I'm not really a role player

Chapter 199 The Real Heavy Punishment

In front of the national live broadcast, Li Ke didn't say much.

But then, back in the locker room, Li Ke was not so polite in the face of more and more mixed reporters.

"Selton, once again suffered racism at North Shore Gardens, now, what do you think about racism?"

"Opinion? Disgusting, it's too disgusting!"

A reporter from Sports Illustrated asked a question that seemed to be copied from the Bobcats away game against the Celtics three months ago. Li Ke shook his head. This time, he was more direct.

"I played two games at the North Shore Garden, and in both games, I was threatened with racial abuse, which can only prove two things—"

"The human rights problem in the United States is very serious, and the Celtics have not taken concrete actions to rectify the racial discrimination in North Shore Garden..."

The reporters in front of them stared. Li Ke raised these two points. The first point seemed to be brought up again three months ago, but this topic is indeed a bit sensitive. The old-fashioned reporters dared not and did not want to ask more questions, so they focused on the second point.

A reporter from Yahoo Sports asked tentatively: "So, you think the Celtics should also bear some responsibility?"

"Of course, they are not effective in supervision, and the league should punish them heavily..."

"Do you think multiple punishments are reasonable?"

"The heavier the better."

The reporter of the Boston Herald immediately interjected and changed the topic: "Tell me about your two thumbs down after the game. It was a provocation to the entire North Shore Garden. It almost escalated the situation. Do you think you were rational at that time?"

Obviously, the reporter whose butt is on the side of Boston and the Celtics directly pointed the finger at Li Ke.

Li Ke's reaction was not as strong as expected, he just shook his head:

"Provocation? No, that's not provocation."

"That's just a response. The racial knights provoked the whole game. They kept booing, swearing, and all kinds of foul language. I listened to the whole game. After me and my team won the game, they responded as they should. Is there a problem?"

Without waiting for the reporter from the Boston Herald to ask further questions, Li Ke then mentioned the very aggressive reaction of the fans in the North Shore Garden Arena after the game:
"By the way, thank you for reminding me. You reminded me that the fans at the North Shore Garden Arena were about to rush down the stands and punched me. Ron Artest punched the fans, so he was suspended for 73 games. The Celtics fans punched the fans on the court. Considering the attempted punching, it should be reasonable to punish half of the North Shore Garden games..."

The reporter of the Boston Herald was stunned. He didn't expect that Li Ke would say Cue Artest at this time, which led to the conclusion that the Celtics should be fined for more than 30 games.

Although everyone knows that the league will not punish them like this, the problem is that Li Ke's words are considered pressure. If he succeeds, the Celtics will inevitably suffer a heavier punishment.

If Vic Grosbeck had been there, he would have scolded the Herald reporter's mother.

Obviously, your own side has been wronged to the extreme, and you still want to provoke the other party. Isn't this a reason to make trouble for others?
……

In New York, David Stern, who had made a decision to punish early, got off work, but learned of Li Ke's pressure from a reporter he knew well.

Mr. Si smiled: "The penalty for a series of empty games at home is already heavy enough, it is impossible to add more..."

Penalizing an entire series with no games is tantamount to directly penalizing the Celtics at least tens of millions of dollars. If the series is played for seven games and additional fines are added, the Celtics' loss can even be close to 2000 million US dollars.

Mr. Si believes that this level of punishment is already heavy.

So, he didn't call Stu Jackson to change the punishment he had made before.

To the microphone, to the reporter who sent the message:
"That's it, Mark, I'll go to bed first, the specific punishment? You can watch the official NBA website tomorrow morning."

Mr. Si hung up the phone, turned around and went to sleep.

The ferment of public opinion has only just begun.

There was an experience, and the reaction of the American mainland was not so strong.

Except for a few close friends such as Xiao Du and Jiba, and Twitter and Facebook kings like Le Bang, who posted a message on Twitter and Facebook in support of Li Ke, the North American basketball world did not make more voices.

Speaking of it, the racial discrimination at North Shore Garden for the first time made Li Ke feel the NBA's zero tolerance for racial discrimination. It seems that many black players, even white players, like him, can't see the slightest bit of racial discrimination.

