Russell, Swaggy P the Lastest Clowns of the Lakers Circus

Well, to paraphrase the Beatles, We heard the news today oh boy.....

Our first round pick and future franchise player D'Angelo Russell outed the cheating ways of a 30 year old engaged teammate who likes to be called Swaggy P.

This was the kind of thing one would expect, years ago on team like the Clippers or in football today on a team like the Browns. But it happened here and is it really a huge surprise? For the last half decade or so the ownership and management of this team has been striving to turn the erstwhile most successful, respected, and storied franchise in NBA history into a circus, and in 2016 it's all come to fruition.

At the end of it's must dismal season in franchise history, the Lakers take one last inglorious step from being a great franchise to becoming the NBA's version of the Cleveland Browns; nothing but a circus.

The transformation of this team started years ago. Any self respecting circus needs clowns, they bring the laughs you know, by bumbling and stumbling and making fools of themselves. And we have had the requisite clowns in powerful places for years to bring about the change: The Buss twins as owners, Mitch as the GM and Kobe as the clown most out front under the big top spotlight in front of the crowds.

And now we have two more added to the list, Russell and Swaggy P. Two more clowns welcoming one and all to come in and laugh at the Lakers Circus.

In the long term, Swaggy won't matter. He doesn't really matter now. He won't be here long. But when your putative franchise leader for the next ten years shows himself to be an idiot, a man with the common sense of a six year old, the mental aptitude of a child, a clown, there is a bit of a problem.

Listening to the radio shows today, two lines of thought developed: Russell is dead here and we will have to move him or Russell will have to overcome his idiocy over time, with great play and plenty of contrition.

I tend to lean to the latter. While there is no excuse for what he did, there is a reason. He is a very stupid, immature 20 year old kid. At that age, many of us make dumb decisions. Many of which, over time we can overcome.

Right now he is ostracized by his teammates. No surprise there. He broke the locker room code. You know, what goes on in the team, stays on the team, especially cheating on a wife or girlfriend. He will never be trusted again by anyone on this team, nor by anyone who may come to this team, for a long, long, long time. Maybe never.

But he doesn't have to be trusted with information to be successful on the court. If he grows up, fast, shows himself to be a superior worker and teammate, things can still fall right for him, at least in being accepted on the court. Remember most the guys on this team will be gone in two years. A whole new cast of characters will be here, except for Randle and probably Clarkson. So by sheer attrition, Russell will get a new start of a sort. At least as far as playing basketball goes.

And it's not like this has not happened before, right here in LA. Kobe Bryant on two occasions we know of, betrayed and humiliated teammates in vicious, callous ways. Like Russell, he outed Shaq, simply out of spite. We still don't know the particulars behind the Russell video. Then a few years later, Kobe let strangers make a video of him dissing rookie Andrew Bynum.

When you talk about a player who was hell bent on destroying teammates and causing ill will, none perfected the art higher than King Kobe. And in the end, he survived here, even thrived after his contretemps. But there was a difference that makes Russell's road harder. By the time Kobe showed just how selfish and vicious he could be to teammates, he was considered one of the best players in the league and well on his way to be being an all time great. He also by then had established his personal reign of terror on the team and over the FO. His skills and ability made him King Kobe in every possible way imaginable. Everyone knew to go against Kobe was strictly anathema. There was another factor involved, if Kobe had his way, he would have played against other teams all by himself. He didn't care one bit if teammates liked him. His only real use for them was to pass him the ball. He didn't need anyone to sit with him at lunch, to like him, to talk to him. He didn't care.

Russell has none of these bulwarks saving him. So the Russell rehabilitation will be tougher. A wise start would be to come clean on what happened. I heard rumors today he will blame it on the always ubiquitous hack. Right. So convenient. I'm not buying. I wouldn't advise him to stick to that line.

Another thing that will play a part was motive. Did he make the tape as a kick, just to say, share with some friends? Perhaps one who then sold it for cash? Or did he do it with full intent to get it on the net?

If it's the former, you can come back. If it's the latter, man, brutal to get past.

He needs to call the players together, just him and them and make his apologies and tell the truth of what happened. Russell really needs to concentrate on mending fences with two players most of all, Clarkson and especially Randle.Because if Russell stays, it will be his tandem with Randle that will be the future of this team for a good while.

