Blackballed NBA players?

[monkeypox]

Anyone know of any stories about NBA players being blackballed from the league? There was an article in espn awhile back from the Player X series where he talks about secret blackballing that goes on in the league. This made me curious so I looked some up and the only public mentions of players blackballed.

Here's the article btw: http://dallasbasketballdotcom.yuku.c...ackballed.html

Bill Russell: He was apparently blackballed for a time for his work putting the players union together. I had not idea about this and I think it's something that definitely needs to be mentioned more. He was basically denied a post-playing days career in the NBA because he had the audacity to help with the players union. This was already on top of having to deal with the horrible racism that he endured from the people of Boston. I don't think this guy get nearly enough credit.

Craig Hodges: He's a very outspoken Muslim and when he went to the white-house with the rest of the bulls, he went wearing a dashiki and spoke against Bush Sr. about the Gulf War. For that he was fired and blacklisted to the point that he was not even able to get a tryout with a team. He has only recently been allowed back in to the NBA via Phil Jackson as the lakers shooting coach. (Other notable muslims in the NBA are Turkoglu and Shaq and it's suggested by some that this event is the reason they don't talk about their faith.)

Rashad McCants: Was supposedly a talented prospect on the Wolves. Got traded to the Kings. Then traded to the Rockets, who promtly fired him because of "abdominal issues." After the fact it's reported that, although probably more talented than many in the league, he had a bad attitude and was therefore blacklisted by the GM's. (He was actually Khloe Kardasshians first fake NBA player beau, but had some kind of twitter breakdown about it. He didn't understand why he couldn't sleep around because it was a fake tv relationship.)

In the PlayerX article he speculates that TJ Ford may be blacklisted and on his way out of the league. I guess NBA players speculate about this kind of stuff.

"On the plane just the other day we were talking about how guys disappear: How Antoine Walker, Stephon Marbury, Bonzi Wells and Steve Francis were franchise players one day, out of the league the next. You never know where it comes from. It could be owners getting together to decide no one is going to offer a guy a contract (yes, it happens). Or it could come down from the commissioner. David Stern is not a man you want to cross."

There's another article speculating that Iverson may also be blacklisted at this point. I also remember hearing a lot about Kareem being blacklisted from power positions in the NBA because he's burned so many bridges and pissed so many people off.

People complaining about the league being rigged or whatever aren't realizing that this is what is real. This is where they wield influence the most in controlling players.

So anyone know of any other players in league history that have been blacklisted, or you suspect have been blacklisted? Personally I find this topic fascinating. In the playerX article the player says he's heard of guys being benched because the GM's son was friends with the 2nd string players. That's freaking crazy! In a multi billion dollar industry! I'm curious now as to who got benched because of that.

[Go Getter]

Shaq, a Muslim?



Abdul Rauf (sp) got blackballed after he wouldn't rise for the national anthem during games....that took juevos.

Craig Hodges married a family friend of mine from what I hear he's good peoples.

KAJ was coaching basketball on a reservation you know he was blackballed

[Manute for Ever!]

Abdul Rauf (sp) got blackballed after he wouldn't rise for the national anthem during games....that took juevos.

I remember that, it was 1996.
He's still playing, now in Japan. Here's an article where he discusses the situation:

How did you end up playing in Japan?

Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf: I know coach (David) Benoit. I didn’t even know he was coaching in Japan. He knew I was interested in playing. So coach knowing me and me knowing him, it was just a perfect match. He was interested in bringing me in, I was interested in playing… And he made the deal happen.

How big is basketball there?

MAR: They are definitely trying to build something good here as far as basketball. The fans really seem to be excited about it. At the same time, they are not as emotional as in college or some European teams. They leave you more room. They seem to understand the fluctuations of the game, that there’s going to be some high and lows in it. That’s a beautiful thing. (Basketball) seems to be growing. They seem to be putting a lot of energy and focus in building something over the next few years. They are always doing something as far as promotion. I think, in time, this is going to be something big. Right now, we get nice crowds. Nice response.

You’re 40 already. Do you have any plans to stop in the near future?

MAR: As long as God gives me the ability to play and I have the desire to play – whichever goes first – I’m going to play.

You still have the passion.

MAR: I still have it. I still love to compete. And I know when to say, “Enough.” I still have the ability to play on the top level. So I’m going to enjoy it as long as I can. And then, after that, go into some type of coaching.

Do you know of any other athlete having a successful career in sports while dealing with Tourette syndrome like you have?

MAR: He’s not playing anymore, but I think there was a guy in baseball called Eisenreich. I think there’s a soccer player overseas that has Tourette syndrome also.

