jukai is BY FAR the worst commenter on this site, and that’s as polite as I can be about it. Lastly, as it has been said before, Gumbel was comparing the MENTALITY Stern to that of a plantation owner. He wasn’t comparing the players to slaves, idiots!

  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNKNu4j_y1Q nbk

    ^ quickly becoming one of the most entertaining (and logical) commenters on this site

  • anthony y

    Z is exactly right. I’m glad someone else sees the comparison. I said it eariler,this is not a racial issue,its a bailout issue. The owners spent the last cba giving money away and now that the bottom line has basically bottomed out they want to steal money from the players. Let’s stop making it a race issue. As far as the dress code I’m an inter-city black male and I don’t have a issue with having multi millionaires in the public eye and more importantly representing my company to dress like professionals. Was there a control thing with stern? Yes,but some of these guys took the liberty too far. I can remember Jason Williams when he was in sac wearing a t shirt that said Ho depot. I don’t want to bring my son to ask for a picture or autograph and a player is wearing that. Wear that at home,not to work. If any of you wore that to work what do you think would happen? You’d be looking for another job.

  • EJ

    Why is race brought up on this issue? I don’t think the owners are paying the white, latino, asian and so on players at the moment either. I would apreciate an explanation on things here, cos there’s some weird words and stuff I didn’t really understand, I don’t speak english that good. I may be way off with what I said right now.

  • MikeC.

    Can we dead the “dress code is racist” nonsense? If people want to say it’s agism, then fine. A dress code does not discriminate along racial lines. The dress code was as much about Jason Williams’ Ho Depot t-shirts as it was about AI’s baggy jeans and t’s. It’s about looking professional while on company time.

  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNKNu4j_y1Q nbk

    Ho Depot is unprofessional? since when

  • http://slamonline.com LakeShow

    Zach, I don’t recall saying that I should be able to tell other people what can be important to them. Maybe you can show me where I said that. You seem very angry about myself wanting to be in a discussion about race which is strange because you are probably someone who would get upset and call a person stupid and ignorant whilst also not helping them learn. Secondly I don’t think Jukai is white. LOL. You say that anyone who uses the term “race card” is a condescending racist. Some of the commenters who used that term are black and have not shown themselves to be racist in anyway so it’s strange to think that they are racist. Would you like to help me understand your view on things? Or do you just want to keep saying how stupid I am while running away from attempting to educate. There is nothing to be angry about. I don’t know why everyone is always so angry around here. This website may have the most collective group of angry commenters I have been around. Everyone thinks that every discussion is a “life or death” situation. Blood boils as soon as a person says a comment that differs from their opinion. I beg everyone to please calm down and look to help and love your neighbor before trying to tear them a new one. Gee whiz.

  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNKNu4j_y1Q nbk

    Lakeshow you get worked up more then anyone, idk why your acting like your not part of the problem. if it really is a problem that bothers you enough to say Gee Whiz, that was a big deal in the 40′s right?

  • http://offthebackboard.wordpress.com/ Off The Backboard

    Wow. I am disgusted that anyone on this site is defending Gumbel. Stern has never treated the players like “plantation workers”, and yes, I watched the entire video. Stern has been part of the problem? Sure. But every decision he makes (such as the dress code) is done in the LEAGUE’s best interest. That is to say, decisions such as those are mostly made to increase viewers/fans and thereby increase revenue….you know, the same revenue that the players enjoy luxuriously. Seriously, this is senseless, stupid, and completely unnecessary. That there is even a debate on this board about whether any of his claims has merit is ridiculous. C’mon SLAM.

  • http://slamonline.com LakeShow

    The only time you will see me getting worked up about anything ever is when you are attacking me. You will never see me get my panties in a wad over opinion. It just gets old to be mocked by some of you guys a daily basis and that’s when I get worked up. I want to have good discussion without anyone calling names and trying to get the other person upset. What are you saying about the 40′s? Couldn’t grasp what you were getting at there.

  • http://www.bulls.com Enigmatic

    For the record, “Princess LeiakShow” was your idea, not mine.

