Chapter 146: Are You Cheating?
The controversy surrounding Ginobili's incident blew up, with Spurs' reporters leveraging their journalism skills by cherry-picking Han Sen's words: "I intentionally bumped into Popovich and took out Ginobili. Yes, that's exactly what I did," causing an uproar.
Under pressure, the league announced an investigation.
However, this move sparked strong protests from the Grizzlies.
Their reasoning was simple: The league couldn't have double standards. If they were going to investigate, then they should also look into Anderson's hit on Rudy Gay and Ginobili's attempt to hurt Randolph.
No, they should go all the way back and examine Bowen stepping on Carter's foot and Horry knocking Nash down.
It was a chain reaction waiting to happen, so the league's investigation eventually fizzled out. They settled on a symbolic $20,000 fine for Han Sen for his statements.
The Grizzlies continued to file complaints with the league, maintaining that Han Sen's comments were justified. The league chose to ignore it.
Then, the next day, the league announced their decision: Randolph was suspended for one game for his slam on Ginobili.
Back in the '70s and '80s, a move like that wouldn't even make it to the highlight reel. If you didn't get into at least one brawl, you couldn't call yourself an NBA player.
However, that was why the NBA had a rough image back then. After all, if people wanted real fights, they'd watch boxing, not basketball.
When Stern took over, he dedicated himself to improving this image.