Why are the NBA league officials so dense

Kobe got suspended for 1 game for an unintentional elbow he threw into Manu's face in the great LA-SA game the other day. Here's the story:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2748084

I for one am just dismayed at the suspension mired NBA, and I believe the trigger happy NBA league office is ruining the game

Their egomaniacal micromanagement has suffocated player personalities. They are constantly trying to force individuals, teams, and the whole league into their narrow molds and I find it much less fun to watch nowadays.

and it didn't seem all that unintentional to me.

He flung that arm out pretty hard.

The NBA news release announcing the suspension said Bryant was being penalized for "striking" Ginobili. Jackson elaborated on Tuesday.

"Some of the determining factors were the fact that there was contact made with Ginobili above the shoulders and the fact that this particular action by Kobe was an unnatural basketball motion. Following a shot, he drove a stiff arm in a backward motion and struck Ginobili in the head," Jackson said. "We did not view this as an inadvertent action."

No foul was called on the play.

"This blow was so swift in real time that it's understandable why, in fact, an official would have missed the contact," Jackson said. "In our view, this was not an attempt to draw a foul."


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When I saw it during the game - I thought the same thing, in that Bryant's arm wasn't going through any kind of natural follow through to his shot. It seemed pretty clear that he was trying to hit Ginobelli with his elbow. I thought he should have gotten more than one game, myself. When a guy that size starts throwing elbows around like that, the chance of really hurting someone is very real, and Bryant is pretty lucky that elbow didn't hit Ginobelli in the eye.

unnatural. good suspension.

...that's got to be more than one game, doesn't it?

I mean, it's an elbow to the face. You could break noses, shatter cheekbones, maybe even an eye socket or a jaw like that. And all he gets is the same punishment that somebody else (KG?) got for throwing - and not landing - a punch? I dunno...

I don't think it was intentional, by the way.

The inconsistency is the getting more baffling all the time. One guy gets a one day suspension and another guy gets a fourteen day suspension for the same offense. One guy gets suspended for the offense and another does not even get called for the foul :shrug: