NBA at the Tipping Point

The NBA is struggling to keep it's position in the American sport market. Many Americans don't like the hip-hop culture it's associated with, which is way I think on-court brawls are way more decried than MLB's and their players' off-court actions as criticized as much as NFL's much more substantial misbehavior.

There's also the realization that most NBA teams are more about making money than winning (witness Phoenix's recent trade and their constant selling of draft picks). And of course there's always griping about poor or possibly bias reffing.

Recently, the NBA got probably the worse news it could get, a referee gambling (and likely point shaving/game fixing) scandal. And given the state of fans' opinion of the refs, it's probably the league this would hurt the most. It this type of scandal with a ref is unprecedented in American sports (although it may be far surpassed by recent European soccer league scandals).

It's possible this scandal may fade away and not amount to much. On the other hand, it could be a huge (possibly critical) blow to the league, one that make MLB's steroid scandal and strike of '94 combine look like a mere jaywalking incident. Time will tell.