Thuggery Invades Basketball (Joe Gandelman)
Joe Gandelman
Can someone please tell me (the comment boxes will be fine) what is happening to American "sports?" We have to put the word "sports" in quotes because it increasingly resembles life-and-death-struggles laced with violence. And then we wonder about violence in schools.
Just look at this — and try and JUSTIFY it:
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) — Fists were flying. So were cups, plastic bottles and even a chair in one of the ugliest NBA brawls ever — and Indiana's Ron Artest was right in the middle of it.
Artest and Stephen Jackson charged into the stands and fought with fans in the final minute of their game against the Detroit Pistons on Friday night, and the brawl forced an early end to the Pacers' 97-82 win.
This brings a new meaning to "interacting with the fans." When I was a kid (centuries ago) we felt lucky if we could see an athlete or a movie star from afar. Now you get to experience them punching you in the mouth, pushing your, or kicking you in the you-know-what's. But we disgress from this uplifting story:
Officials stopped the game with 45.9 seconds remaining after pushing and shoving between the teams spilled into the stands once fans got involved by throwing things at the players near the scorer's table.
"It's the ugliest thing I've seen as a coach or player," said Pistons coach Larry Brown, who was in the middle of the confrontation, trying to break it up.
After several minutes of players fighting with fans in the stands, a chair, beer, ice, and popcorn were thrown at the Pacers as they made their way to the locker room in one of the scariest brawls in an NBA game.
"I felt like I was fighting for my life out there," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. "I'm sorry the game had to end this way."
The Palace announcer said the game was being stopped and pleaded with fans not to throw things.
The police are looking into it and there are no injuries. How did it start? By a hotheaded athletes who don't suffer severe consequences for their violent, nonsportsman-like actions. Rather than be role models for kids, parents should cover their kids' eyes when these brawlers who happen to be playing a sport come on their TV screens:
It all started when Detroit's Ben Wallace went in for a layup and was fouled hard by Artest from behind, and escalated when Artest stormed into the stands after being hit by a full cup.
After being fouled, Wallace wheeled around and pushed Artest in the face. The benches emptied and punches were thrown.
As the players continued shoving each other near center court and coaches tried to restore order, Artest sprawled out on his back on the scorer's table, looking relaxed.
Just when it appeared tempers had died down, Artest was struck by a cup and beverage thrown from the stands. He jumped up, and charged into the stands, throwing punches as he climbed over seats.Fans were punching back, and Jackson and another teammate joined Artest in the melee.
A d-i-s-g-r-a-c-e. So, DW's readers, what is going on with American sports??
UPDATE: You can get more details by going here. Lots of good links.
UPDATE II: The NBA has suspended three Pacers and one Piston as a result of the brawl.
I agree with Hall of Famer Bill Walton. Pro athletes get paid top dollar to show restraint.
They also get fined top dollar when they don't. This one should be a dandy.
It would be nice if we had kept our backward American values of sportsmanship, but I believe that the widespread publicity of athletic and fanatic thugs in Europe by the MSM is leading to the idea that it is an okay thing to be a thug here.
“…I am convinced that sports are
out of whack in the American society;
that the emphasis placed upon sports
distorts the real values of life and often
produce mass behavior patterns that
are downright frightening; and that the
uplifting benefits of sports have become
a murky blur in the morass of hypocrisy and
contradiction."
Plus, those teams couldn't buy this type of publicity. The next time they play, the ratings will be through the roof. Oh, and all those fines that players pay, go to charity. While the fines don't amount to a large percentage of a players salary, suspension from a game is more costly in terms of money.
Football, hockey, basketball--these are just excuses for men to beat each up in public without getting arrested--but they don't want to admit that. I had a football player *swear* to me once that he loved football for the strategy. I snorted. Of *course* football's all about beating the crap out of the other guy. It's a socially acceptable way for a man to release his aggressive tendencies. If you want an intellectual game, go play chess.
I also respect *useful* sports more than useless ones like football. If I were in a life-or-death situation, I'd rather be with someone who'd studied martial arts, or fencing, or running, or swimming--not baseball. Those sports teach skills with real-life applications.
As you can tell, I'm not much for organized sports. :P
If these guys lack the ability to restrain themselves then perhaps they need another incentive. I think it would be different if they went into a game knowing that this kind behavior could end their sports careers instantly and forever.
Players and coaches who cannot control themselves are not punished. Neither by significant fines or suspensions from the league nor by the public or the press with meaningful condemnation. Even those who are fired are quickly hired by other teams.
There is no real consequence for it.
You get what you pay for.
There's a huge differene in today's era since
pro-sports players start pumping iron in high school and before. Example today's football linemen can destroy a quarterback in one play.
Last night's fracas also involved players attacking people in the stands.
NBA suspends Artest for season; eight others punished for brawl
"Ron Artest was suspended for the rest of the season Sunday as the NBA came down hard on three members of the Indiana Pacers for fighting with fans when a melee broke out at the end of a game against the Detroit Pistons.
Overall, nine players from the teams were banned for more than 140 games, including some of the harshest penalties the league ever issued. Artest is the first player to be suspended for nearly an entire season for a fight during a game."