Which brings us to the other clown. Mr. P. I heard today that Washington traded him specifically because they did not want him around John Wall. They didn't want him influencing him. And when I heard this, I thought back to the incident just a couple of weeks ago when a woman and her mother said Swaggy and Clarkson were making lewd comments to them. When I first heard that story, I thought, who knows who is telling the truth? But after hearing the Wall story and then learning how this guy is so morally bankrupt that he cheats on his fiance over and over and is idiot enough to tell a teammate about it, well it makes you wonder, doesn't it?

And when he learned at the end of his "interview" with Russell that he was being taped, how could he have let Russell exit that room without demanding that he delete that tape in front of him? What does that say about Swaggy's P's thinking ability?

Is he someone Washington would want to jettison to keep a young star from being around? Is he someone dumb enough to make lewd comments to passing females in a car?

And this is the guy Mitch traded for and gave a huge contract to?

I would ask again, is anyone really surprised it has come to this in LA? We have fostered a culture of irresponsibility for years. This is the natural conclusion to it. Ask yourself this, when was the last time anyone associated with this team was held to account for what they have done, decisions they have made or how they have acted? Jim? Jeanie? MItch? Kobe? No one took responsibly for anything with this team. All the mistakes, all the bull ****, the idiocy perpetrated by the four power players in this organization that got us to this season, this anything goes circus culture, to this very monument and there were no ramifications for any off them. They all skated. Kobe, Mitch, Jim, Jeanie.

In that kind of no one is responsible culture that has been instituted for so long now, is it any wonder the clowns run amok? What other outcome could have happened here? No one ever faces consequences for their actions. What does that tell a guy like Russell or Swaggy or Clarkson? Anything goes in the LA Circus.

I heard some other news today.....oh boy...

I heard that one of the hottest GM prospects in the league was asked if he would like the Lakers job. He replied, "No, I don't like what I see there. I don't like how that team is run or the way they do things or the decisions they make."

And it makes you wonder, what would Kevin Ollie or Luke Walton think when deciding to become part of the circus?

And it goes further. A couple years ago, if I were a Durant, a Simmons, a Ingram, I would have wanted to come here (as long as Kobe was gone).

But now I'm not sure I would. I would take a good long look at the owners. One who thinks he's a basket ball genius, the other, his sister who just wants the guy she sleeps with to run everything.

I would look at the GM and review all the horrific moves he has made, for a half decade now. How only the high draft picks he traded away and only got back from the ineptitude of the teams he built has spared him losing Randle and Russell.

I would look at the coaches he has hired, D'Antoni and Scott and Brown.

I would think about the destructive culture of bowing to Kobe, for years, the bringing in of a Swaggy P, the incredible idiocy of Russell. The constant turmoil and trouble that brews here all the time, in one form or another.

And I would think, will I really thrive there, as a player? Will my team be good? Will the right decisions be made to further my career and chances of winning? Do I really want to go there, to that circus? Is this really what's best for me and my career?

And right now, if I were Durant, or Simmons or Ingram, that answer would be an honest no. If I were a hot shot GM or coach prospect, the answer again would be no. If you end up failing in the NBA, your reputation suffers. Would I put mine in the hands of Jeanie and Jim after all that has happened here since Dr. Buss died?

And when a team reaches that point, where good managers, coaches and players don't want to come, you are a circus. You are the NBA's Cleveland Browns.

This clown culture has permeated this team for so long now that it is as indelible to it as winning titles used to be. I mean just look at it. Clowns as owners, a GM who is lost in space and it's "star" player and leader who never cared a bit about anything but himself. Is it that stunning that things have devolved to this point? Hell it was pretty much guaranteed.

For the Lakers, it will take more than the rehabilitation of Russell to get back on a straight and true course.

One part of the solution will happen from attrition. Kobe Bryant and all that comes with him, including the culture of selfishness that has infected this team, from him, for far too long. Kobe leaving will be the best thing to happen to this team since...he and Shaq came here.

Then the hard part. Somehow, two, clueless egomaniac owners will have to give up their dreams, one of being a sports genius like his daddy, the other of having the romantic desire of her geriatric lover riding in to save the day like a modern knight on a white horse, or in this case, a white elephant.

