Almost an RW thread

Gonz

Gonz

molṑn labé
Staff member
First the award show, now an NBA game. When will people get it that they are not part of the act?

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - Indiana's Ron Artest and Stephen Jackson charged into the stands and fought with fans in the final minute of their game against the Detroit Pistons (news) on Friday night, forcing an early end to the Pacers' 97-82 win.


AP Photo



The game was stopped with 45.9 seconds remaining when a pushing and shoving between the teams spilled into the stands after fans began throwing things at the players near the scorer's table.


"It's the ugliest thing I've seen as a coach or player," Pistons coach Larry Brown said.


After several minutes of players fighting with fans in the stands, the Pacers were pelted with beer, ice, and popcorn as they made their way to the locker room in one of the scariest brawls in an NBA game.


The Palace announcer said the game was being stopped and pleaded with fans not to throw things.
Click to expand...
 
While I certainly understand the players' anger, I think they should not be throwing punches at anyone, let alone fans who can turn around and sue the team and the NBA. There either needs to be better security at these events or more distance placed between participants and observers. At no point, however, should athletes take it upon themselves to mete out justice. It's bad for sports. I think those guys should be fined and/or suspended.
 
NEW YORK — The NBA suspended Ron Artest (search), Jermaine O'Neal and Stephen Jackson of Indiana and Ben Wallace (search) of Detroit on Saturday for taking part in one of the ugliest brawls in U.S. sports history.

The suspensions were indefinite, and the league was still investigating Friday night's melee, which commissioner David Stern called "shocking, repulsive and inexcusable — a humiliation for everyone associated with the NBA."
Click to expand...

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,139169,00.html
 
Anyone remember the Dodgers getting into it with Cubs fans at Wrigley after someone swiped one of their pitcher's hats? How about Tom Gamboa on the south side of town? While the players may be somewhat to blame, it isn't their entire fault. If the fans were throwing stuff on the court (I didn't see it nor even hear much about it so far) they should've stopped the game right there and warn and clean up, send the players to the locker room if necessary to get them out of there. Unless the players were hurt by what was thrown, retaliation should've never happened.
 
I'm not standing up for the players, heck, I actually hate basketball altogher, but, let's really think about who started this. No, it was not the players. It's was the beligerant fuck wads in the stands with enough alcohol in them to make them think they were invincible. People can only take so much pressure. Think about it. Maybe you think a guy who earns x amount of dollars a year needs to be like this or that. Now ask yourself the same question. Can you perform under this kind of pressure? Unless you can say you can and do, you really don't have a whole lot of room to say much. These guys get this crap all year long, year after year, on and off the court. It's the same thing in most any other sport. The fans are more like children, both in the way the act in addition to their mentality.
 
Anyone else notice that security at NBA games is much less than any other major sport here, despite being probably the easiest playing area to get into from the stands? How long did it take for any security to show up at all in any of those scenes? Hell, a lot of the security for the game was outside directing traffic like they do for all the games when it gets to be near the end.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top