Hot Takes: Untold – Malice at the Palace

1. Just like The Last Dance from last year, you don’t have to be basketball fan to enjoy this excellent — excellent — hour of television.

2. From what I understand, Untold is a new sports documentary series by Netflix (by the same guys who did Wild, Wild Country which is my favorite Netflix doc) focused on changing the narrative or exploring the details of major sports dramas and controversies. I’ve only seen the first episode and it exceeded my expectations. I thought I knew about the Pacers-Pistons brawl from 2004, because I grew up watching basketball with my parents and my dad was a huge Reggie Miller fan. From what I remembered, the Baller Formerly Known as Ron Artest started a fight with a Pistons player which spilled into the stands. After that, some fans got into it and a whole bunch of people got suspended. Artest was a loose cannon (who was eventually booked for domestic violence and had a malnourished dog taken away from him) and nobody was surprised he started a riot at a game. That’s not exactly what happened. Watch the documentary to see what actually went down and how it transpired.

3. If there is an opportunity for white people to use the word “thug” they will do so frequently, loudly, and with great relish. My pulse was up watching the news clips included in the documentary, and that’s not hyperbole. I was so angry at watching the narrative being created immediately after the fight and it felt (as it typically does) like the largest part of White America was just waiting for a reason to punish Black people for something. They had to put these players in their place. They had to characterize the NBA as hip-hop loving gangster wannabes (their actual words!!) who showed their true colors by beating up on innocent fans.

4. Everything I know about Metta Sandiford-Artest (formerly Metta World Peace and Ron Artest) is negative for the most part. He was an aggressive player who always had a chip on his shoulder. He abused his wife and his dogs. He got suspended for a riot. The Metta in this documentary openly talking about his mental health reminded me that we don’t know the people behind the antics. We see celebrities and athletes acting out or behaving badly, but we have no idea why they’re doing what they’re doing. I remember laughing at the jokes when he changed his name to Metta World Peace. Now I’m embarrassed for thinking it was funny.

5. Reggie Miller participating in this documentary and not being bitter just shows how nice Reggie Miller is. I would probably still be pissed if my last shot at a championship was ruined by some hotheads on my team.

6. When I tell you this is an excellent hour of television, I mean that! I can’t vouch for the series as a whole (they have an upcoming episode about Caitlyn Jenner that I am 100000% uninterested in), but these guys know how to make compelling television. Everything from the pacing to the score is placed perfectly to enhance the tension of the moment. You know what’s going to happen (I did at least) and you’re still on the edge of your seat. If you like sports, drama, correcting a narrative, or quick documentaries, pull this one up sometime.

7. After you watch, you can read this little article about Metta being friends with John Green now. I’m more of the Stephen Jackson school of thought: “Give me my $3 million back and maybe we can talk about being friends.”