Does He Still Have the Midas Touch? A Profile of NBA Commissioner David Stern

Since I just wrote a column focusing on the NBA's newly instituted "Rasheed Wallace Rule", I thought it would be perfectly fitting to write a column focusing on the life and times, not to mention the accomplishments, of the man who instituted the unofficial rule which states that any player acting demonstratively toward an official after any questionable call, be immediately hit with a technical foul.

Although I have already gone on record as disagreeing vehemently with the new "rule" it's hard to argue with Stern's track record and the immense growth and popularity he has brought to the pro game. Succinctly, here is everything you've ever wanted to know about NBA commissioner, David Stern.

Born David Joel Stern in New York City on September 22, 1942, and raised in Teaneck, New Jersey, Stern, who is Jewish-American, was once an excellent attorney who has been the Commissioner of the National Basketball Association (NBA) since 1984.

Stern attended Rutgers University where he became an active member of the Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity and graduated as a dean's-list history student in 1963. He then graduated from Columbia Law School in 1966 and has served on the Rutgers University Board of Overseers and currently serves as Chair of the Board of Trustees at Columbia University.

Stern began working in a law firm that represented the NBA after finishing at Columbia in 1966, starting what has become almost 40 years of association with the league. In 1978, Stern became the NBA's General Counsel, and by 1980 was Executive Vice President of the NBA.

On February 1, 1984, Stern became the fourth Commissioner of the National Basketball Association during the same season that four of the NBA's biggest superstars - Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, Charles Barkley and John Stockton - entered the league.

The arrival Jordan in particular, with his flair, skill, marketability and Nike shoes influenced the NBA's new wave of greatness. Jordan and the two other premiere basketball legends of the 1980s, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, took the game to new heights of popularity and profit and by 2005, Stern had helped the NBA grow to 30 franchises, expand into Canada and become a "global" entity.

The league currently has 11 offices in cities outside the United States, is televised in 212 nations in 42 different languages, and operates the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)and the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) under the guidance of Stern.

Stern also makes sure that every state with an NBA franchise as well as the province of Ontario, are not to have casinos and lotteries that distribute NBA basketball betting.

Recently, Stern has come under criticism from analysts (like me) all over the country for his attempts to overly control the attitudes and emotions of the league's players, not to mention switching the league's basketball although no one asked him for such a change.

In the late 1960s when superstar, Connie Hawkins fought against the ban instituted by the NBA to play in the league, Stern was among the attorneys who represented the NBA that fought against him in the ensuing league battle that they ultimately lost.

Stern also received criticism in 2005 for negotiating a labor agreement that did not introduce any major change in the NBA system. Some feel that the existing "soft" salary cap is ineffective in maintaining a competitive balance between teams and holding down the escalation of player salaries.

Just last year, Stern instituted a dress code for NBA players that met with a lot of criticism from players all over the league (although I think he was right). The new dress code was considered, by some, to be racist because it forbids hip hop fashion and urban dress.

Throughout Stern's tenure, disgruntled fans of teams eliminated from the playoffs have accused him and the NBA as a whole of rigging the league so large-market teams with popular players will get to the NBA Finals.

This belief, despite much evidence to the contrary, continues to be given life by players on eliminated teams, fans of those teams, talk radio hosts, and those who generally dislike and disparage the NBA.

I will say that if Stern continues trying to alter the game and its players, like he has done the last couple of years, his Midas touch could quickly become a thing of the past. What a shame it would be too for Stern, whose legacy in the league began so smoothly and successfully for so long. Hopefully he will come to his senses and begin to undo some of his recent changes, which don't seem to be for the betterment of the game.

So there you have it, everything you've ever wanted to know about NBA commissioner David Stern.