These two clowns will have swallow their egos and decide they are not the right people to run this team. That means cleaning out the Swaggy P's. Stop signing every aging name, every cast off and reject they think will raise the Time Warner ratings numbers. It means cleaning out Mitch and trying to hire a bright, no nonsense GM who can function in today's changed NBA. Someone who is tough and smart and living in 2016, not 1986. It means Jeanie and Jimmy divesting themselves of all player personnel decisions and telling that new GM that he and he alone will decide all player matters, with the coach and others of his staff, that he picks.

And if they are really lucky, that promise, in writing could lure the right guy, who right now would never deign to come to the circus.

Only after the circus culture is eradicated, after the ring master's loud bull horn is quieted and any remaining clowns are given their pink slips, will the circus lights that shine so bright in Staples begin to fade and the move back towards our proud tradition begin again.

Great read SPQR, but I'm really hoping things aren't as bad as you wrote, even though I know they probably are.

Ingram and Simmons don't have a choice if they come here or not. They're draftees lol. But otherwise well taken. I'd add Shaq tho to the circus. If he hadn't been such an oaf, if he and Kobe had been on the same page, we'd have had another 2-3 rings with them. What a waste. Anyways, the rest sadly is the way it is. I said it a cple seasons ago. We've traded places (more or less) with the Clippers of yore. Donald Sterling might as well be our owner. And yes 1986 was long ago and until they break that mentality of living in the past sipping on stale champagne, sadly a thing most of LA via Hollywood tends to do, always looking backwards at it's greatest moments (in show biz) etc. Promoting the future by elevating the past. Nothing will change. It's just the nature of this town. Everything runs through the ghost of Clark Gable, Magic Johnson, Don Drysdale et al. Whatever past images and formulas work, they just keep hammering on them over and over. This town doesn't adapt very well, or easily change it's paradigms often.

Another nice blog Randy- repped. Like kkennon says I don't think it's unfixable, so guys just have to grow up and learn. Somebody needs to emerge as a leader both in the locker room and publicly. Thus far, the two siblings in charge have not done a good job. For the future, hopefully management learns its lesson and look to bring in guys who are both good and have high quality character.

You can't make bird into a horse. They are what they are...

Good post SPQR! My take on this is that it was a prank gone wrong from all things that I've read. He even announced to Nick Young that he was recorded. So, it wasn't a thing of him secretly recording it and then releasing it to the world to screw Nick over. What I think happened is either he thought he posted it in a secret area of a social media site or he sent it to someone who decided to capitalize on the monetary value of the video. What kills me is how a lot of people have turned on him all of a sudden. It was a dumb move by not having that video deleted because I remember an email that I had on my laptop of a personal nature that somehow ended up on LTB. I deleted that sucker pretty quick but no telling how many people saw it. The one thing in this whole thing that never made sense to me is motive of sending this video out to the public about a friend. That's why I figured it was some sort of mistake but people have turned on him as if he was trying to set Nick Young up. I just read Bill Platske's article on not passing the torch to Russell because he will burn everything up. Sadly in a big market like LA people just over do things. In reality Magic may have been the only guy to come in as a rookie and be a somewhat mature guy but he also had a vet like Kareem to show him the way along with some other vets. People can't sit up here and act as if Kobe was given the torch at 18 back in 96'.....

Oh, that's horsefeathers, lol.

LOL...touchee. As for the vid, the more I hear the more I think it's fake. I mean they made it, but NY was making up the stories to fool around. At least if I was him, that's what I'd be telling my gf lol

LMAO!!!....nice.

Must be a really slow news cycle for this to be captivating everyone's attention so much. Even mainstream media. Or maybe they're just enjoying LA's fall from grace.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/01/sports/basketball/dangelo-russell-los-angeles-lakers-iggy-azalea-nick-young-video.html?_r=0

Well written article tho. I'm a word nerd, even for a foreigner, and thank you NYTimes for showing the beauty of the language, by using words probably no one in LA knows the meaning of LOL

Like:

apotheosis

assignation

omerta

donnybrook

I learned english by reading a dictionary over and over. So I appreciated the effort hahaha...