What are the best memories of your time in the NBA?

MAR: When I was getting minutes (laughs). When I was playing. We have a great run in Denver. In Denver, I spent six years and I had great teammates, man. LaPhonso Ellis, Dikembe Mutombo, Dale Ellis, Bryant Stith… A lot of guys came through and we had three years straight when we were able to go to the playoffs and beat the No. 1 seed Seattle SuperSonics in the first round, or take the Utah Jazz to Game 5 in Utah. Those were the highlights for me.

[COLOR="Red"]What do you think is the perception NBA fans have of you after all the controversy about the anthem?

MAR: You’re gonna have people that focus on the basketball aspect and appreciate my abilities and you’re going to have some that focus on what they perceive is the negative – the national anthem, the interviews and anything I did that didn’t coincide with their views. For me, really, I don’t care about that. As long as I can I can say I went out and did the best I could and stayed true to my heart and my conscience, that’s something I can deal with.[/COLOR]

[COLOR="red"]But I will tell you this… When I’m on the streets, it’s a difference from what the media says as far as me being a troublemaker because of the anthem. When I’m walking on the streets, the response I get is different. When it’s all said and done, people on the street know or got a sense about how certain people are. And I get a lot of people that come to me and say, “Man, you had a lot of game” or “You could play” or “Man, they gave you a raw deal” or “Thank you for doing what you did and standing up!” I get that a lot more than the negative. At the end of the day, people are going to have their opinions. You know what they say about opinions? (laughs) It’s like a-holes, everybody’s got one.[/COLOR]

[COLOR="red"]What happened in the offseason of 1998-99? Did you receive offers to keep on playing in the NBA?

MAR: Oooh, man, that’s a long, long time. I will tell you this… After the national anthem fiasco, nobody really wanted to touch me. Then there was the HBO interview with Bryant Gumbel. After that, it was like it killed everything. Because that was after September 11. I could not even get an invitation to go try out with a team. I just laid low, stayed at home, spent more time with my family, trying to do things in the community and see if eventually I could get back into it. At the end, I said… Man, I still have a love for this thing and there’s got to be somebody out there that wants to give me a chance to play. And that’s why I have been overseas and have been ever since.[/COLOR]

Would you do anything differently if you could go back in time?

MAR: To me, it is what it is. And as long as whatever I’m going through, if it can make me a better person, I wouldn’t change it. Because I went through if for a reason – to get where I’m at now. I wouldn’t change anything. I think I’ve become a better person because of it.

How did you make your mind one day that you were not going to stand during the national anthem?

MAR: That was gradual process. It came through my reading. I began to read more, I began to think about issues more. And the more I read and the more I thought, I said… What am I doing this? I don’t want to be like some type of robot, just doing things because other people are doing it. I began to question, why am I doing what I do? Do I believe that this is the right thing to do? So I came to this decision. I said, “No.” There were a lot of things that I disagree with and if I’m going to be true to myself, I have to begin to act like it and not just talk about it. That’s what brought me to that point of not standing.

It was something that was gradual and it was never meant to bring attention to myself. I did it for like three or four months before anobody even knew I was doing it. If I wanted to bring attention to myself, I wouldn’t have come out or I would have put myself in the middle of the floor. But I never did that because it was something that I was dealing with internally.

[COLOR="red"]Were your teammates supportive?

MAR: My teammates were very supportive. Actually, the night that they suspended me, Dale Ellis did exactly what I did in protest. Silent protest. Even Dikembe was like, “He’s been doing this for months and he hasn’t been bothering anybody! Why do you make a big deal out of it?” They respected my decision because they knew me as a person. I’m not trying to cause problems. But hey, I’m going to follow my heart and my conscience. I’m like, if it’s wrong and that’s the way I see it… I can’t sleep! Because it’s on my conscience so much and I need to get this thing off my chest. You want to think that people are able to take some constructive criticism. But if they can’t take it, and it hurts me in the long run in terms of not being able to get a job, I still say, “OK.” It is what it is.[/COLOR]

What is home to you now? Where are you going when the season finishes in Japan?

MAR: I go to Atlanta, Georgia now.

I read you were living in Mississippi, but you left because it got to the point that it wasn’t safe. Is that right?

