Although Kesha Nichols has recently announced that she won’t be returning to Basketball Wives next season, it’s clear that she certainly has a lot of other options. Although the dancer was a victim of bullying by Tami Roman this season, it seemed that Nichols came out on top with nationwide support for an anti-bullying campaign. It was certainly the most controversial season of Basketball Wives yet.

Nichols stopped by the Madame Noire offices in New York to clear up dating rumors, weigh in on the fairness of editing, and if she really accepts Tami’s apology.

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The bully we hate to love, Tami Roman, was on The Wendy Williams Show recently to discuss not only the Basketball Wives brouhaha , but to also announce her latest acting project. She didn’t disclose what exactly it was all about but apparently it’s something big.  Although BBW never went into what Tami actually did for a living before reality stardom, IMDB tells the tale of her being a struggling actress. We found this early clip of her wayyyy back in the day in 1994, acting alongside Hill Harper. She said about three words in her debut as an actress, but hey, she got paid.

Peep Tami acting at the at 8:23 mark.

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With all the reality television being served to us on platter, it’s no wonder that talk of bullies has become more and more common in the circles of adult women. They’re no longer just lurking on schoolyards, folks. Some bullies don’t grow up (mentality wise, but they do age), and in fact, you can find them not only on TV (hey Tami), but at your job, or even in your circle of friends (*gasp*). They might pick on you a little, or they might make it their mission to spend their every waking moment talking to you crazy and treating you like something they scraped off of their shoe. These individuals could even be you. If you were wondering what are a few things that make someone an adult bully, we’ve got a few examples for you.

• You’re irrational as hell: A bully truly wouldn’t be a bully if they didn’t run around making the least amount of sense possible. They might tell you, “Don’t talk about me behind my back!” but will run around and talk about you to someone else like you are dirt in the road. The concept of “treat people how you want to be treated” doesn’t apply to them because that’s no fun. They would rather make your workday or your life a living hell by acting as though whatever small thing you may have done (but real talk, you probably didn’t do anything at all…) warrants them trashing your name to anyone who will listen.

• Confrontation is your best friend: There’s no reasoning with a grown up bully. You can’t have a real conversation with this person without them yelling at the top of their lungs, pointing their finger in your face or acting like a fight will ensue. The reality of the situation though, is that in most cases, the bully’s bark is bigger than their bite. They just want to jump in your face and think you’ll go cowering in a corner so they can have a reason to treat you badly and “keep you in line.” Intimidation is what a bully thrives off of, so instead of talking to you about what their beef is, they’d rather exchange your name for the b-word and make everyone think they’re tough.

• Your victims are always people who won’t fight back: Remember how I just said, “Intimidation is what a bully thrives off of”? Well, it’s true. As long as they feel that you fear them, they will continue to come at your head when they really need to be putting themselves in check. However, the minute you step up to them and let them know there’s just so much you’re going to take from them (or lay hands on them–but I really don’t recommend that), then they leave you be. You have to stand up for yourself and let folks know they aren’t as big and bad as they would like to be to get them to back down.

• You’re MAD insecure (and sensitive): It really doesn’t take much to set a bully off. Leave them out of a conversation, don’t invite them to a party (because they’re crazy), or spend a lot of time with their friends and they’re ready to lash out. Bullies like to be the center of attention or be in the midst of everyone’s business. When they’re not, that’s when they start to get moody. They think everyone’s talking about them (even when no one is worried about them), and when they want what you have (a man, the materialistic goods you tote around, etc.), they tend to diss you for it. As tough as a bully tries to act, sometimes they have deep-seeded issues and emotional problems that cause them to act out. But that doesn’t make their poor treatment of others right, of course.

• You try to embarrass people in public: Whether this is the co-worker who tries to blast you about your work ethic in front of others, the boss who tries to yell at you in meetings in front of everyone, or the person who critiques your outfit in front of all of your friends, bullies like to make you into a spectacle. It’s already annoying that they do it in general, but there’s something very uncool about trying to play people in front of other people.  It could be that they’re trying to make other people think less of you, or in reverse, maybe they think belittling someone for their own entertainment will make them look big and bad. Whatever their reasoning, it’s dead wrong. Karma is a bad Mamma Jamma, so if this bully is you, cut it out and grow up.

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I love it. The weekly ratchedness and overly-dramatic woman-on-woman violence that is Basketball Wives. The show is as entertaining as it is irrational. Seven non-Basketball wives thrust into a forced social circle, who throw bottles of champagne at one another over such trivial accusations questions like “why you talking about me behind my back??” To which another less ratchet non-mother effin factor will respond “Uhhhm…cuz that’s the only way the producers will sign my check.” It’s all good because in reality tv land, nothing makes sense although we’d like to think that it should. These are the questions that pop up over and over again as I watch Basketball Wives.

**all photos courtesy of VH1

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Drama, drama, drama, was the overall theme of the hour long season premiere of VH-1’s Basketball Wives. From Evelyn’s ‘non-motherf*#king factor’ tee-shirts that caused Tami to go ballistic, to Royce’s usual backbiting, if you were looking for some serious reality show drama, last night’s episode definitely didn’t disappoint.

The whole crew (Shaunie, Jennifer, Royce, Tami, Evelyn, and Susi) are all back with a new edition, Meeka, who is the wife of former NBA player Will Speedy Claxton. Meeka who seemingly tried too hard to fit in, wasted no time engaging in the high school backbiting; and honestly I think she had all the girls beat, as she intentionally added to the ongoing beef between Royce and Evelyn. Her first introduction with Evelyn consisted of her backbiting Royce, whom she had met earlier for brunch.

Besides Royce, Evelyn also had an enemy in Tami after she found out about Evelyn’s latest business venture selling ‘non-motherf*#king factor’ tee-shirts, the phrase that was coined during her fight with Tami last season.

Tami immediately confronted Evelyn, who offered to give Tami’s charity organization for girls a portion of the proceeds. You may insert your blank stare here.  Of course Tami denied such a ridiculous offering, emphasizing that her charity organization didn’t want to be a part of something so negative. I’m not sure what Tami considers her and the other girls’ actions on the show to be… but, oh well.

Still Tami hits Evelyn with a lawsuit that is just as irrelevant and as much of a non-mutherf*#king factor as the tee-shirts. She barges into Evelyn’s boutique, Dulce, and of course the scene turns ugly as the two exchange words and come close to a physical altercation.

Although quite entertaining with the back to back drama, after about 30 minutes into the show the immaturity of such beautiful, over 30 year old women, starts to become redundant and silly. Still, be prepared for even more drama as the season unfolds.

Did you catch this season’s first show? What were your thoughts?

First of all, can we just address the randomness that is John Salley hosting the “Basketball Wives Reunion?” I get it, he’s an ex-NBA player, but still…random. This second part of the reunion special  brought on a couple extra ladies and of course more drama. Check out some of the more interesting quotes from the show!