But this time, Li Ke deeply felt what it means "people can never understand and empathize with each other."

Except for teammates and close friends posting support, the rest of the black players in the NBA seem to have disappeared. Even Pierce, the soul of the Celtics team, felt that Li Ke's continuous provocation of North Shore Garden was too much.

What about zero tolerance for racial discrimination as promised?
Discrimination against black people is discrimination, isn't discrimination against yellow people?
"You can't rely on these old blacks, you have to rely on yourself..."

Of course, the people of the yellow race in the American continent were aware of this. Almost immediately after the game ended, the Chinese, overseas Chinese and overseas students in the United States immediately launched an organized protest.

Especially several cities related to Li Ke and this incident, Charlotte, Austin, Los Angeles and Boston.

The organizers in Charlotte are Li Ke's die-hard fans, and the organizers in Los Angeles are the group of compatriots Li Ke knew when he was living in Los Angeles.

The organizers in Boston are local Chinese and overseas Chinese. They have long been unable to stand the atmosphere of white supremacy in Boston. This incident gave them a reason...

In the end, Austin, Cong Ming, Dong Jinji, Lin Qi, Chen Xiaomian, and Archie were the organizers. They even called Li Ke and said, "Brother Li, don't be afraid. It's over just now. We will support you!"

I have to mention the other side of the ocean, the day just arrived in the afternoon at the end of the game.

Because of the broadcast of Central Five, tens of millions of fans in China are already excited about the racial discrimination against North Shore Garden.

"If the NBA does not give a reasonable explanation and does not make a reasonable punishment, we should boycott the NBA!"

"Must be punished!"

"I hope the NBA can understand the seriousness of this incident, face up to the problem, and solve the problem!"

"..."

Because of the existence of the wall, no matter how fermented domestic public opinion is, it will be difficult to influence foreign countries.

Until the evening, several heavyweight players joined the battlefield——

"Shocked to hear that Chinese athletes have encountered serious racial discrimination incidents in the United States... We express our strong dissatisfaction and lodge solemn representations with the NBA regarding this incident..."

"Announcement from the Basketball Association..."

"Central five statement..."

……

In David Stern's apartment in New York, the phone rang quickly.

Mr. Si, who had only slept for three or two hours, sat up from the bed with a frown, took out his glasses, and connected the phone.

In the next second, his expression became serious.

"Stu, inform all members of the board of directors that a conference call will take place in one hour."

……

His eyes turned to Li Ke's side. After the game was over, Li Ke used the post-match press conference to vent his anger.

At the same time, he is also looking forward to the league's punishment of the Celtics.

Speaking of it, it is impossible for the league to directly judge the Celtics to lose, and it is impossible to move all the games back to Charlotte.

The Bobcats benefit from this penalty is that the away game will be played empty at most, without the interference of opponent fans, the pressure of the game will be greatly reduced.

Even so, Li Ke still hopes that the alliance can further increase the punishment.

In an interview with reporters after the game, Li Ke hoped to see the league fine the Celtics for more than 30 games. He was not joking. He really hoped that the Celtics would be fined for more than 30 games.

"I don't care about winning the game or something. All I care about is: I don't want to hear those disgusting words in the NBA arena."

David Falk and Boss Qiao had already sat in front of Li Ke. Boss Qiao nodded. He understood Li Ke very well.

Because when he first entered the NBA, the racial discrimination in Boston was still aimed at black people.

Even if Bill Russell wins 11 championships for the Celtics, he still has to be separated from white players when the team eats.

For a long, long time, he was not a city hero in Boston, and even in his home court, he was booed by the home fans.

It wasn't until the 90s when the Celtics re-organized the retirement ceremony for Bill Russell that he heard the cheers that belonged to him at the Celtics' home court, so he burst into tears...

Boss Joe, who entered the NBA in the 80s, of course also had the experience of being discriminated against by the Boston Racial Cavaliers.

"Don't worry, Sheldon, David and I will help."

Boss Joe said so, and David Falk nodded.

"That's right, I'll call right away, and tomorrow you will see a storm of public opinion, which will force David Stern to strike hard!"

