NBA Drinking Culture?

manchambo · Post #1 » by **manchambo** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 7:03 pm

The talk on Denver sports radio in the wake of Melo's DUI this morning was about whether the Nuggets, or the NBA in general, have a culture of drinking and partying. George Karl basically said that he thinks it occurs on all NBA teams, and that it's a problem that the NBA should do something about it.

My thought on the subject is this: Young rich men partying is not an NBA "problem," but instead is an element of our society as a whole. If you go to any bar on the weekend, you'll see a bunch of young men and women the same age as NBA players drinking and partying. Same if you go to any college campus.

For that reason, I don't really understand why anyone would expect NBA players, who have plenty of money and lots of leisure time, would not be drinking and partying. (And that in my mind is separate from driving drunk afterward, which is inexcusable for anyone.)

Do you think drinking is an NBA problem?

JoshB914 · Post #2 » by **JoshB914** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 7:06 pm

They are grown men, we can't tell them what to do in their off time. Drinking and driving is an issue and if that is a big problem then we can talk.

celticspierce34 · Post #3 » by **celticspierce34** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 7:07 pm

in the summer id have no problem, but just as we are getting to the most important part of the season i dont think a pro athlete should be partying. college students dont have as many responsiblies as these guy do

manchambo · Post #4 » by **manchambo** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 7:12 pm

celticspierce34 wrote:in the summer id have no problem, but just as we are getting to the most important part of the season i dont think a pro athlete should be partying. college students dont have as many responsiblies as these guy do

Well, in this instance he was drinking on a Sunday night when he didn't have a game until Wednesday. Drinking right before games would certainly be a problem, but I don't see how drinking three days before a game is.

carrottop12 · Post #5 » by **carrottop12** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 7:15 pm

Their lives off the court are their lives and have nothing to do with their franchise.

They have every right to go relax after a game as any stock traded on wall street does after a hard day.

However, if I was a true competitor and really cared about winning a championship I would definitely limit my drinking when it came to the most important time of the season.

Larry Bird said he didn't start winning MVP's until he quit drinking beer so maybe there is a correlation, but that was his choice to make, no one else's.

I wouldn't let my job tell me I couldn't drink or party anymore. Why would these guys?

goo kennedy · Post #6 » by **goo kennedy** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 7:19 pm

manchambo wrote: George Karl basically said that he thinks it occurs on all NBA teams, and that it's a problem that the NBA should do something about it.

The same George Karl who had a "no drinking in public clause" in his Seattle contract? That's rich.

black06eclipse · Post #7 » by **black06eclipse** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 7:20 pm

This is no excuse for anything, but people also need to think about their "awake" schedules. NBA Players work the night shift. Being up all day and waiting around all day to work from 8pm-10pm is tough on the body. A lot of players have sleeping schedules from 6am - 3pm.

After the game these players aren't going to bed like the rest of us. Their day is only half over really (and thats if they don't have to hop on a flight). Never an excuse to drink and drive but its funny when people say "but what are these basketball players doing awake at 4am!"

wawaweewa · Post #8 » by **wawaweewa** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 7:21 pm

i wouldnt say that its a cluture that only the nba has.

football players in england are also well known for their nightlife, especially with the way the media can always be found in the biggest nightclubs in london.

not really too familiar with other sports but i imagine its the same.

manchambo · Post #9 » by **manchambo** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 7:23 pm

goo kennedy wrote:-= original quote snipped =-

The same George Karl who had a "no drinking in public clause" in his Seattle contract? That's rich.

I'm fairly confused by this post. Are you saying that George Karl agreed not to drink in public when he was in Seattle and that somehow makes his comments hypocrticial?

If so, I don't follow the logic.

HarlemHeat37 · Post #10 » by **HarlemHeat37** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 7:32 pm

nothing wrong with going out to the club and getting drunk..

drunk driving is a completely different case..that's just stupidity..

HOTCARL_o · Post #11 » by **HOTCARL_o** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 7:39 pm

There's nothing you can do about it, when you're young and rich it becomes the norm for a lot of people regardless the occupation. A lot of people see it as long as you do your job you'll be fine. Most pro athletes view this nothing as a job, and you have another percentage who are competitive to become the best. Now getting a DUI is another thing, if you're rich and can't get someone to drive for you I don't know. If I had the money these guys had it would be hard not to go out and party.

JN · Post #12 » by JN » Wed Apr 16, 2008 7:49 pm

Basketball players like to go out, get drunk, and party it up.

Other athletes, like baseball players and hockey players, are a little more subdued, do a lot of nose candy and escorts.

Seattlesun · Post #13 » by **Seattlesun** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 8:13 pm

This is an American culture and especially a young American man culture.

Why single out NBA players? There is no excuse for breaking the law, especially since they have plenty of money to find other ways home.

BUT - America drinks alot, young men party alot. NBA players are going to party, that will never change.

tms386 · Post #14 » by **tms386** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 8:20 pm

I don't think it's as bad as some say it is. Here's a little story from the firegeorgekarl.com blog:

I'm still blogging from LA these days, and God bestowed good fortune upon me last night as I received a last-minute invite to Lamar Odom's season-ending party at the Cabana Club in Hollywood. I don't want to over-analyze one party too much (plus, it's not like I ever get to go to these things), but what I observed last night told me a lot about this Lakers team. Trust me when I tell you this: we Nuggets fans should be very, very, very fearful of a matchup with the Lakers.

First off, no matter what I say about the quality of the girls at this event (nevermind the healthy girl-to-guy ratio), I won't do them justice. Let's just say that if reincarnation is in fact true, I want to come back as a Laker player. There, I got that out of the way.

Second, let me preface what I'm about to say by stating that I hate the Lakers. I've hated them since they waxed the Nuggets in the 1985 Western Conference Finals and will always hate them.

Now for the observations...

-Even though there were champagne buckets everywhere, I never saw one of the players really drinking. Odom - the host - nursed the same glass of champagne for about an hour or so, and waved people off offering him refills. I never saw Ronny Turiaf, Derek Fisher, Pau Gasol, DJ Mbenga, Vladimir Radmonovic, Sasha Vujacic, Luke Walton, Coby Karl or Jordan Farmar drink anything. Trevor Ariza was a frequent visitor to the bar and drank bottle after bottle after bottle...of water. In light of Carmelo Anthony's potentially pending DUI charge, this was incredible.

-None of the players walked in with an entourage of more than two or three friends. In most cases, they just showed up solo or with another teammate (Gasol with Radmonovic, Turiaf with Ariza). The guy with the biggest entourage was Coby Karl, and believe me - his three friends aren't capable of getting him into any trouble.