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Animalman said:
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Brad Lee said:
The story is whether or not Anthony deserves to snubbed for his actions on the court.



The All-Star Weekend is an exhibition. It's for the fans, and has no direct connection with the regular or post-season.



And if the fans would have voted in Anothony, there wouldn't be a story. But the fans did not vote Anothony in, so it was up to the coaches, who chose to send a message to him. That message would mean a lot more if the commissioner backed it up.

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Animalman said:
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Brad Lee said:
If Stern does select him, it will prove his hypocrisy.



Can you elaborate?



Stern instituted a very tough interpretation of the technical foul, which many fans and players have called into question. Maybe I'm a little biased here being a Piston's fan and rooting for the Sheed and Rip, who lead the league in techs. That aside, I see a lot of them, and I see how they are handed out, and while I agree with maybe half them (Sheed can be an ass to the refs when he wants to the point that I can't argue against the tech), I feel that Stern is trying to send a message about how players should behave. The fact is, the techs are about sportsmanship, and yelling at the ref over every single call is not sportsman-like at all. Stern wants that out of the game.

However, if he choses to take that stance, then he can't protect on of the best players in the game when that player chooses to act in a very unsportsman-like manner. The coaches have all voted that he is not worthy of being an All-star, a positive example of the league. Maybe some have a different definition for what All-star behavior is, but I believe it includes being above the "punch and run" tactic that Anthony exemplified. This year, Anthony is not an All-star according to the coaches. If Stern truly wants to eliminate all unsportsman-like behavior from the game, and have a league of players that can be an example to children and parents of how to act on and off the court, then he has to back this up or risk being called a hypocrite, on this issue.

That said, I still think he's a hypocrite as divers like Wade are rewarded for faking fouls, instead of being punished like the NHL tries to do to its divers. I remember last year after a game Lebron James commented that he wasn't fouled at a key moment. And he didn't do the "Wade Flop" either, he was just playing the game. This is a real problem in the league, and it is hypocritical to go after one aspect of sportsmanship without going after the other. I still want to vomit every time I hear Wade being referred to as Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year.