……

No one knows that in New York, the NBA's Board of Directors conference call is underway.

From the very stern tone of the other side of the ocean, he heard the seriousness of the incident.

Obviously, the original punishment no longer applies.

Heavy hand?This time it must be done hard!
David Stern is not Silver, he knows very well what is the most important role on the other side of the ocean.

At the end of the 80s, in order to open the market on the other side of the ocean, he took a videotape and waited outside the gate of CCTV for two hours...

In 02, Dayao was able to participate in the NBA, and it was him who negotiated with the Basketball Association back and forth...

Therefore, when the statements and announcements of these departments were issued, David Stern had already decided that this matter cannot just end like this.

"Severely punish the Celtics for all home games in the playoffs this season, all played behind closed doors."

"The fine has been increased from the previous US$50 to US$500 million. Externally, it must be emphasized that the amount of this fine is the highest in the history of the league!"

"In addition, collect the video data of this game, and strictly screen every fan who watched the game. The time limit is one month. All fans who are found to be involved in racial discrimination will be punished with a lifetime ban."

"Finally, a new regulation is promulgated. In the regular season next season, a fourth official will be added to the referee team. The duty is to supervise the field, and the focus is to eliminate all racial discrimination."

"..."

Adam Silver shut his mouth obediently, and even nodded all the time, seeming to agree with Mr. Si.

But he didn't know that Mr. Si had already put an end to his NBA career.

Speaking of it, Xiao Hua targeted Li Ke several times before, Mr. Si didn't feel much about it, he just thought that Xiao Hua still needs to be trained.

But now, Mr. Si already thinks that Xiao Hua's child can't be taught.

When this incident first broke out, Xiao Hua even proposed that the alliance should punish Li Ke.

Thinking about it now, if the alliance really had to punish Li Ke, the market on the other side of the ocean would basically be over.

From 1989 to 2008, for nearly 20 years, David Stern let the NBA enter that market. Of course he knows how valuable that market is.

Xiao Hua almost destroyed that market, which inevitably made Stern think a little bit more, if in the future, Xiao Hua will succeed...

After thinking about it for a while, he didn't dare to think about it anymore.

This successor must not be Xiao Hua!

"Okay, that's all for the conference call, Stu, don't hang up your phone yet."

Others hung up the phone one after another, and David Stern confessed to Stu Jackson, who is now in charge of the disciplinary committee, and even mentioned:

"If I remember correctly, Sheldon Lee performed very well this season. As a rookie, he averaged 20+ per game. Stu, what do you think of his future?"

"Unlimited."

"Then next season, let him get the same preferential treatment as Kevin Durant..."

……

Early the next morning, Li Ke woke up in a daze.

The first thing he saw, of course, was the heavy penalty from the NBA.

The Celtics playoffs are all empty?A heavy fine of 500 million US dollars?Another month to track down the racist from the last game?
There is even a new rule that the referee team adds a fourth official!
Li Ke rubbed his chin: Well, now, he can be regarded as a person who forced the alliance to revise the rules!It's not negative to ride a horse, can you believe it?

Of course he couldn't understand such a heavy punishment.

The playoffs were all empty, but he felt nothing.

In terms of his current "big ambitions", the Celtics have at most only the last three games left at home.

A heavy fine of 500 million US dollars is very serious. You must know that the heaviest fine in the history of the league was issued to the Timberwolves. The league fined the Timberwolves a full 350 million US dollars for Joe Smith's yin and yang contract incident!
The $500 million fine is enough to show the sincerity of the NBA.

Including three empty games, after careful calculation, the Celtics' losses have reached more than 2000 million US dollars.

The follow-up investigation and the addition of a fourth official to the referee team are more like a move to solve the essence of the problem.

So, why did the NBA play such a heavy hand?
Soon, he saw why.

"So many big players are gone? It's a bit like a certain thunder incident, but David Stern is not Adam Silver, he is clear about the importance..."

To be honest, Li Ke's heart is warm. He knows that if these big players hadn't ended, the NBA would never have played such a heavy hand.

"It feels so good to be protected by someone!"

(End of this chapter)