MAR: I spent maybe five years or so in Mississippi trying to do things. Mississippi is a different monster. From minimum wage, education, health care… It’s always like on the bottom of the list in America. It’s real backwards. And I got children to think of. I’ve been there for five years. I was like, I can’t keep spending all of my money hoping people are going to change. I gotta go some place I think it’s better for my family. That’s one of the reasons I left. Also, my house was burned to the ground when I was there. Some suspect it was the Ku Klux Klan maybe because there was some Ku Klux Klan insignia that was left there when the house burned down. So when those things began to happen, I said… It didn’t work for my family here. Let me get on that hill. Y’all can have Mississippi (laughs). I’ma go somewhere else.

http://blogs.*********.com/blogs/sie...d-to-touch-me/

[coin24]

Marbury was just an idiot with the knicks, but you could say it was provoked maybe?? Wonder is he's planning a return next season?

Bonzi hmm he moved teams a bit then just disappeared overseas...



Steve Francis! I definitely can see this! Dude just fell off the radar hard! WTF?? No one on here ever really mentions him either...

Ive never heard a reason for his disappearance hey, I never understood why he supposedly resigned with the rockets when he knew he would get no playing time, then injury claims or something, then he was gone... Pretty sure he was only like 29 or 30 when he left...

[monkeypox]

I remember that, it was 1996.

Totally forgot about that. Although I only remember him because of the controversy so I don't know if he would have had a longer career had the whole incident not happened. But you have to believe that incident was hung around his neck.

One other thing I just remembered was a story about Ron Artest in Houston. The story goes that before game 7 of the WCF vs the Lakers, Ron woke up late and missed all the player buses. He saw that the last team bus was preparing to leave, so he sprinted to that bus... only in his underwear. What he didn't realize was the the last bus was reserved for special guests, vips, and business staff... which happened to include the owners wife. This was supposedly the beginning of the end at Houston for him and word was delivered behind the scenes that Artest would not be welcomed back. I'm not sure how accurate the blackballing part of it was though because I seem to remember the Rockets trying to get Ron back the following year.

[Go Getter]

This is a good thread.

Needs more attention but since it doesn't talk about players x,y, and z it will go unnoticed.

Nice article Manute btw.

[monkeypox]

I remember that, it was 1996.
He's still playing, now in Japan. Here's an article where he discusses the situation:


http://blogs.*********.com/blogs/sie...d-to-touch-me/

Great find. I remember back then I was a lot younger and a lot more conservative and I was on the side of the people who was calling him a jerk for what he did. Being older I appreciate that he stood up for his beliefs, and reading that interview I think it's a real shame that he was pushed out of the league for this. He sounds like a remarkably wise guy, particularly on his response to whether he would do it the same all over again. You have to accept what has happened and try to learn from them. Back then I assumed he was just some punk kid trying to be different or rebelling against the nation that he's lived fat off of. But living through various iterations of this same nation I can better sympathize with his position, and reading his interview I'm pretty sure what he did was out of personal truth rather than spite.

[coin24]

It sucks that good threads like these get no attention
You need to write something about kobe or lebron in the title to get any views...

[ZenMaster]

I read that Francis and Mobley where shipped out of Houston because they where on the DL.

[opps]

Yeah this is a good thread but I cant contribute bc i dont know about of these situations lol

[L.Kizzle]

Tim Hardaway:
Dennis Rodman:
Rick Barry:
Cleao Hill:

[GiveItToBurrito]

Bonzi Wells to some extent. Walker. AI. Ford. A lot of these guys are just volume shooters who don't really defend (at least by now), so it makes sense that no one would want them.

Francis was interesting, he still seemed like a decent player when he got cut.

[Lebron23]

Michael Ray Richardson

[Thorpesaurous]

Back in the 70s and 80s when there was a bigger drug culture, and another league, it was far more common. NBA ownership would definitely not look kindly upon players who jumped to the other league.

Now, in cases like Ruof's, which is exactly who I thought of when I opened this up, I'm not sure if it's blackballing when it is something of a business decision. As a franchise, you don't really need that type of press. And while the guy may be good, how much was he really gonna play at that point. What's the difference in actually production he's gonna give you over countless other players who are comparible at that point. And is that extra production worth what he's causing in PR issues and perhaps locker room issues. If you can replace a more talented headache with a less talented but well known locker room chemistry guy, like say Brian Scalibrine, how much is that extra talent really worth.

The area I grew up in had a guy in the 70s who's blackballing story still get's talked about. Kentucky's Walt Luckett. The guy was no joke as a player. Who knows how accurate the stories of his drug use were.

[ProfessorMurder]

Definitely Dennis Rodman. Watch his Beyond the Glory, just absolutely got no respect and was cut twice for practically nothing.

Michael Ray Richardson

^ I was going to mention him too.