Magic Johnson, "that self-described ambassador of the NBA,"
according to the L.A. TIMES' Scott Howard-Cooper -- and who
himself chastised teammate Nick Van Exel for bumping a referee
last week -- was ejected yesterday for making contact with NBA
official Scott Foster. Johnson later apologized to everyone and
figured he will be suspended "one or two games at most" (L.A.
TIMES, 4/15). At halftime on NBC, both Johnson and Lakers coach
Del Harris told NBC they believed Foster had initiated contact,
but after seeing a replay, Johnson "was more contrite" (N.Y.
TIMES, 4/15).
PREAX: Johnson's was the third incident involving referee
abuse in less than a month, a topic many in the media noted in
their weekend columns. In Dallas, David Moore notes violence
against officials "is one black eye the image conscious NBA won't
tolerate" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 4/14). In L.A., Mark Hiesler
calls the NBA "a big, pressure-packed kindergarten, and the
inmates are in charge" (L.A. TIMES, 4/14). In New York, Mike
Lupica notes Van Exel's apology to endorser Reebok after his
incident with official Ronnie Garretson: "These people respect
shoes more than they do authority. It is a flawed value system"
(N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 4/14). In Atlanta, Terence Moore writes the
NBA is "becoming a disgusting collection of punks, jerks and
brats," while adding it will "only gets worse" as long as the
league continues to levy fines that don't deter bad behavior.
Moore calls for stiffer penalties, otherwise, players will
"continue embarrassing the league, their teams and themselves"
(ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 4/14). In Boston, Peter May writes the
NBA's problems are self-induced, adding the league rewards
players before they can show they can play. Players like Van
Exel can "laugh" at their penalties "because they can afford to
and because they think it is a joke" (BOSTON GLOBE, 4/15).
