SYRACUSE, New York – Let me be the first person to say that ESPN did a horrendous job in its coverage of last night’s ridiculous finish to the Indiana Pacers-Detroit Pistons basketball game. Blame is being handed out in various directions to all parties involved, but no one seems to be pointing any fingers at the 24-hour sports network in its third year covering the National Basketball Association with its sister network ABC.

If there was ever a reason for people not to watch the NBA, then this is it. What is it that separates the NBA from college basketball? Furthermore, what separates the NBA from other professional sports leagues? The answer is the way it is shown on television. Should anyone be all that surprised when this happens in a league that is all about invading personal space? How else could anyone possibly rationalize the use of “Floor Cam,” which shows nothing but the spandex shorts that the players wear under their uniforms? This is the league whose poster boy is an accused rapist, whose players are the most notorious for infidelity, promiscuity, drug use, alcohol abuse and domestic violence.

Since ESPN’s contract with the NBA began, it has taken more and more steps to get even more invasive than before, going so far as to have handheld cameras follow players into the huddles at their benches, even adding additional boom microphones and operators that accompany the cameras to give viewers the supposed “full effect.” This is precisely where ESPN overstepped its bounds on Friday night. No other sport allows any man-powered television cameras into the field of play at times other than intermissions. Neither the NFL nor NCAA football allows manned cameras onto the field except for pregame events, interviews at the end of a half, and any postgame event. Major League Baseball does not allow manned cameras onto the field except for specific instances for pregame, postgame, and postseason or All-Star performances during the seventh inning stretch. When the NHL is actually playing, it does not allow manned network television cameras on the ice at any time during the game. The NBA, however, has yet to put its foot down against having cameras invade the court during timeouts or as they are going to commercial, something that NCAA basketball does not permit.

While I am not blaming ESPN for inciting the small-scale riot inside The Palace at Auburn Hills, it was wholly irresponsible for ESPN handheld cameramen to go onto the court as soon as whistles blew after the Pistons’ Ben Wallace forcefully pushed Ron Artest after being fouled. A whistle is not an invitation for the handhelds to storm to court, and the director of the broadcast should have instructed them to remain under the baskets. It is not the place of a television crew to create drama; its job is to tell the story of the game. There was absolutely no necessity to have a low-angle “in your face” shot of Ben Wallace, Artest or anyone else. Perhaps the footage was helpful to the police, but it served no purpose to the viewer. By entering the field of play during such a tense moment, the camera operators sent a clear message that the game was not about to restart promptly following Ben Wallace’s outburst. The minute a television production crew crosses boundaries, there is no reason to think that others won’t do the same.

Shame on Ben Wallace; shame on the Pistons “fans”; and shame on ESPN. What a dispicable performance by all!

Filed under: Opinion/Editorial, Sports TV, Television