No one gave the real answer which is The Malice at the Palace.
Football, Hockey, Baseball all have a combination of a couple things going for it that NBA does not if fights break out. Namely:
- The players are more padded/ the surface is softer.
- The fans are very far away.
The worst case scenario for the NBA is a player gets seriously injured in a fight (paralyzed/death) or a fan gets involved and seriously injured. NBA players aren’t trained fighters, it’s within the realm of possibility a punch KO’s a player and he breaks his neck on a stanchion.
It’s not necessarily the “emotion” that gets T’ed up. It’s if the refs sense a hint of antagonism to the other team.
I don’t disagree. To the league office, it probably just feels like it’s not worth the risk to loosen up at the moment.