NBA Commissioner David Stern gave a surprising response to sports radio host Jim Rome’s question about the NBA Draft lottery being rigged Wednesday.

When Rome, who acknowledged it was a conspiracy theory from the get-go, asked if the fix was in for New Orleans to get the #1 pick, Stern replied:

“Uh, you know, I have two answers for that. I’ll give you the easy one – no – and a statement: Shame on you for asking.” That’s it, right? Wrong.

When Rome pressed on, Stern bristled, asking him, “Have you stopped beating your wife yet?” Thrown off, Rome said, “Yeah, I don’t know if that’s fair.”

“I just don’t know that that’s fair.”

Stern, of course, wasn’t actually asking if Rome stopped beating his wife.

He was evoking a rhetorical move of sorts, intended to put an opponent in an untenable position and to prove a point about Rome’s inquiry.

If Jim Rome responds yes or no (he did neither) … he’s saying that he’s been beating on his wife. You incriminate yourself just by participating.

The point Stern was making, it appears, is that in order for him to respond to Rome at all, he must acknowledge that the leagues has rigged lotteries.

Fair enough … but was it really necessary to evoke domestic violence during a sports radio interview? Also, there is a way to answer Rome’s question.

Stern did moments earlier. It ended with “Shame on you for asking.”

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