Scandal and the NBA have always co-existed. The only reason that Magic Johnson never got caught doing stuff like this was because there was no such thing as cell phones,twitter, or TMZ in his day. The fact of the matter is most of these players come from the inner city. They have never had access to money, beautiful women, and fame or advice on what to do with it. It should come as no surprise that with an unlimited access to beautiful women and cash these athletes would get caught up in something like this.

Cheating is a chronic problem in the NBA, it always was and always will be we just see it because social media can document it.

lol...he we go...now down to cultural arguments.

Well, honestly Shep....there isn't!!!! I said what I had to say and it really didn't need to go there but someone did. And culture REALLY did not NEED to be involved in such a great post by SPQR.

Gem, Dave, Kkennon: Thanks for the nice words and the rep. I heard Russell's apology today. He seemed totally mortified. I believe him when he says he had no intention of that getting out. When you think about it, if he did that taping with the intent of getting it out, then this guy is more psychopathic than Jeffery Dahmer, lol. I don't believe that to be true. I agree with your take, Gem. I think logic and occam's razor dictate he most likely sent that video to some of his close, personal friends. And one or more of them either sold it or sent to so some others and started a chain of it getting around till it wound up on that website. The kid wasn't thinking when he taped that stuff. But he is a kid. I did some some things when I was 20 that I would call pretty damn stupid. The only thing I was disappointed in was Russell saying he has no idea how that video got out. That's hard to imagine. That video didn't just take itself off the phone and decide it wanted to go other, better, more exciting places. The owner of that phone sent it to someone. Russell would have scored an A with his mea culpa if he had come totally clean. Unfortunately, I have to give a C because he was not a stand up guy as he should have been all the way down the line. I have no doubt that Russell knows how the revelation trail of that video originally started. Regardless, he will get past this if he doesn't pull any other dumb stunts. He may never be privy to teammates secrets, he may never be invited to boys night out on the road, especially if some of them are married....

Absolutely SPQR. Agreed. Woe is the day players opt for a team other than ours, given the choice. It's a sad day in Tinsel Town. But perhaps they had it coming. This didn't happen overnight. It was a slow spiral to the bottom. Mistakes, poor pics, hanging onto players too long, or not long enough, poor bench player choices, bad coaches, bad contracts. It happened gradually over time, tho it accelerated in the last few years.

In the history of human life on earth, some adapted and thrived, others didn't and perished. I'm afraid we've become the dinosaurs of the NBA. It's going to take some massive effort and considerable time I think to get things back to their 'good old days'. Or perhaps they're gone forever. Parity across the league, or anyways attempts at it, combative owners anti anything Laker, players having different motivations now than before, the large money no matter where you play these days, all have changed the NBA landscape. We can no longer count on our cache. Also coz we have none left lol.

I've never been good at posting links on this site but I read today at work online that Niki Minaj's camp were the ones that leaked the video to get back at Iggy for something she said about Niki recently. You can go online and google it. Apparently this happened a week or so ago maybe more before even the alleged sexual harassment that JC and Nick were accused of and was sitting on snap chat and no one paid it any attention. I remember hearing about it but now wondering why the media was so late to the party.....hmmmmm.

Shep, It didn't start over night. I can tell you exactly when the rot started to set in. When delusion and clown thinking replaced serious reality in the FO. After we lost to OKC and it was crystal clear this team was done winning any more titles, because we were coming down and other teams, several teams, not just one team, younger teams, had passed us by. When it was clear our ace in the hole, Kobe, was no longer the best player on earth. And if that series didn't get the message across, that Dallas series the next year damn sure should have. Instead of going into rebuild, they took up the impossible dream of winning one with Kobe. That dream was dead on arrival because Kobe killed it himself by his attitude pertaining to others like Pau and Drew, the pecking order. By his remarks about Howard and Nash, when he said it was his team. And by the way he backed up his words with his singular play on the floor, smothering anyone else out. After that, no prime star would ever come here to play with him. And that was the end of any chance for a win one with Kobe effort. What the Lakers should have done was this: Called Kobe in and said, Hey, it's over now. We have to rebuild. We are trading Pau and every other asset we can to stock pile draft picks and young players to rebuild. If you aren't on board with that, we will do everything we can to arrange a trade. Kobe of course would have wanted that trade because he still though he could win titles. At that point, years ago, we could have gotten plenty of picks and young assets for Kobe, Pau and the others. By now, we would be....