  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNKNu4j_y1Q nbk

    everything he does is in the best interest of the owners.

  • Blakos

    Co-sign Z. Well said.

  • http://offthebackboard.wordpress.com/ Off The Backboard

    @AllenP – “Again, Gumbel didn’t compare the plight of NBA players to slavery. He compared the mindset of David Stern to the mindset of a plantation overseer.”

    The mindset of a plantation overseer implies that Stern views his players as slaves to increase the profits he desires for his “crops” (the league, owners, etc). It’s bracketed within the same concept, how is that not painfully obvious? This argument is perhaps the worst debate topic I’ve ever seen on SLAM.

  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNKNu4j_y1Q nbk

    Lakeshow you revert to name calling and other forms of “im frustrated so I’m not going to read anything just respond emotionally” all the time. I was just making fun of you saying “Gee Whiz” cuz I haven’t heard anyone I don’t call Grandma say that in a long long time.

  • http://slamonline.com LakeShow

    Enig, that stuffs fun to me. I like to jokingly having a good time with people. You guys go for the throat sometimes though. You go after me and who I am and that’s when it’s not fun and not amusing. And that’s when you’ll get a knee jerk reaction.

  • http://slamonline.com LakeShow

    lol, the gee whiz thing is kinda a inside joke that I just use in common phrase now. I call guys fellas and say darn nabbit also lol. As far as “im frustrated so I’m not going to read anything just respond emotionally” I do do that sometimes nbk and i’ll stop.

  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNKNu4j_y1Q nbk

    No OffTheBackboard it’s implying that Stern acts as if the rights of his players are irrelevant. Like a plantation owner presumably would. Like limiting how much they can make, how long they are allowed to sign for, attempting to restrict job growth (agreeing to a set amount of money without increases, even if the league grows as a whole) – That analogy makes sense, if you don’t automatically jump in the “oh my god he called the players slaves” boat, which is at the bottom of a lake somewhere, because that boat can’t float.

  • http://www.bulls.com Enigmatic

    Nah, it ain’t even like that Lake.
    I poke fun at you for the whole Sonics/Lakers thing, and clown you sometimes but I don’t ever say, question your manhood or speak on your family or anything like that.
    That would be going for the throat.
    And Soop can tell you a thing or two about dudes going after someone on here, he used to hear it from all the commenters AND writers on the daily back in the days, lol

  • http://offthebackboard.wordpress.com/ Off The Backboard

    @nbk – The dress code had nothing to do with the owners, it had everything to do with brand image and appealing to a wider audience. And yes, it does make a difference in product presentation. The players are paid millions to play basketball, the least they can do is not show up to games dressed in durags, headbands, and chains (a specific image of Iverson from the 2001 Finals comes to mind). I don’t care personally, but there are thousands that do. Now, if you have a problem with people thinking “thugs” when they look at big black men in durags then blame society’s inherent prejudices, not a commissioner who is doing things to broaden appeal and make more money for EVERYONE involved.

  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNKNu4j_y1Q nbk

    I don’t care that you do it Lake, lol, I was just pointing out that your complaining about something you have done in the past, enough for me to remember atleast.

  • http://slamonline.com LakeShow

    Off The Backboard that’s the point I was trying to get across, but AP wasn’t seeing it.

  • MikeC.

    @LakeShow – I’ll take a pass on getting you upset until the new CBA is finally agreed upon and the hard cap reality sets in. That’s when your Lakers are going to have an absolute firesale on some primetime players. Gasol, Odom, World Peace, etc are going to be put on the curb with a “Free to a good home” sign around their necks. The Lakers might have to trot out a lineup of Kobe, Bynum, Fisher and….nobody else next season. Whenever that may be. I can just see the ad on Craigslist. “World Peace: never been used, sometimes odd, free. We will not deliver.”

  • http://www.bulls.com Enigmatic

    I’ma tell you like Eboy told me after a particularly brutal war of words me and him had where I thought he went over the line, back when I was fairly new to this site: “it’s just words, kid.”

