Kobe Bryant and David Stern: Setting an Example for the NBA?

David Stern—you sir, are a coward.

Kobe Bryant—you sir, need to grow up.

I can't believe David Stern let Kobe Bryant get away scot-free after witnessing to the malicious and deliberate cheap shots towards Ron Artest in Game Two, and the knee to the face of Shane Battier in Game One.

Wait a minute—yes I can!

Who in the heck am I kidding? Its been the NBA's hidden rule to protect the status of its star players so that the NBA can continue to rake in huge ratings. A star player in the NBA can do no wrong on the basketball court.

Well, David, while you continue to let this behavior go unnoticed, you are sacrificing the integrity of the game. You cannot continue to sit back and let players like Kobe Bryant get away with elbows and knees to the face, while others, such as Ron Artest, get ejected for standing up for themselves.

Is that so wrong? If you are going to let players get away with the type of play that was on display last night, then you should not get in the way of a player that decides to defend themselves against cheap and deliberate shots. Somebody is going to get hurt—and there will be egg on your face for choosing to be gutless and not punish your golden boy.

There comes a time where you are going to have to make an example out of someone—and you let your opportunity pass you by.

Not only did you allow Kobe to go UFC on Artest and Battier, you allowed him to showboat and taunt without saying a word. Applaud Joey Crawford for finally doing something about the despicable display of sportsmanship that Kobe Bryant displayed to a national audience last night. I'm sure that is the message you want to send out:

"Hey kids, the NBA is all about showboating and bad sportsmanship! Here you can say what ever you want to your opponent and we will let you get away with it."

Kobe Bryant, you are an amazing talent, but you seem to be a horrible sport. Is it necessary to shout out that a player cannot guard you after every bucket? Was that the first time you have ever scored points before? I think not, sir! Act like you have done it before!

I can understand a little emotion, but come on! Every single time you scored you had to open your mouth. I think your display of cheap shots and bad sportsmanship may be a window into the person you truly are. I mean, you still have that little incident in Colorado that doesn't exactly put you in the best light. It seems that you have gotten away with things all of your life—and no matter what you do, you never feel like you are in the wrong. I lost all respect for you last night.

By the way, you should be ashamed of yourself for deliberately trying to knee Battier in the face. You were trying to hurt another player. If you want to practice your knees, I'm sure there are a couple of boys in the UFC that would love to have you for a sparring partner.

I can see that deep down inside you hate physical play. You hate actually having to work for your points. Newsflash, buddy—Shane's going to be there all night, every night. And you know what, Shane probably congratulated you for the game you played.

You can learn from Shane. I suggest you start taking notes.