Note to NBA Commissioner David Stern

Dear Mr. Commissioner,

We were pleased to receive you recently in Toronto, on the occasion of Raptors coach Sam Mitchell being named “Coach of the Year”. You might have noticed how enthusiastic the crowd was, and we appreciated your observation that the NBA is thriving in this foreign outpost – 12 years hence.

It is the “foreign thing” that causes me to write to you today. If the NBA is to succeed outside the great nation known as the United States of America, you need to solve one tricky problem: your fans occasionally booing the national anthem of the visiting team. Last night, it was the New Jersey Nets fans who took their turn at the altar of bad taste. It may well be that this was a misguided attempt to “get back” at Toronto fans for booing Vince Carter over the past few years. But, Mr. Carter is not a dunking version of Old Glory, and to challenge a professional athlete is not to denigrate the American nation.

The timing of this event is most unfortunate. You might not be aware, but in the past few days eight Canadian soldiers died in Afganistan. The mission is one we inherited from the U.S. Army. Those Canadian heroes were fighting to keep North America safe from terrorism. To boo their anthem, our anthem, is to show disrespect for decades of friendship and mutual support between our nations. And their sacrifice.

As you try to promote the NBA brand elsewhere in the world, it will seem curious to the people of Spain or Australia or China that despite your desire to build the league’s corporate reach, your U.S. fan base isn’t on board with the concept.

Here’s a suggestion. Amend the NBA Fan Code of Conduct. Include the demonstration of respect for the national anthems as a guideline. I’m sure some might say this is self-evident, but as we saw last evening in The Swamp, the time has come.

Thank you for your consideration. I would be delighted to hear from you at your earliest convenience.

MRM