NBA commissioner David Stern got into a heated exchange with Jim Rome Wednesday when the radio host asked him if the Hornets winning the draft lottery was fixed.
"I know that you appreciate a good conspiracy theory as much as the next guy, was the fix in for the lottery?" asked Rome, who hosts a daily show on CBS Sports Network.
"I have two answers for that," Stern said. "The simple easy one, no, the second, a statement, shame on you for asking."
Rome went on to say that he thought it was his job to ask because people wonder.
"No, it's ridiculous, but that's OK," Stern said.
Rome, who used to host the show "Jim Rome is Burning" on ESPN, said he didn't think the question was ridiculous.
Stern responded: "Have you stopped beating your wife yet?"
Since Rome has no history of spousal abuse, it appears that the commissioner was using a traditional loaded question as a tool to make his point -- that the question itself, in this case about the lottery, presumes guilt.
Rome responded: "I don't think that's fair."
The exchange:
For what it's worth, Rome has since called the line fair, acknowledging it as a "rhetorical device".