  • http://slamonline.com LakeShow

    I care that I do it nbk. Thanks for being a man and showing me the errors of my way. The plank in my eye that I am calling me neighbor out for the speck in his. Seriously thank you. I’m here to learn and grow.

  • http://offthebackboard.wordpress.com/ Off The Backboard

    @nbk – “the rights of his players are irrelevant. Like a plantation owner presumably would. Like limiting how much they can make, how long they are allowed to sign for, attempting to restrict job growth (agreeing to a set amount of money without increases, even if the league grows as a whole)”

    The limits are there (on contracts, etc) to protect a business model that is implemented. If the league is growing, but 22 teams are losing money, there is a problem with the structure of how the business is operating, something that even Gumbel agreed with. As for “limiting how much the players make”, the NBA enjoys the highest average salary among all the major sports – the players make a lot of money. Are some of the superstars worth more than they are paid? Sure. But the middle and lower tier players are paid quite handsomely for doing what they do.

  • http://offthebackboard.wordpress.com/ Off The Backboard

    @LS – I like AllenP’s arguments most of the time because they are interesting, but he is way off base on this one.

  • http://Slamonline.com nbk

    It’s true, I was the most hated dude on here for a while, I thought I knew everything, even told the writers what their opinions should be lol – and Off-The-Backboard I didn’t say I agree with Gumbal or Allen on everything, just that the analogy makes sense in the context they were using it. The dress code thing I don’t give a damn about

  • http://Slamonline.com nbk

    Off The Backboard, if you believe 22 teams are losing money this conversation never gonna have a conclusion. Later dog

  • seriousblack

    Lakeshow: You saying that your “black friends” bring up “silly” race discussions is a dismissive and condescending way of saying that whatever race discussion they initiated wasn’t important or worthy enough of discussion. You knew exactly what you were conveying so let’s not play dumb and innocent. Unless Jukai is an Arab & Jewish or black & Jewish, I highly doubt he’s anything other than white. Moving along, you seem to be amongst the last people on here that want to ‘understand’ anything other than your p.o.v as a white male that people of color bring up race too often, especially whenever you deem the situation uneccesary. Yes I believe anyone who uses the term ‘race card’ is a condescending racist. The fact that a few black people have decided to take on the lingo of sneek racists doesn’t make the term less racist or less condescending. It’s not unsual for groups to take on terms coined by others that put their own down, so spare me the whole ‘it’s not racist because black people say it’ argument. If that’s your best defense of your mentality on the subject than why even bother responding? Oh and there’s no anger over here. Not at some screenname on a public site. I find your mentality and comments to be foolish and annoying, but don’t kid yourself into thinking you can affect emotions through a basketball webiste.

  • zach

    Wth Slam that’s my comment!

  • Heals

    BG straight CashMoney on this one. I know I’m waaayyy late in the game here, but for those getting crazy: He’s not being literal. It’s a statement about how Stern’s/the L’s mentality of, approach to and focus on certain aspects pertaining to the packaging, management and conduct of the players/the sport has been handled…

  • http://cnbc.com JTaylor21

    Everyone is a racist. There I said it, discussion over.

  • http://sajkflf.com Jukai

    This stupid conversation is still going on? Christ…

  • http://sajkflf.com Jukai

    LOL my name got dragged into this without me even fleshing out my opinion? Nice! N-n-notorious!

  • http://www.slamonline.com House

    safe to say that the majority of the people posting on here don’t have a clue about Allenp’s argument

  • http://gmail.com z

    @seriousblack wow that felt good to read you put lakeshow in his place. I appreciate cats like you and allenp who are willing to spend time dealin with the race issues when cats like jukai get their panties in a bunch. At the white guy earlier who led oFf his post by identifying himself as such: everything you said was spot on and eloquent. I’m curious whether that individual is from the usa (doubtful). I’ve only met one white man in my LIFE who could discuss race issues without getting defensive and thinkin he personally was being accused or blamed for stuff…guess that’s a symptom of white guilt. They repress it and then anger boils over at anyone who tries to get em to address or even acknowledge that past events DO play an effect on the present ergo racism just like sexism just like homophobia just like greed just like all evil in general is STILL a problem and (gasp!) Just like with environmental problems ignoring it doesn’t make it not real. Young people are realizing this stuff more&more. You want to be on the right side of history? Get on board with ows now

  • http://sajkflf.com Jukai

    ^^^
    Yes, all white people are ignorant and scared of race discussions. 99.9% of them. Glad you found that one guy.