Absolutely. I've been calling out SWP for a cple seasons now. He's bad news. It's not High School. No need for a class clown of that proportion on this or any pro sports team. Ok sure some good humored antics, but not his kind clearly. How he managed to play well for 1 season enough to get a rich contract eludes me. The rest of the time, esp this year, he has flat out sucked. It's doubtful anyone would take him in trade, and imo it's doubtful he'll remain in the NBA after the Lakers. He's off to China I'd guess. Or to start a rap career as Mr Iggy Azalea. Assuming she doesn't drop him now lol. I mean let's face it, I'm no fan of hers, but she could do better. I'm just sayin'. Also being the formerly self admitted wurd nurd I am, gotta point out the incorrect use of recapitulate. Well, there's actually no such word, with the re-. But with or without you meant to say Reiterate. An honest mistake. Sorry to point it out. As to when the Lakers went south, and what's gone on since. Very well could be. I agree with the general idea for sure. And I think your suggestion for what they should have done is spot on. But this team has no backbone for that sort of thing. They couldn't even stand up to or control Phil. IMO Phil and the even then antiquated triangle (at least exclusively used) was the writing on the wall. It was dull basketball, as practiced, when teams were going smaller and faster and more athletic. I wanted to say when they lost to Paul and the Pelicans (nee Hornets) and Pau took a dive and Lamar was there in absentia. Although IMO it was clear....

I concur. Tho it wasn't a surprise someone would rise up to protect the inner city. Someone always does. No generalizing or hint of bias allowed here lol. Even if it's inferred only by the reader. And I agreed with your statement. Pretty hard to refute really. Or one could go further and say something else even more 'cultural', but that would cause a real kerfuffle

I'm an inner city kid and I don't agree with everything that comes out of it, but with the subject that SPQR brought up, inner city, suburbs really wasn't a part of it, that's all.

Shep,

That's right. The team didn't have the backbone to do what it had to. It wasn't an easy thing to do but it was the right thing and the obvious thing. But that predicates the owners and FO being smart people. They aren't. So that bad decision was doubled down by succeeding ones over the years instead of seeing reality and pulling out. Kind of like the Vietnam war in a way, lol. You know, you make a bad move. Then follow up with more and more chasing this hazy dream that you can't attain in reality. That's what they did, long after it was clear that path was suicide. And now here we are with the result.

As for recapitulate there is such a word and I used it exactly as I meant. Don't start slipping on me now Tony.

re·ca·pit·u·late

[ˌrēkəˈpiCHəˌlāt]

VERB

summarize and state again the main points of:

"he began to recapitulate his argument with care"

synonyms: summarize · sum up · restate · repeat · reiterate · [more]

http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/recapitulate

Yeah that's what I thought Randy, it is a legit word and that's how you get recap(to summarize). Short/abbreviation for recapitulate. To recap what the neandrathals have been up-to in Lakerland is another story and I doubt you could recap or chronicle the disaster of this magnitude (which has now assumed dangerous/epic proportions) on one page...lol. Getting out of this mess looks like a monumental task, improbable but not impossible. Kobe's impending retirement is the first step in this direction as it would help the lakers usher into a new era of unselfishness. Kobe is not only unpopular as a team player (if you can call him a team player..that is) but he is a one man despotic regime or institution. He was the singular reason responsible for deterring the fa's to come here. The front office was a close second. Now if we could somehow orchestrate another coup and get rid of kupchak that would be the "piece de resistance." As far as Russel goes: immature, momentary lapse of reason(brain fart) however it pales in comparison to the exploits and escapades of the more celebrated and illustrious legend on the team. My only grouse is how so many out here bailed on him without even getting a better perspective of the situation. This invariably happens when vets and senior statesmen in the team wash their hands off mentorship responsibilities and continue to focus on their own personal agendas. Getting into the faces of and lambasting the youngsters during nationally telecast games, is not mentoring. That's buffoonery and trying to hoodwink the public. A futile attempt to mock at the intelligence of the fans. Then you have a coach who refuses to assume a leadership role (being pre occupied with his designated duties of a wedding planner for the....

