The sudden uptick in violent altercations in the NBA throughout the 2017-18 season thus far became the focus of the conversation on sports television, with both Fox Sports and ESPN dedicating segments to the issue via Chris Carter on First Thing's First and Stephen A. Smith on First Take, respectively.

Both men expressed concern about the issue getting out of hand, with Carter saying he does "not tune into NBA League Pass to watch UFC," and Smith equally worried that fighting will hurt the league's brand, particularly because it involves the aggression of the Black athlete.

"The Black athlete is judged differently; unfairly I might add, and significantly more harshly by the public at large," Smith said, after comparing how the public reacts to fights that break out in hockey and baseball vs. the perception that takes shape in the court of public opinion after confrontation goes down in basketball.

Smith said that he sympathizes with Black athletes for having to cede to a double standard, but he maintained that he will continue to preach docility as an obligation that players carry when granted the opportunity pros are afforded to make money doing what they love.

"It's not always about right or wrong. It's about the optics, it's about perception," Smith said. "And as wrong as the public may be, you still have an obligation in an effort to protect the brand and your individual brand, not to mention the league itself, you still have an obligation to be mindful of it."Smith and Carter's takes on the state of the game were prompted by the fact that alterations have taken over NBA headlines each successive evening that has followed Martin Luther King Day.

Since the weekend fans have speculated about what happened after Ben Simmons signaled for Kyle Lowry to meet him for a fair in the arena tunnel, and heard about Chris Paul, James Harden, and Trevor Ariza attempting to breach the Clippers locker room for a shot at Austin Rivers and Blake Griffin. Then on Wednesday, January 16, hostilities came to a head, with Aaron Afflalo swinging on Nemanja Bjelica in Orlando.