  • http://sajkflf.com Jukai

    The sad thing is, Bryan Gumble wasn’t talking about race. He made a comparative analogy. It was a poor one. It’s fine if you want to talk about race (multiple other conversations spawned from this) but Gumble’s comment, unless he meant to spur the controversy, was just a comparison. Y’all need to relax.

  • takashi

    “white people love wayne brady because he makes bryant gumbel look like malcolm x” – Negrodamus , chappelle’s show

  • Kilo

    Think about all Stern has done to seem like an overseer. He held players back with the age limit, trying to limit their earning power with all their doing now, tried to force them to conform with the dress code all while pretinding to have their best intrest at heart. I like to thank Brian Gumbel for standing up and telling the m****** f****** truth. He actions over his time as Commish have earned him that analogy.

  • golakeshow

    David stern can go suck larry bird’s dick.

  • TC

    Z – you’re right. I’m British. Emigrated to the US when I was 8, lived here for four years and then moved back to Britain. Moved back to the US four years later and have lived in Korea for several years as a grown up. But as a little kid in Britain, I heard a lot about the American dream. All you read about or hear about is the land of opportunity and freedom. In truth, I have never seen people more entrapped by their own biases and racism. Britain is not perfect, but it’s better than the US on race coz at least there is a bit more honesty about it. White Americans are in total denial about race. The notion that this is the land of the free is the biggest joke.

  • EJ

    Seriously, what are people arguing over? Doesn’t seem to have anything to do with the video, cause Gumble never said anything about race. Plantation overseer has nothing to do with race.

  • andy

    gumbel is way out of line. there is no comparison to slavery.
    and yes i kind of do think the players are misinformed. billy hunter does not strike confidence. im hearing a lot more from fish than him.
    and in the scheme of things dont nba player contracts completely murder nfl contracts? especially considering how popular nfl is as a sport?
    the players should give this one to the owners.. let the league get in the black and then go in hard next cba

  • EJ

    He didn’t really say the players are slaves of the owners, not at all along those lines. The point is that Stern seems to have this attitude that the players are worthless to the league, and if they don’t bow down to him, there’s not gonna be NBA basketball. I guess it’s kinda like the NBA is Stern’s plantation and he’s overseeing it, I guess. Plantation overseer doesn’t mean there’s slaves.

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    I want to say something about the dress code.
    I don’t have a problem with cats wearing suits. Hell, I don’t even have a problem with suits being the attired required of players.
    But it’s not. That’s the issue. They don’t have to wear suits. They can dress “business casual” which means slacks and a polo, or they can wear “team apparel” of any sort.
    I have a problem with Stern implementing a dress code to satisfy people, people of all races, who see certain clothes and think “Thug.”
    Everybody wants to be treated as an individual. They don’t want the evil history of their particular group to be attached to them unless they believe it’s deserving. But then they turn around and justify profiling others because they “look the part.”
    Just think about how asinine that is. You don’t want people to profile you, but you turn around and profile them. Man, treat people how you want to be treated. For a so-called “Christian Nation” a lot of people seemed to miss that message.

