THIS REMINDS ME OF A GREAT JOKE

HOW IS HAVING A MOPED LIKE SCREWING A FAT CHICK


they are both fun to ride, until your friends see you on them



Warriors suspend Ellis for mo-ped accident

By GREG BEACHAM, AP Sports Writer 1 hour, 29 minutes ago



OAKLAND, Calif. (AP)—Monta Ellis knew he was in trouble after he seriously injured his ankle in a mo-ped accident and then lied to the Golden State Warriors about it this summer.

The high-scoring guard probably never imagined that trouble would cost him about $3 million—and neither did his coach or the man who drafted him.

Warriors president Robert Rowell suspended Ellis for 30 games without pay Saturday for violating his lucrative new contract, a decision that apparently went against the wishes of top basketball executive Chris Mullin and coach Don Nelson.

Ellis, who agreed to a six-year deal worth $66 million in July, severely sprained his ankle in a low-speed crash in late August. The 22-year-old then compounded his mistake by telling the Warriors he hurt himself playing pickup ball in his native Mississippi, only coming clean about the accident several days later.

Owner Chris Cohan’s decision to suspend Ellis seems to expose a rift between the Warriors’ top brass and the Mullin-Nelson team, which directed Golden State to its first playoff berth in 13 seasons in 2007, followed by 48 victories last season.

When the Warriors opened training camp last month, both Mullin and Nelson were leaning toward allowing Ellis to return without punishment. Cohan and Rowell instead decided to risk alienating the player expected to be the centerpiece of Nelson’s up-tempo offense after Baron Davis’ defection to the Los Angeles Clippers.

“Chris Mullin made it perfectly clear to both Mr. Cohan and myself that he didn’t think this was a big deal at the beginning, and we happen to think it’s a very big deal,” Rowell said. “We happen to think that it’s a big deal for our fans, it’s a big deal for our season ticket-holders, it’s a big deal for our business partners, it’s a big deal for the Warriors organization.”

Both Mullin and Nelson are in the final seasons of their contracts with Golden State, and neither had been approached about an extension by late last month.

The Warriors counted four preseason games in the suspension’s length, which means Ellis can’t return to the club until after Golden State’s 26th regular-season game, against Indiana on Dec. 17. The guard will be allowed to spend time at the Warriors’ training complex for rehabilitation during his suspension.

Ellis, who recently underwent surgery to repair a torn ligament, was unlikely to be healthy enough to return before mid-December anyway, but the suspension means the guard won’t be paid during his absence. Ellis’ agent, Jeff Fried, met with Golden State officials during the week to discuss Ellis’ punishment.

Rowell said Fried was “not in complete alignment with us” on the decision. Fried and Ellis couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.

“I thought highly of Monta going into the decision that we had to make, and I think just as highly of him as a person,” Rowell said. “He’s a 22-year-old young man who has done a lot of great things to get himself into a position where he was to get a $66 million contract. We have faith in him that he’s going to continue to prosper and be a great player in this league.”

There’s no doubt Ellis violated Paragraph 12 of the NBA’s uniform player contract, which prohibits a player from engaging “in any activity that a reasonable person would recognize as involving or exposing the participant to a substantial risk of bodily injury,” including “driving or riding a motorcycle or mo-ped.”

But Mullin and Nelson both thought the risks of suspending Ellis outweighed the minor financial benefit.

“That’s really not my territory,” Nelson said with uncharacteristic brevity Saturday night when asked about the decision. “I’m coaching the team, and that’s it. You could talk to the other parties about that if you’d like.”

Ellis was the second-leading scorer for the NBA’s highest-scoring team last season, averaging 20.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.4 assists.

Ellis rejoined his teammates in Oakland in late September. A few hours after facing the Oklahoma City Thunder in an exhibition game Saturday night, Golden State’s remaining players and coaches will be off on a 17-hour flight to China for preseason games in Beijing and Guangzhou.

Great. So you pay some guy 60 mil+ to be the centerpiece of the team, he does a completely idiotic thing injuring himself, and you're afraid to suspend him? I hate to say it but I side w/ management here. Why even bother having rules then? Just let him ride mopeds and motorcycles and whatever with no fear of reprisal. The guy did something stupid and deserves to be punished for it. What a mess

And I don't think the suspension is about recouping a small amount of money...it's about sending a message. Sure, it's useless anyway as he won't be able to play and they're counting preseason games yada yada yada, but I think you have to do something

So why even bother putting it in a contract then that you can't rid mopeds, etc.

You don't think as management you'd be pissed if you spent 60 million on a guy and he goes out and does something that could jeopardize his career? That shows a severe lack of judgment. Hey, I like Ellis and his game a lot but that really lowered my opinion of him. And you think 3m is excessive. On a 60 mil+ contract. Again, doing something that could cost him his career. Of course it's too late at this point but I think you might want to re-think that he's the centerpiece of your organization....

I don't think it was about the money. It was about sending a message to future contract signees that they will be held to the terms of the contract. If they didn't do anything, what would happen to the next free agent they sign? They wouldn't take any dangerous activity clause seriously and a precedent would be there to not have to.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Exactly - didn't the Reds do the same with Ron Gant?