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Rasheed’s comments draw ire of Stern

Commissioner responds after Piston compares NBA to pro wrestling

Image: Wallace
Aaron Josefczyk / Reuters
Rasheed Wallace reacts after being ejected from Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers in June.
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msnbc.com news services
updated 8:28 p.m. ET Oct. 27, 2007

With the lawsuit against Isiah Thomas and the Knicks, to the referee scandal, to the Sonics ownership mess, it would seem NBA commissioner David Stern has enough to deal with. Now Rashee Wallace is popping off again.

Wallace, the fiery forward for the Detroit Pistons, said last week that the NBA compares to professional wrestling, implying that games were fixed.

"I still don't think they (Cavaliers) beat us (in the playoffs), we beat ourselves," Wallace said. "And I think we also fell victim to that personal NBA thing where they are trying to make it a world game and get (television) ratings. They wanted to put their darling in there (the NBA Finals) and they did, and look what ended up happening.

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"This game ain't basketball anymore, it's entertainment," Wallace said. "It's starting to get like the WWF. There ain't no real wrestling anymore either. It's all fake."

Stern responded with a rebuke on Friday.

"If it's Friday, it must be Rasheed Wallace," Stern said with a heavy sigh, according to the Detroit News.

"We have a great game and it provides a lot of people — Rasheed and myself included — a very good living," Stern said. "I think we all need to learn to be respectful of all that this game has brought and know that there are a lot of people who have worked extremely hard to bring us all to this place. I think Rasheed needs to think about that before he starts questioning things and making those kinds of statements."

Stern chalked it up, essentially, to Rasheed being Rasheed.

"I think sometimes different players do different things to get themselves prepared for a season," he said, according to the Detroit News.

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