Ok, I now officially hate the NBA. Not basketball as a game in general, and most definitely not the Pacers, but the NBA as an evil and corrupt organization.

During the 2012 playoffs the NBA made us very aware of who they wanted to win this series. God forbid that jersey sales go down if the Miami King James’ were to fail once again. The NBA is so desperate to make King Dickhead into the second coming of Michael Jordan that they were going to force this championship down our throats no matter what the talent level of the opposing team. Yes, LeBarf had plays during the playoffs that just made you scratch your head and tap your heals three times just to make sure you were not dreaming, but for every play like that there were five additional plays that infuriated the casual non Miami fan to such an extreme level that throwing a small farm animal through their big screen televisions would feel justified. Flops, elbows to the head, and referee intimidating temper tantrums thrown by the all mighty were the only tools he needed to single handedly defeat the other playoff teams.

I am originally from Kansas City and since KC hasn’t had an pro basketball team since the early 80’s I didn’t become a fan of the NBA until the first time I moved to Indianapolis in the mid 90’s. Reggie, The Davis’, Rik Smits, Mark Jackson and the other Pacer’s stars from that era all made it very easy to fall in love with the sport and the team. I went to the games at Market Square Arena and Conseco Fieldhouse. I cheered and cussed those teams until I was red in the face and suffering from exhaustion. I have decided that I will no longer do that for the Pacers or any other team in the NBA. Why? I go into each and every baseball season knowing that the Royals are going to suck. I still scream and yell for them as hard as I ever did when I lived in KC. Conversely, the Pacers are a very good team but it definitely appears that the NBA, under it’s current leadership and infatuation with finding the next MJ, will never let them win anything. Why invest my energy in a sport which only has slightly more integrity than that of a used condom salesman?

The NBA already has one referee in prison for fixing games. What have they done, if anything, to regain the casual fan’s trust? The playoff refs swallowing their whistles against the one true team anytime the Heat would struggle was an important stepping stone in rebuilding that trust. Or how about the rather obvious fact that James couldn’t draw a foul at anytime unless he drove a Mac Truck over the still twitching body of what ever unlucky soul was tasked with guarding or being guarded by the chosen one that particular game. Surely that was just the ticket to breath life back to a disenfranchised fan base. Not impressed? Then I’m sure that David Stern’s impassioned courtside television interview about being ‘concerned’ about flopping while an obvious flop took place behind him bought him tons of goodwill. Still not enough? Trust that Stern heard your pleas for fairness and equality in his sport and decided the appropriate response was to award the pathetic New Orleans Hornets, a team owned by the league itself, the first lottery pick in the draft.

I’ve had it. No more NBA for me. I’m going to take my fandom to a sport that has a much higher level of professionalism and honor. When’s the next pro boxing match?