Ustream last night

Caught a bit of Demar, Sonny & Jarrett on Ustream last night, just hanging out I believe in Sonny's Condo. While it was pretty cool to see these guys relax and chill on their own time, I felt a bit uneasy as to what might transpire. Jack was playing Madden a foot away from a 50" TV and when they zoomed in on him , his eyes were a bit smaller than usual with no emotion, more than a few viewers commented that he was high as hell. Also Sonny's brother was dancing around the whole time and at one point gave someone in the chat room the finger for a comment, and there was another instance where a 'gay slur' was used. I know these guys are human and I know they have a right to do what they want away from the court, but for some reason I don't think this type of webcast is a good idea at the moment and I can see it maybe getting out of control on occasion. All it takes is for some viewer to post " Jarret Jack high.... " on the internet and a big snowball would start rolling. While I enjoyed some of the random, crazy actics, I think this type of forum could be used more to interact with the fans and maybe answer some questions and talk about basketball stuff and life stuff. Maybe i'm wrong, but I just wanted it to stop before someone did something really outrageous and cause for concern.

Don't most people look like zombies when they're playing Madden. lol

Seriously though, these are big boys and they should be able to make their own choices. You can't take away their freedom of speech. If the guy isn't smart enough to be sensible in the public eye then there are greater problems than just a web cam...

I dont see any upside to camming with fans. Dumb idea. Someone needs to talk some sense into them.

I agree with you Apollo, they are responsible for their own actions and if they make choices that tarnish them, it's their own fault. But, let's be real here, how many 20-25 year old "kids" are put in the public eye, given millions of dollars and put on a national stage in the spotlight? I know that the NBA has Public Relations training and people monitoring the players off the court so that PR nightmares can be avoided, but putting these guys on a streaming website that watches them in their PERSONAL life, can easily turn into a PR nightmare with one comment, or a player doing "recreational drugs" or even being accused of it. I would hope that the Raps have personal life coaches for these guys and that this person addresses these concerns that RikkJames pointed out. It would really suck if any of these guys get labeled by the media or fans for how they appear on a webcam.

These guys have cameras on them most of the time anyway. These guys are adults and most of them have some post secondary. They're not stupid. The league cannot take away their freedom of speech. That's not an ideal, that's the law. All the league can do is come down hard on guys who mess up.

This isnt a freedom of speech issue. No one will "tell" them to stop.

Someone should talk some sense into them. Tell them that exposing themselves to such a large audience might cost them millions. And point out that no team would go near Starbury after his cam meltdowns.

Yeah, absolutely no reason for them to do this. Especially gay slurs stuff..nothing good can come of it. They (especially Sonny) need to keep their careers in mind. Sonny is more likely to be the fall guy if anything goes wrong..

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Raptorman wrote:

This isnt a freedom of speech issue. No one will "tell" them to stop.

Someone should talk some sense into them. Tell them that exposing themselves to such a large audience might cost them millions. And point out that no team would go near Starbury after his cam meltdowns.

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Agreed. There are far better ways of getting your opinions heard, talk shows, interviews, writing a blog, whatever, but a live webcam of you chilling out at home and playing video games with your buddies where you can just spout off anything is just an accident waiting to happen.

I'm pretty sure that if any of us had a webcam watching us to a large audience while we were just hanging out with friends could also catch us saying or doing things that can be taken out of context or make us look stupid or wrong. I just think it's a bad idea, and Starbury is a prime example of how it can ruin someone to the media or the fans.

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Raptorman wrote:

This isnt a freedom of speech issue. No one will "tell" them to stop.

Someone should talk some sense into them. Tell them that exposing themselves to such a large audience might cost them millions. And point out that no team would go near Starbury after his cam meltdowns.

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What I'm saying is that they're educated adults and they should know these things. If we can use logic, so can they. Most people aren't like Marbury and most people have better sense. Those who don't are going to make their mistakes one way or another.

