NBA executive vice president Stu Jackson informed Dallas Mavericks forward Caron Butler earlier this week that he won’t be allowed to chew plastic drinking straws during games anymore. Apparently there is a rule against it.
"It's a safety issue, period," NBA senior vice president for basketball communications Tim Frank said Thursday.
Why is it an issue now and not eight years ago, though? Butler was drafted by the Miami Heat in 2002 and has been chewing straws in every NBA game he's ever played.
The habit started when he was a teenager as a way to calm himself down and eventually became part of his routine. It's been reported Butler chews as many as 12 straws per game. And he's done it in Miami, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C.
Yet, Butler plays four games for the Mavericks and suddenly the NBA decides its an issue. What about the other 538 games? Dallas is a major market and the team draws a bigger following than the Wizards, but has the straw chewing really just come to NBA Commissioner David Stern and the rest of the league 's attention?
L.A. and Miami are major markets as well; A former teammate of Butler's, Kobe Brya ...
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Article written by Michael Pinto
With the Caron Butler Straw Ban, NBA Was Over the Top
February 25th, 2010 by Michael Pinto Leave a reply »
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