MLS chief bemoans decline in sportsmanship

Cameraman plans to file suit against Rodman

"I'm worried that values like those last night where a basketball player kicks a cameraman are too often extolled," MLS commissioner Doug Logan said Thursday. "And then his coach says he thought he 'only kicked him in the knee.'"

Logan was referring to an incident Wednesday night in Minneapolis in which Chicago Bulls star Dennis Rodman kicked a television cameraman after falling into a row of photographers.

The cameraman was carried from the court on a stretcher before being treated at a hospital. Rodman contends he didn't try to hurt him. The NBA said Thursday it is investigating.

In a speech at The Sports Summit, an annual meeting of more than 1,000 sports industry executives, Logan said he is troubled by the beating sportsmanship is taking.

"Every tackle seems to be followed by what used to be considered inappropriate behavior by Mark Gastineau," Logan said of the former New York Jets star. "Every play has taunting and gestures."

Logan also criticized, although not by name, Miami Heat coach Pat Riley for his comments last year about fining his players for helping an opponent off the floor.

"I began looking at this issue from the standpoint of a parent," said Logan, who has two sons under 14. "I thought what can I, as a visible symbol at the top of my sport, do about this. I can speak out where I have a platform and where I can make a difference."

Some MLS players were criticized last year for arguing with referees and clashing with other players. The most notorious were the New York-New Jersey MetroStars' "Three Tenors," as they came to be called: Tony Meola, Tab Ramos and Peter Vermes.

Logan said he will stress sportsmanship to players and coaches when training camps open next month for MLS' second season.

He also warned about "classism" in sports, in which the focus on raising revenue divides fans into haves and have-nots. Luxury suites and high-priced tickets, he says, will soon make sports available only to the rich.

"Sports and entertainment used to be the great democratizer," Logan said. "Sports is supposed to be where everyone can root for a common purpose or team. The more we create differences, the more we put that in danger."

While noting the luxury-box trend is seen by many as an American phenomenon, Logan said the practice is spreading around the world. The Dutch soccer team Ajax is building a stadium with plush suites.

"It's creating a schism that I don't think is healthy," Logan said.