Burn, Carmelo, Burn

So here's a great pickup from Darren Rovell's SportsBiz CNBC blog: In the wake of the fight last week that left the Nuggets without Carmelo Anthony for 15 games (and with Allen Iverson, which still seems odd), Northwest Airlines has booted Anthony off the cover of its January 2007 edition. (The Freakonomics blog actually had this first.) An airline spokesperson talked to Rovell:

Following the NBA's suspension of Mr. Anthony, several of his Denver Nugget teammates, and some members of the New York Knicks for fighting during last Saturday's game, Northwest has elected to remove the publication from its planes. Northwest does not want to appear to condone in any way the behavior of some of the players during Saturday's game, including Mr. Anthony, by continuing to offer the current edition of WorldTraveler. The story was developed long before this event occurred, and the publication was placed on Northwest aircraft on December 1.

OK, we'll say it: This is absolutely ridiculous. When baseball teams have a brawl, it's considered funny, something to end the local sportscasts with a smirk. When (black) NBA players brawl, it's an example of the "out of control" players. Anthony threw a punch. That's all. Two weeks ago, he was a shining face of the league. Now, he's being kicked of magazine covers and is Everything That's Wrong With The Game. We don't quite get it, we'll confess.

Northwest Airlines Suspends Carmelo Anthony [Freakonomics]