Josh Howard, You're On Candid Camera!

The cell phone: a mobile device originally created to enable users to receive or send phone calls without the need of a cord. At its basic level, it seems entirely harmless. Unfortunately for Josh Howard, small forward for the Dallas Mavericks, the mobile phone has developed into a jack of all trades. This device has been infused with capabilities for texting, taking pictures, and- leading to Howard's demise- videos.

Fellow NBA star Allen Iverson, guard for the Denver Nuggets, held his annual flag football charity event back in July. There were no ESPN cameras, only a few local news cameras to show the good will. There was also a cell phone camera on hand, taping the pre-game festivities. As the Star-Spangled Banner was playing to kick off the game, the camera found Josh Howard and some harsh words.

"The Star-Spangled Banner is going on. I don't celebrate this [expletive]. I'm black," Howard said. He also went on to make some incomprehensible comments on Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama. As the video itself has been removed from Youtube at the request of Dallas Mavericks' owner, Mark Cuban, a recount of the event with a clip can be seen at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BqG9kjknVw

Without the inner-workings of Web 2.0 enabling user-created videos to be posted on the internet, this blatant anti-patriotism would have gone unnoticed. Even so, it's taken 2 months for this story to surface and a punishment to be handed down. But better late than never.