By Stephen Nover

If Larry Bird were playing in today’s NBA he probably would get ejected in every game based on what happened to the Hawks’ Trae Young on Sunday against the Bulls.

Young and Bulls point guard Kris Dunn had been battling for a second straight game. This is the way it should be in the NBA with two lottery-bound teams playing hard and trying to win.

But Young was ejected after receiving his second technical foul of the game from official Kevin Cutler. His crime? Staring too long at Dunn after he hit a long 3-pointer. The ironic thing was Dunn didn’t even seem to notice it.

Bird was a notorious trash talker and needler as were some of the other superstars of that era, including Michael Jordan and Reggie Miller.

This is what Miller wrote on Twitter: “What’s happened to my beloved NBA game? So damn SOFT and SENSITIVE now, noooo way Trae Young should be given a technical for this. I would have been broke and out of the league in two years.”

The NFL has gotten soft. So has baseball. Political correctness has gotten a firm grasp on today’s culture. That includes sports. Intimidation and trying to get inside an opponent’s head to throw him off his game have always been part of the game. Bird was a master at it.

Cutler needs to use better judgment. He’s a basketball referee not Miss Manners.

(Editor’s note: Stephen Nover is going for his 12th straight college basketball winner today. His long-term record is 228-144-5 for 61 percent. If you are interested in Stephen’s sports service – where every pick comes with analysis – please email him at scriber26@gmail or message him via Twitter.) 

 

 

 

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