With the Caron Butler Straw Ban, NBA Was Over the Top

NBA executive vice president Stu Jackson informed Dallas Mavericks forward Caron Butler earlier this week that he won’t be allowed to chew plastic drinking straws during games anymore. Apparently there is a rule against it.

"It's a safety issue, period," NBA senior vice president for basketball communications Tim Frank said Thursday.

Why is it an issue now and not eight years ago, though? Butler was drafted by the Miami Heat in 2002 and has been chewing straws in every NBA game he's ever played.

The habit started when he was a teenager as a way to calm himself down and eventually became part of his routine. It's been reported Butler chews as many as 12 straws per game. And he's done it in Miami, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C.

Yet, Butler plays four games for the Mavericks and suddenly the NBA decides its an issue. What about the other 538 games? Dallas is a major market and the team draws a bigger following than the Wizards, but has the straw chewing really just come to NBA Commissioner David Stern and the rest of the league 's attention?

L.A. and Miami are major markets as well; A former teammate of Butler's, Kobe Bryant commands the attention of millions of people every time he takes the floor. And Butler was by his side for many games. That makes it pretty obvious this move by the league has more to do with Dallas in particular than a safety precaution.

OK, there is some legitimacy to the NBA's claim chewing straws is a safety hazard. But what are the odds it really turns into an issue? Low at best. If Caron's been doing it this long without it causing a problem, chances are it probably never would've been.

It's been said that Butler's safety was not the main concern, but rather a desire to keep young kids from emulating him; which could put them at risk of chocking. His habit was virtually undocumented throughout his career though, fans in Dallas hadn't even made a show of it until after the NBA told the eight-year veteran to stop.

If Butler hadn't been traded to Dallas earlier this month would he have received that same phone call? We'll never know for certain, but you can't ignore the Mark Cuban effect. Cuban's been a thorn in the NBA's side a number of times. There isn't an owner in the league who bumps heads with Stern more.

Is it possible the straw ban was the league's way of irking Cuban? That may be a step too far into conspiracy theory, but don't discount the idea entirely. Either way, the ban was an unnecessary abuse of power.

We're not talking about Dwyane Wade sporting "Flash" band-aids last season, we're talking about a guy chewing a piece of plastic no one even noticed until last week. This should've been something the NBA let go.