Perhaps McClendon and Ward just loves gays, and want to spare them the agony of legal monogamy. That’s highly doubtful. Behind every anti-gay-marry effort are people who describe gay matrimony as a threat to “traditional marriage,” and look at the “gay lifestyle” in general as a threat to American life. In other words, they hate gay people.

By the way, if McClendon and Ward are worried about what threatens traditional marriage, perhaps they shouldn’t have gotten involved with the NBA. Not with Hornets owner George Shinn having gotten divorced after a sexual assault charge — which was dismissed — revealed he had an affair with a team cheerleaders while the team was still in Charlotte, and married Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling admitting in a deposition that he frequented a $500-a-day hooker in Beverly Hills.

(Speaking of Sterling, here is a guy whom the Justice Department has sued for his real-estate company refusing to rent apartments to African-Americans. So Sam Cassell can dress in Sterling’s locker room, but he can’t live in his buildings. And Stern says nothing about that, either.)

So while the likes of Jackson, Hardaway, Allen Iverson and Danny Fortson get reprimanded by the NBA for their anti-gay comments, the just as anti-gay actions of Miller, McClendon and Ward are considered none of the league’s business.

It’s easy to see why there is a double-standard. None of the players and coaches have any sway over Stern’s future employment as commissioner. But the owners do. For all of Stern’s power and bluster, he can’t try to keep the owners in line as he can players and coaches because if he does it too much, the owners will toss him aside, no matter what he has accomplished. (Well, except for Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, because his offenses tend to center on publicly made, NBA-related criticisms directed toward Stern. See what I mean about only punishing words?)

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Yes, Stern slapped Lakers owner Jerry Buss’ wrists after a DUI, which could be a sign that perhaps he and the owners are beginning to understand that this disciplinary double-standard is not good for the NBA’s image, except that Stern, despite his reported personal outrage, has done nothing to New York Knicks owner James Dolan for a federal jury in October finding him liable in the $11.6 million sexual harassment judgment for former Knicks employee Anucha Browne Sanders. (General manager and coach Isiah Thomas has escaped punishment as well.)

When it comes down to it, the punishment owners can expect from Stern if they do racist, sexist things is what we call a ‘Seinfeld’ game, because it’s about nothing.