Perkins and his apologists need a harsh dose of reality

Perkins and his apologists need a harsh dose of reality

God Bless Dick Bavetta, Eddie Rush and every other NBA official who has tried – albeit in vain – to restore some semblance of order to a league overrun by pampered crybabies.

Somewhere along the timeline of American society, perhaps between the end of the Vietnam War and the savage beating of Rodney King, our respect for authority and sense of accountability spiraled down the toilet faster than last night’s Chinese.

The biggest offenders of this disturbing trend are professional athletes – specifically NBA players – and the bootlicking sycophants who defend their every move. You could call it a host-parasite relationship, except in this case no one actually benefits. We all lose, with common decency and etiquette taking the biggest hit.

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Kendrick Perkins’ childish behavior – not only in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals Wednesday night, but throughout the entire NBA postseason – is a harsh reminder of just how little we actually care and just how low we’ll stoop to buck the system.

We all agree Perkins should’ve never been whistled for the first of his two technical fouls in Game 5. Where I draw the line is when Perkins continues to bitch and moan about calls long after the officials warn him to keep his mouth shut.

As a result, he had no one to blame for the second technical foul (and subsequent ejection) other than himself. Despite what most fans want you to believe – or what they’ve actually convinced themselves to believe – Perkins didn’t just walk away from Rush after getting whistled for a questionable call later in the half. He walked away stomping his feet, waving his arms and making faces like a child whose mother wouldn’t buy him an action figure at Toys “R” Us.  

Forget for a minute whether or not you believe Rush jumped the gun when he T’d up Perkins for the second time, or whether you’re naïve enough to believe NBA officials are trying to fix games so this series goes the distance (you probably think 9/11 was an inside job, too). The problem is had it not been wiped from the record books Thursday afternoon, Perkins’ second technical foul in Game 5 would’ve been his seventh of the postseason, which meant he would’ve been forced to sit out Friday’s game in Boston.

Between Game 5 of Boston’s opening-round series against Miami and Wednesday’s Game 5 in Orlando, Perkins managed to rack up seven technical fouls in just 12 games. That’s disgusting. Why is no one up in arms over Perkins’ erratic behavior and the effect it has on his team’s performance? The Celtics were actually competitive Wednesday until Perkins got tossed. Then the game got of hand.

Regardless of whether or not the ejection was justified, his inability to follow instructions and act like an adult when things didn’t go his way might’ve cost the Celtics a chance to wrap up this series in Orlando. Now they’re heading back to Boston for Game 6 Friday knowing one more loss brings them closer to a historic collapse. Perkins will be allowed to play since the league rescinded one of Wednesday’s technical fouls, but who knows how long he’ll stick around this time. He probably hasn’t stopped crying since the plane landed.

What bugs me the most is fans – at least the vast majority who dialed into sports talk radio Thursday to blow off steam – are more content with ripping NBA officials for what they perceive as the referees’ effort to become part of the story, as if they’re making demonstrative calls for more face time on national television. The other theory is that because Perkins has developed a reputation as a chronic complainer, referees are more apt to T him up the minute he opens his mouth.

Even if that’s true, whose fault is that? How does a 25-year-old player develop such a nasty reputation in just six years? This is what happens when no one holds him accountable for his actions, including his own coach, Doc Rivers, who responded to a question about Perkins’ alarming number of technical fouls by suggesting, “he has to be allowed to be physical,” before adding, “we’re just trying to get Perk to be Perk.” Sounds an awful lot like the catchphrase used to describe another athlete in this town who was allowed to do whatever he wanted without suffering any consequences for his boorish behavior.

For some reason, we expect referees to do their jobs without their emotions getting in the way, yet we don’t hold athletes to the same standard, even if their emotional outbursts are far more damaging to the outcome of the game. The truth is you can only poke a grizzly bear for so long until it snaps. The same rule of thumb applies to people, whether it’s an athlete losing his cool following a series of bad calls or a referee blowing his stack after getting verbally abused for four quarters.  

In fairness, Perkins isn’t the only player guilty of blatant disrespect toward NBA officials. The majority of players in this league honestly believe they’ve never committed a foul in their lives, and their juvenile reaction every time the whistle blows probably has more to do with the league’s constant decline in popularity more so than excessive tattoos or lousy fundamentals.

We’d all be much better off as a society if we took our lumps like adults and held ourselves accountable for our actions. And for all of you apologists who constantly absolve athletes of their misconduct, I hope you never have kids. I don’t want them slashing my tires in 15 years.