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Ripp wrote:

Yeah, absolutely no reason for them to do this. Especially gay slurs stuff..nothing good can come of it. They (especially Sonny) need to keep their careers in mind. Sonny is more likely to be the fall guy if anything goes wrong..

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I don't remember a Raptors making those comments. Just saying...

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JibbaJabba34 wrote:

Agreed. There are far better ways of getting your opinions heard, talk shows, interviews, writing a blog, whatever, but a live webcam of you chilling out at home and playing video games with your buddies where you can just spout off anything is just an accident waiting to happen.

I'm pretty sure that if any of us had a webcam watching us to a large audience while we were just hanging out with friends could also catch us saying or doing things that can be taken out of context or make us look stupid or wrong. I just think it's a bad idea, and Starbury is a prime example of how it can ruin someone to the media or the fans.

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How is a live interview any different? Again, these guys aren't stupid. Either way they know there is a live camera on them.

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Apollo wrote:

How is a live interview any different? Again, these guys aren't stupid. Either way they know there is a live camera on them.

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A live interview if very different. It's in a professional setting, there are leading questions by an interviewer, sure a player has the ability to say whatever they want, but at least the interviewer tends to lead a player into the answer with their question. Sitting around your condo and just hanging out answering questions online is not the same as a formal live interview. It's clear that all of the guys didn't take any of the Ustream stuff seriously or they wouldn't have been just sitting around playing Madden, making stupid comments and laughing it off. Also, the quality of the comments or questions by the viewers of the live feed are not the same quality of questions a player would get in a live interview.

It all comes back to intelligence and character. If you cannot trust a guy to be able to not put his foot in his mouth then Houston, we have a problem. Live streams, twitter, blogs, etc. are here to stay. Jack and Weems didn't say or do anything questionable. I seen no drugs, violence, etc. I heard of no damaging comments coming from them personally.

I think the league should worry about guns and crap like that more so than Jarret Jack playing Madden.

Apollo is right , in the end, these grown men are responsible for their own actions, good or bad. I just posted this thread just to get others opinions, to see if anyone else was a bit uncomfortable in what might have transpired as i was. I just read a similar thread on readGM about this and others felt the same way. I'm sure Raptors PR guys wouldnt like what they saw, but it ain't none of our business in the end.

I'll go on record saying I am glad there wasnt a video record of me when I was 20-24 doing things I thought I had every right doing.

I didnt break any laws, but I guarantee you the people around me would have a different opinion about me. And I am glad I dont have to keep explaining myself 25 years later.

Just saying someone needs to step in and show these guys there might be some repercussions long into the future.

Professional atheletes should heed the valuable life-lessons Dave Chapelle taught us, because there's no room for error when keeping it real goes wrong.

Raptorman, I hear what ur saying too. Just curious, did u see the ustream? and what in particular did u find a bit 'worrysome' ( for lack of a better word ). I was a bit uncomfortable with Sonny's brothers antics, talking about Jarretts "manhood" and giving the finger , etc. It's not wrong or illegal, just a bit offputting in a way. The players in particular didnt do any wrong, I think at one point Demar did state that they can't cuss.

@RikkJames..."I'm sure Raptors PR guys wouldnt like what they saw, but it ain't none of our business in the end. "

As I did not see the stream, my comments are specific to the above quote only.

I shall as well replace the "our" with "MLSE/NBA".

It is the business of mlse to protect their brand name and asset when it comes down to risque behaviour displayed by their employees in public. It is just not good for business (and personally not cool) for mysonogystic or homophobic humor. The Raptors present may not have engaged in it but did they yuk it up (condone it)?

The issue "free speech" is a sensitive area and has blurred boundaries. This aspect of "adult" freedoms was on display during the Hedo/mask disagreement. We all know where Hedo's freedoms/feelings were placed in the pecking order in that scene.

I would just say that mlse who is very conscious of their public profile and their place in the community (the whole community) could not be too pleased if there was in fact negative publicity arising from this.

If you follow the league rules and don't undermine your bosses then speak on.