By the time basketball player Steve Francis departed for his Maryland home two weeks ago, he had so charmed much of Vancouver's sports media that one newspaper, the Province, went so far as to devote its front page and five inside pages to a mainly-glowing account of his whirlwind trip to the city. Readers now know, for example, that Francis likes the rap music of Too Short and Little Caesar.

An engaging speaker with a winning smile, the 22-year-old Francis left a far different impression than he had been doing since June 30, when the Vancouver Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association drafted him second overall. His well-publicized pout at being selected by Vancouver was followed by publicity over a pre-draft photograph in which Francis is shown flashing a hand signal associated with the Los Angeles-based Crips street gang.

But it took less than an hour's carefully orchestrated work at General Motors Place July 21 for the Grizzlies to help Francis turn his image as a truculent, spoiled, sports-star-with-an-attitude into that of an eager-to-please, family-values-espousing team player who had simply been misunderstood. For the Grizzlies, who finished the last NBA season with a league-worst 8-42 record, Francis' winning performance and the ensuing coverage was a public-relations coup.

It was a victory gained at a high price, however, as the Grizzlies' spin control sometimes bore little resemblance to the truth. For example, Debbie Butt, the team's media relations manager, told CFOX radio the day before Francis' arrival in Vancouver that his adverse reaction to being drafted by the Grizzlies was due to the fact that he had "never" played basketball away from the general vicinity of his Takoma Park, Maryland, home. In fact, Francis played one season for San Jacinto Junior College in Texas after he left high school.

The Grizzlies also attempted to persuade BCTV and the Province not to follow up on BC Report's story about the controversial hand sign; the team suggested questions about the issue were racist. On the record, general manager Stu Jackson told the Province, "This is an issue of human rights. I find it odd that a publication [BC Report] that is known to have a skewed view of the world finds fault with the freedom of expression of Steve Francis and speculates on this being a potential Afro-American inner-city sign. It's laced with all sorts of implications, laced with some ugly implications."

Despite Jackson's suggestion, the BC Report story did not identify the hand sign as either "Afro-American" or "inner-city" but merely stated the fact that it resembled a sign used by the Crips gang. Moreover, the story did not even mention Francis' race.

In a later discussion with BC Report, Jackson accused the magazine of publishing an unsubstantiated story without having done any research. BC Report answered that the story was based on several days' research, included positive comments about Francis' character from three sources and was published only after the NBA itself said it was concerned about the hand sign and had launched an investigation—a fact later confirmed by BCTV. BC Report accused Jackson of spin doctoring and of conducting a smear campaign, a charge he denied. The magazine also pointed out that a person flashing an apparent "Seig Heil" salute would justifiably raise an alarm and so should a basketball player employing a hand sign associated with a murderous gang.

For his part, Francis said he was just joking around when he flashed the sign in response to a photographer's request to be more animated. It was an explanation the NBA and the Grizzlies accepted. Asked by BC Report if he knew what the sign meant, Francis said, "It didn't have any symbolism, meaning to it." Earlier, however, Francis appeared to suggest that he did know its meaning. "If I showed that [photograph] to my grandmother she'd be upset because my grandmother and my mother [who died when Francis was in Grade 12] didn't raise me to be any kind of gang [member] or anything like that," he told reporters. "I was just messing around and I guess they just flicked the picture when I was doing that, and that's what happened."

CKNW sports anchor and part-time Province columnist Neil Macrae remained sceptical, however. "If, in all honesty, Francis was just goofing off and having some fun when he made that salute used to signify a hit on a rival gang member, then he's not only naive but also bloody stupid," he wrote. "The scary thing about what Francis did is that he even knew the hand signal in the first place."

As a multibillion-dollar sports-entertainment enterprise, the NBA is keenly aware that its image must remain free of criminal taint, even as the sort of rap music listened to by many of its young stars embraces street gang imagery, lexicon and mentality. "There is a concern, but I think they know they are dealing with young blacks, who are getting younger ever day," says Kerry Eggers, a sports writer for the Portland Oregonian, where he covers the NBA's Trail Blazers. "Younger kids are...the era of the gangster mentality, and so I think among the [NBA] hierarchy in New York they are concerned about that."

The bottom line is money, and in Francis' case, he is now set to sign a contract guaranteeing him US$2.5 million this coming season and US$9 million over three years. Enthused the six-foot-three guard about his new team, "This is a place where we can make a name for ourselves in history." BCR

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