Carmelo Anthony to Sit 15 Games

NBA Commissioner David Stern made a soft statement, suspending Carmelo Anthony and six other players a total of 47 games for fighting.

We have to wonder if Carmelo Anthony got a big enough punishment.

Two years ago, NBA Commissioner David Stern got it right.

Ron Artest attacked a fan in the stands, and Stern suspended Artest for the entire NBA season. The message to NBA players was loud and clear. Zero tolerance for any form of fighting, especially in the stands.

Just two seasons removed from the worst incident in NBA history, professional basketball suffered another black eye, when seven players from the Denver Nuggets and New York Knicks tossed punches, rather than basketballs, in a game at Madison Square Garden.

Once again, Commissioner Stern found himself addressing the matter of NBA players fighting, a long-time scar on an already all-too-tarnished professional basketball league.

His decision? NBA scoring leader Carmelo Anthony, two of his Denver teammates and four New York Knicks were suspended for a combined 47. This may sound like a lot, but is it really?

This time, most of the fight remained on the court and no fans were involved. No players sustained serious injury, but the NBA has once again been badly hurt, and David Stern’s response may exacerbate the pain.

Stern decided on a 15-game suspension of Carmelo Anthony and two 10-game penalties for Denver’s J.R. Smith and New York’s Nate Robinson. Others involved received six games or less. In addition to the suspensions, Stern levied a $500,000 fine on both teams.

These penalties, though, are a mere slap on the collective wrists of the Knicks and the Nuggets. And the entire incident makes Stern look like a once-proud papa who has lost control of his ever-mischievous boys.

When Artest was suspended for a season, Stern’s stentorian message was that fighting in the NBA would not be tolerated. A new rule in 2006 clamping down on arguing with referees seemed to underscore Stern’s message – The NBA is a professional sports league, and everyone in it is expected to behave professionally.

Now, barely two months into a new season, it’s hard to believe that any changes have been made or that any of Stern’s penalties make much difference.

Carmelo Anthony will beg to differ. He’ll tell you, as he said in a formal statement released two days after the brawl, that he overreacted. He let his emotions get the best of him, in the heat of the moment. Carmelo will even apology profusely to everyone who has ever seen a basketball game or a prizefight.

Stern seems to be buying. Carmelo Anthony sucker-punched an unsuspecting player, then backpedaled faster than man on a unicycle in a three-ringed circus. A few well-stated apologies later, and Carmelo got a 15-game suspension.

Sure, it’s a lot of games, but if Stern wants his players to live by his rules, he needs to talk a bit louder – say 25 games.

Two years ago, Commissioner Stern got it right.

Two years later, Stern seems to have grown soft and there appears to be no end in sight to this sort of bad behavior by NBA players.