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This makes me so sad. I am a lifelong basketball fan; I cannot just walk away from a sport that I love to watch when it is played properly. I am pissed off that the thugs and brats have taken over the game. I don't mind the black culture, the tattoos, the cornrows, the baggy shorts, etc. but the thug behavior nearly killed the NBA in the 70s and it will kill it this time if the league does not get it under control. They are not helping the cause by letting immature 18-year-olds go directly from high school to the NBA. Artest did go to college for three years - and showed no thuggish behavior at all in college - so it seems to me that he has slowly been corrupted by the overall thug culture in the NBA, and he has not had coaches that guided him properly or executives who cared about his slide into violence.

Not all the NBA teams tolerate the young punks. Detroit is one that doesn't, and it just won the NBA championship. Nearly all of its players went to college, most of them for four years. Joe Dumars looks for players who are good citizens as well as good players. Look at how well Rasheed Wallace has done in Detroit. He used to be thought of as the biggest punk in the NBA, but he has been a model player and citizen in Detroit. He could have signed with any other team in the league but stayed in Detroit to be part of an organization that wins the right way.

The management of NBA teams has a great deal of control over the culture of the organization. Fans should demand better of their teams, not walk away from them.

looks for players who are good citizens as well as good players. Look at how well Rasheed Wallace has done in Detroit. He used to be thought of as the biggest punk in the NBA, but he has been a model player and citizen in Detroit.

This is not the time to talk about how Wallace is a role model!