The Lakers Have No Winners  BY RUSS BENGTSON Senior Editor, senior citizen. More info: Twitter / Facebook / Google+ 10 HOURS AGO So this is how the season ends for the Lakers�"a team in disarray and playing for nothing. The 20-year-old rookie ostracized for airing out the business of the wannabe celebrity; the 37-year-old soon-to-be Hall of Famer playing out the string; the presumably lame-duck coach having lost control of basically everything and still spouting outdated theories. And this is all supposed to be attractive to free agents how? The latest out of Lakerland, about which you’ve no doubt heard, is a video in which rookie....

SPQR, I don't think a lot of fans realize how bad our FO truly is. The FO has to shoulder a lot of responsibility for what has been going on for years, they won't. Jerry Buss is actally to blame for this big mess imo. I know it will sound like blasphemy to speak of Jerry Buss like that but he is the biggest reason for this crap. I don't blame him for wanting to leave a legacy for his children and having them run the business like he did. I do blame him for having his kids run the business because as a parent you would/should know if your children are up to the task. I thi8nk he probably knew that they may not have been but from what I've read, he wasn't really there as a father. How true was that article? I'm not sure but it also said that the Buss kids aren't really that close and that's quite evident. The Buss kids seem to be stuck in a timewarp and can only try to emulate what their father did in different eras. Jim Buss' history has been in dabbling in different things, not being a basketball guy. His dad seemed to have one focus after realestate, basketball, well he also had poker and women, lol. He sold the LA Kings and his focus seemed to be the Lakers. Jum Buss has dabbled in horse racing, soccer, ball caps and other things. My biggest issue is they don't know that Mitch Kupchak needs to go. Crap has gone downhill ever since Jerry West left. West was in charge, Dr. Buss had final say, Kupchak was an apprentice and Ronnie Lester was head of....

But I assume you don't play in the NFL or NBA? It's the being thrust into an unfamiliar and pandered to situation, money, women, national attention, fame etc, that freaks some pple out. Of course you're right it's not limited to that demographic. Rock and rap stars raised in the suburbs also fall prey to that behavior. Maybe we should just say, regardless of where raised, suddely having a lot of money and cheap women turns a man lol

Naw my foray into the NBA was derailed by two inches....LOL. But I can see where the sudden procurement of money and the big lights can turn any man regardless, but he could have said that.....dragging culture and let's be honest there was some race involved too, did not need to be brought up.

I am not trying to be PC or defend every little thing I hear when it comes to race and culture, but getting an insane amounts of money can as you said effect anyone and can cause some issues.

I just felt Clippers 2012 brought that up in a way that really did not much bearing in SPQR post, but I appreciate that when conversations like this happen we can be civil and we all can see how we feel about subjects that tie into our Lakers.

I am hoping that the culture that has permeated into our team is quickly jettisoned. As has been ad nauseam that Mitch, Jeannie, Kobe and Jim has caused a culture of buffonery that has made this team a joke.

Nicki Minaj's camp allegedly responsible for all of this in order to get back at iggy. Who knows what to believe. Russell’s ex identified as the leader. Smh.. We'll you can get the details on fameolous. Can't post the link. Keeps giving me error messages.

That's what the word is. You are right in saying who knows what to believe. At my age, it doesn't even matter...lol. Just ready for the season to end and get to the draft and this summer.

http://www.fameolous.com/2016/03/exclusive-dangelo-russell-video-was-leaked-due-to-iggy-azalea-shading-nicki-minaj-on-bravo-tv-video/

This is the link the poster above was alluding to, i suspect.

https://twitter.com/stephenasmith/status/715966370249318400

Uhh, SAS...you are the joke which always goes bad. Lol.

I will give D-LO some credit if this is indeed a joke gone bad, he sure isn't putting anybody on blast. He's sucking it up and taking it on the chin.

And where would Nicki have coincidentally run across it? I guess this is how stah divas behave nowadays. Playing out their petty girl feuds in public. Amazing what American 'culture' has come to. Anyways, a big whatevs now. Can't believe this is what our team has come to lol...arghhhh. High school antics etc. Guess its time to watch baseball. If TWC will ever stop pouting and let the rest of us. Hahaha.....this crap never ends.