  • Scot Peirson

    To me, this struck me as the first open and viseral criticism of Stern by a major player within the news media. Reality is this–outside of the NBA Basketball circles, the greater basketball community doesn’t think much of La Commish. The NCAA doesn’t think much of him because they lose their talent to him prematurely (At least, prematurely for them) and the way the NCAA game has been “NBA-ized”. USA Basketball removed Stern from having input on the national team after the roster fiascos of the 2002 World Championships and the 2004 Olympics (Iverson and Marbury, with Larry Brown as coach–recipe for disaster). Stern has allowed bad owners/management to stay in control of teams way past their dates of expiration. It makes no sense that for all the years he’s been commissioner, Stern hasn’t found a way to get Donald Sterling and the Clippers separated. James Dolan seems bound and determined to get Isiah Thomas back with the Knicks, fan base be damned. Stern allowed the Chris Cohan situation to go on way too long in Oakland. He allowed Abe Pollin to stay way too long in Washington. Dan Gilbert spends four years Lest we forget, the L now controls the New Orleans franchise because George Shinn and Ray Woolridge couldn’t take care of business–in fact, Shinn and Woolridge ruined the Hornets in TWO cities.
    The mainstream sports press loves interviewing Stern, and Stern loves the camera (Which is part of the problem here). But, if you listen closely to some of the things Stern says–separate the the words from the pictures and how some (Wilbon and Kornheiser) fawn over him–one comes to the realization that he’s got a whole lot of bully in him. Think about how poorly he treated Seattle and King County when Clay Bennett wanted to move the Sonics to OKC. Rather than try and sound reasonable in that situation, he was verbally abusive to that whole area and openly participated in making the move. Or his open threat to Stan Van Gundy this past season.
    Twice in his tenure, the officials that Stern has said have been “the best in the world” have had money issues. In the middle part of the 1990s, they had to fire some refs for swapping down on plane tickets and pocketing the difference. Then there was Donaghy–and no matter what Stern claims, he wasn’t the only one. When the league was flush with money, one group got shorted–that was the refs.
    The NBA game–the on-court product–has suffered HORRIBLY in the Stern Era; with skill level having been diminished for showmanship. For all of La Commish’s edicts about dress, he didn’t do anything when basketball got more physical (dirty)–the second Kevin McHale clotheslined Kurt Rambis in the 1984 Finals, McHale should have been tossed from Game 4–and probably Game 5. I have always insisted that single incident opened up the Pandora’s Box of “physical play”–allowed for the Bad Boy Pistons and the play of the Celtics in both the Bird and Garnett Eras.
    Plus, I’m with many who believe that Stern rigged results. Ratings drove the officiating in that Kings/Lakers Game 6 in 2002. Vendetta drove the officiating in the 2006 Finals. It might have been a nice touch that Mark Cuban had Donald Carter accept the NBA Championship Trophy from Stern this past summer–but think for a second. Would Cuban want to accept ANYTHING from Stern after all the times La Commish has hosed him??!?
    When I go to an NBA game, I want to see baskeball; the best basketball in the world. Instead I get obnoxious pregame announcers, guys firing t-shirts out of air cannons, acrobats dunking off mini-trampolines, and cheerleaders (The cheerleaders, I don’t mind). If I want the barkers and everything else, I can go to the circus. Who gets the extra money the owners want??!? The people I didn’t go to a game to see. But this is SternWorld, and this is the purpose of working the players the way he has.
    See, Gumbel’s comments really spoke more to the bully pulpit that Stern has been using through the lockout–and over the years–moreso than any plantation owner/slave issue. Stern has not just talked down about the players, but he has talked down to the media and the public.
    But he has been doing that for YEARS.

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    The dress code was implemented to make prejudiced people feel comfortable. People who judge a man’s content by the clothes he wears. A basketball player at that.
    People who complain about players being professionals, then complain about them not playing for “the love of the game.”
    You can’t have it both ways people. It can’t be about being professional, and just about being love.
    If you’re a professional and it’s a business, then you make business decisions. If it’s a game and it’s all about love, then you make decisions based on that.
    Folks have some unreasonable expectations in my opinion. And I don’t think it’s coincidence.

  • Scot Peirson

    I got lost on the Dan Gilbert section–I was saying that Gilbert spent four years coddling LeBron and his boys in Cleveland, and when LBJ exercised a choice, Gilbert went rabid to the point that, if I were a player in Cleveland, I would start marking off the days until I hit free agency.

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