This isn't sports talk... it was posted to pick a fight... like the last thread.
The NBA certainly doesn't ENCOURAGE a 'thug' atmosphere like you say.
The players don't 'hate' us... that's one of the stupidest things I've read all year. Do you TRULY believe that all minorities hate whites? Or do you make this distinction specifically towards black people? The players love us... more so than any sport I've ever seen. I've met players from every sport in Dallas... especially Cowboys since I live 300 feet from their HQ.
I met Pudge Rodriguez, Juan Gonzales and Jose Conseco from the Rangers.
I have met many Cowboys. Emmit Smith was the only one that was overly outgoing and super friendly. I'm not saying that any were rude, but it was pretty clear that they wanted me to put my towel back on

. There was one (white guy) player that I talked to at the Valley Ranch wingstop (a typical haunt for Dallas Cowboys). He was in line, just like me, and my buddy (the biggest Cowboy fan I know) was going on and on about some play he made that previous Sunday... throwing out stats and talked about his collegiate career. My buddy was obviously a fan. The guy just kept nodding... giving one-word answers. He (my friend) wasn't being intrusive by any means... just EXCITED to see a player on the team that he's worshipped for 20 years. How did it end? The player eventually cut my friend off and said, in an incredibly rude manner, "look, I just want to get in and out." It probably doesn't read as bad as it was in person... but several people who heard it commented on it after he left (avoiding eye-contact with us on the way out).
The Dallas Stars were the worst. Man, I LOVED my Stars. I had the little flags on my truck... my wallpaper at work was a Zubov board crash (on Detroit, if I remember correctly)... I even had a Stars keychain. Consider that I have spent a total of 90 minutes on skates IN MY LIFE, my appreciation of the sport was ALL 'learned'. I learned the game by watching ALL of them... since they came to Dallas. I learned to love the sport. Well... 2 out of 3 encounters with hockey players were really negative. The first one was at a freaking meet-n-greet at a bookstore. Fucking Scott Young was supposed to show up with coach for a fan-greet, season-kickoff. There was a huge crowd and even a line to get in the building. He came in, everyone cheered... he sat down... signed probably 20 autographs and then left, apparently complaining of a headache.
The second-time was Bill Guerin... and it was my brother who met him. He was at a super-market and my brother said hello... which was followed by about 10 minutes of chatting about the season and the league. Guerin was totally cool and appreciative of the fans. Cool.
The last time was a few Summers ago. I was at my volleyball club and Derian Hatcher showed up. Obviously, he just wanted to drink a couple of beers with his friends (he's not so big IRL!!!), so everyone left him alone. I was the biggest fan, so I told my bartender friend that I'd get their next round. I didn't hang out by the bar or anything... hell, Hatcher wouldn't have even seen WHO bought them their drinks (4 people). My buddy told them that and they all laughed. Later on, they asked the bartender which 'faggot' bought them drinks... apparently they thought someone was trying to pick up on Derian. In a fucking sports bar... and my buddy even fucking initially told them that 'a big fan' wanted to buy their round. And... get this... millionaire Hatcher and his buddies all got top-shelf on that round, when they were drinking draft the rest of the night. Fortunately, my buddy charged me for well drinks... but still, that's way shitty.
What's my point in all this?
Mavs...
My girlfriend works at a really nice restaurant that is frequently visited by Mavericks. She's a HUGE fan, but nobody up there knew that... so nobody told her about their constant visits... she had to learn for herself. In the 4 or 5 months that she's worked there, she's met Marquis Daniels, Josh Howard, Jerry Stackhouse, Calvin Booth, Michael Finley and Donnie Nelson. EVERY ONE of them are super polite to her (granted, she's pretty hot... and white... maybe a cynic will justify this somehow) and the other people that 'pester' them while they are trying to eat. What's more intrusive? My TOTALLY casual offer to a bartender to cover a round of drinks for the FUCKING CAPTAIN of my hockey team... or a bunch of waiters hawking over a 7 foot-tall basketball player trying to enjoy his crawfish in peace? Shrug... doesn't bother them. She has autographed coasters from every one of them.
I met Michael Finley at a Dallas bookstore (actually, a Mormon bookstore, oddly enough... they have rare Bibles, which is why both of us were there I think). I told him that we really appreciate him here and that we couldn't wait for him to recover (3 years ago, small injury). He said thanks a lot, signed his autograph and I walked away. He wore a big smile and was extremely polite. I knon other people who have met NBA stars and I've yet to hear a negative story.
I read stories like the time Shaq crashed into a photographer hard enough to shatter his camera and send shards of plastic into his eye socket (missed the eyeball, but broke several bones in his eye). He didn't have to do anything for the guy... their insurance would pay for most of it... but he still took time out to visit him in the hospital and he covered all of his extra expenses. The two trips to the hospital were capped by visiting the children's ward for some games. I'm sure you'd include Shaq in your thug list though.
Who are the thugs? I bet that almost anybody you name contributes more WORKING HOURS to charitable causes in a year than you.
I'm not sure where you got this 'thug life' idea from... but it's totally wrong. Most NBA players started out from nothing... they appreciate hard work more than the middle-class, corn-fed whiteboy linebacker who lived like a king in rural Texas.