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David Stern spoke with the deep remorse of someone who had unwittingly committed vehicular homicide. "This is the most serious situation and worst situation that I have ever experienced either as a fan of the NBA, a lawyer for the NBA or commissioner of the NBA," the league's boss said Tuesday at a New York press conference. "We take our obligation to our fans in this situation very, very seriously...
...situation" Stern spoke of is the ongoing FBI investigation into allegations that former referee Tim Donaghy bet on games over which he officiated during the last two seasons. For years, Stern has been proud of the reputation of the NBA as the No Betting Allowed league and has been almost arrogantly defensive of the league's referees. So, when this scandal broke, some sports writers were ready to talk of comeuppance. But Stern has adopted the strategy that any smart figure in the sports world takes when wrongdoing is revealed: show contrition...
...suggest Stern's melancholy during the hour-long press conference was an act. Stern has a reputation for sincerity. But in running the league for the last 23 years, Stern has learned how to survive the adversity of the business, and he does not believe the NBA will be irreparably harmed by this off-season scandal. "I think that our public, learning what we have done and what we are determined to do, is going to be by and large with us," he said...
...Americans generally, but sports fans especially, are a forgive-and-forget bunch, for whom hope always springs eternal for next season, regardless of their team's performance the previous year. Remember how the public disparaged Kobe Bryant when he stood trial for rape in 2003? Guess who had the NBA's best-selling jersey last season...
...Stern's NBA has successfully rebounded from adversity before, and it will likely do so again. The league has seen fan attendance at games rise from 10 million in 1983 to 22 million last season - over a period that also saw Earvin "Magic" Johnson announcing he was HIV-positive, Michael Jordan admitting to gambling in Atlantic City the night before a playoff game, Dennis Rodman kicking a cameraman and Ron Artest brawling with fans in the crowd during a game in Detroit...