At least your gf didn't derail you over 2" lol. Anyways, it's a bit hard to look at the instances of what's being discussed and not see some correlation. Whether or not you want to. There are perhaps various ways to explain it. Whether it's inner city/culture/the times/being a spoiled athlete in any sport I don't know. But you can understand how someone would come to their own conclusions about it. And since there are no studies or real answers they may be right for all we know. I guess that's why their called opinions, and everyone has one. I wish it wasn't the case that some bad apples make things look bad for a whole group. But it tends to be that way. But I wouldn't base it on color per se. But add athlete/actor/rapper to that and you're getting closer to the truth perhaps. Who's at fault? Society for worshiping these guys, even those who aren't that good; women (a certain kind of course) who throw themselves at any celebrity or nearby athletic stud they can find; agent's and coaches for being so desperate for money or wins they'll put up with all kinds of bad behavior and write it off as youthful folly; bad parenting; fans pandering to these guys; elevating these guys to hero status and American hero worship. It goes on and on. Do some handle it all better than others. I would guess so, but I couldn't say for sure. Maybe some are just better at being covert than others. The flaunting of money by the rap culture (and by association athletic culture since they seem so closely allied) is also heinous. There is plenty of blame to go around. But one thing I do know. It's nothing knew. As has been said, it's....

Gem, You made some striking points and I agree with them. I read some articles about Buss too and it was pretty obvious being a dad was not at the top of his agenda. He was consumed with his burgeoning business empire and then the Lakers on top of it. He was notorious for going out at night, all night, with a bevy of beauties even into his fifties and sixties. I read an interesting story by Magic. He talked about his intimate relationship with Buss. Buss actually indicated to Magic that he was family. Magic assumed that when he retired, Buss would sell him a piece of the team. A very large piece, so that when Buss died or retired, Magic could assume the throne and run things. After Magic retired, he had a meeting with Buss to start the process. Buss told him flat out that he had kids, that Magic was not family and what Magic had thought would transpire would never happen. And so, Magic learned the hard way, blood is thicker than water, or even being a legendary Laker. It must be a hard thing to be the ruler of a an empire and suspect your kids are not up to the task of taking it over after you are gone? What do you do? Buss went with the blood, unfortunately. You are right about West leaving. I told Shep that the rot started to set in when Mitch went for the win one with Kobe dream. But that is not true. Mitch drove the rot with his "plan," he poured fertilizer on the rot, but it first took root with West's departure. He and Buss were the two pillars that supported the Lakers structure, once that West pillar was knocked out, nothing could be the same. From that point....

Clearly the apple does sometimes fall far from the tree lol. And the student does not always overtake the teacher. In spite of the version we always see in the movies.

Absolutely. It seems like a problem now, but TBH it has probably been going on for a long time. Magic and those before him really lucked out that not all their careers were documented. You're correct though there are some nice looking ladies in the hood. I think the difference is that once athletes get the fame then the access to women and money is astronomical.

Not at all...inner city is not race specific...its a socio-economic thing, and I think it was gemfow or shepherd who might have said something very telling in one of his posts..."rock stars." Guys in the glam rock scene were very infamous for this type of behavior as well, so certainly not implying a "black thing."

Also, wanted to clarify my post "inner city" is not race specific, so I hope you didn't interpret it that way. But in the event that you did I apologize for the ambiguity. Also, many white kids make similar mistakes as well in similar circumstances, as someone else pointed out "rock stars" have the similar things happen, but as this is an NBA forum that's why my comments were restricted to NBA players. Hope this clears everything up

Let's just all kiss and make up. And go out and pick up some chicks...lol

I did, BUT I am glad you cleared it up and I am cool.

Damn really? Arghhh. Guess I have to go back to reading the dictionary lol. Apologies amigo. I thought it meant to be forced to change your mind or stand down from an argument or conflict. As in he had to capitulate after being faced with the evidence. Apparently I have some wurd mix up going on. Dang. Gotta go see what I thought it was now. lol *blush*

Oh wait, I am right. We're both right?

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/capitulate

Or does the re- prefix make it a whole other word?

Leggo!!!!

Words of wisdom Great suggestion