David Stern says he regrets asking Jim Rome if he’s stopped beating his wife yet

David Stern is in all likelihood going to think a lot more carefully before he speaks the next time an interviewer’s question annoys him. When Jim Rome asked Stern about the NBA draft lottery being rigged a couple of weeks ago, Stern responded by asking Rome if he has stopped beating his wife yet. Stern didn’t actually mean Rome beats his wife, he was simply trying to make a point that the question was loaded and unfair. The way he went about it was extremely insensitive, and the commissioner expressed regret over it during a recent appearance on 106.7 The Fan with Mike Wise.

“I understand what’s happening,” Stern said according to D.C. Sports Bog. “My only objection at the time was, your question phrases it in a certain way. But if you said to me directly, ‘Is the lottery fixed?’, you would be implying that you believed it was fixed. Because you don’t need to make it part of the question. And so I sort of reacted, maybe overreacted. So I understand that. But a guy’s allowed to have some fun.

“You know, I would do it again differently if I were asked the question. What can I tell you? I’m like LeBron. You get a day older, and you hope you get wiser rather than just older.”

Stern has since loosened up about questions regarding the draft lottery, but it’s not his defensiveness that sent so many people into a frenzy. The fact that he attempted to prove a point by using an example about a man beating his wife is the part people take issue with. There are much better ways to show that you are sick of answering a question you feel is unfair.

Photo credit: Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE