'd just come in from an early morning run when I received the call from CNN asking if I'd be a guest on Crossfire. I agreed to be there at one to get familiarized with the subject matter, but while waiting in the green room I met up with a friend of long standing, Larry King. He was there to pre-tape one of his shows for over the Thanksgiving weekend. It featured the Aussie chap who plays with crocodiles. He brought a menagerie but no crocs. Birds, snakes, chimps and more, none of which gave us a glimpse of Larry at his most relaxed. Let's put it this way, I don't think any host of yesterday or today could show the kind of hospitality that Johnnie Carson would show to fugitives from zoos and jungles. It was fun to watch.
I was told that the subject-matter on Crossfire was two-fold; a review and reaction to the disgusting behavior of the spectators and the players at last night's NBA brawl, and sex on television (or something like that). It is interesting working with people like the handsome, young, extremely bright conservative commentator, Tucker Carlson and the acerbic, Yul Brynnerized, seasoned politico James Carville. They love their guests to mix it up and come out fighting. I was there to simply enjoy being back on TV and say what I felt like saying.
I said that I had not had a single conversation with anyone who was the slightest bit sympathetic to Ron Artest of the Indiana Pacers, or any of the others who left the court and got involved with the brawl or melee in the crow. Those players may well be of enormous strength, physical stature, tremendous athletic prowess and extremely wealthy, but many of them are overly privileged and emotionally immature. Artest will be sitting out 73 of the season's 82 games. He will forfeit over $5 million in salary.
He's the same fellow who had asked to miss a month of games so as to be able to better promote music that he had helped produce. But in that league, what really is a lot of money? Just two or three months ago Latrell Sprewell of the Timberwolves complained during contract talks that he was unable to feed his family on his salary; $14 million a Year. I'll bet you and I could do it for half that much...maybe.
I think the first question I would pose to the NBA commissioner, David Stern, would be "Your league has a bad image problem; rape accusations, drunk driving arrests, drug use, domestic abuse charges etc, what do you intend to do about it? If you don't take swift action, such as you have in the current case, basketball will end up sharing an image with pro-wrestling and boxing."
The league is becoming ever more internationalized and that might help change the arrogant and vicious attitude of some players. I hope so. Internationalization is not a guaranteed answer; not if they emulate the hooligans in the stands at British soccer games in particular.
I know what can make a difference; corporate America. They have other places where they can invest their endorsement millions upon millions of dollars.
Then the Crossfire issue turned to morality and sex on TV. I should have said that I will miss the Attorney General, John Ashcroft. There was a man who cared about virtue. He even had the bust of a woman (bronze bust) covered, while he gave a press conference. Desperate Housewives was brought up as an example of, I suppose, how bad things are becoming. I see that show as simply prime time soap opera with trite story-line and writing and adequate acting. Then there was the commercial featuring one of the cast at a football game, apparently trying to entice a line-backer by slipping out of her terrycloth robe and into his arms. Some called it indecent. Some said it was racist! You didn't see anything...Yes, it was crude and bad taste, but then so are most situation comedies.
Then the hosts made the claim that Hollywood (meaning the film industry) had no respect for middle-America. That's bull. When I responded to their claim, in a more diplomatic tone, they said that to prove it..Mel Gibson couldn't get his film about the crucifixion of Jesus financed by the Liberals of the industry. Mel used his own money and made a fortune. Just like (by contrast) Fahrenheit 9/11, Michael Moore also couldn't get financing and distribution. The money men and studio chiefs are not "all knowing" and frequently make enormous mistakes; sometimes in missing a winner and sometimes in backing a loser. It has nothing to do with Liberal or Conservative ideology.
Thinking it over, I truly enjoyed being with Tucker and James, but a final thought, hardly anything we discussed was as damaging or hurtful ...even as dirty...as some of the commercials that worked for the winner in the recent presidential campaign; the moral ones!