Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Fan’s Fighting Players, What’s Next?
I’m sure we all have heard or remember when Ron Artest from the Indiana Pacers ran up into the stands and started a brawl in Detroit’s Palace. There are but a few names from that event ranging from “The Malice at the Palace to Basketbrawl.” “The brawl began with 45.9 seconds remaining in the game, with Indiana leading 97-82. Piston forward/center Ben Wallace drove to the basket and was about to put up a layup when Pacer forward Ron Artest fouled him.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacers-Pistons_brawl The fans of Detroit didn’t agree with the foul because it was a hard foul but also because Indiana had virtually no chance of losing. So there really was no reason for it. All of a sudden a fan threw a beer at Artest and it landed right on him. He then looked around and ran up into the stands and started fighting fans. After that it became mayhem and players were running around punching everyone. It could have been deadly but luckily no one was seriously injured. My argument is that I don’t think the NBA has enough security but also I don’t think they have informed fan’s enough what they can and cannot do. We all have our pride for our teams but throwing garbage at players is not tolerable. I think the NBA needs to come up with some sort of a plan for when these things happen. I think bolting down the chairs that are behind the basket is one thing because throwing chairs can be very serious. Also I think more undercover police or some sort of security should be there sitting in the front row on all sides of the court in case something like this happens again. I just don’t want something like that to happen again and only this time a little kid gets hurt because of some fan or players pride. These kinds of things need to be thought about in a serious manner because maybe the next victim of a six foot nine player could be you.
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3 comments:
You make some great points Hammersmith and I completely agree with your main message that more security needs to be brought to the NBA. This event was ridiculous and I remember watching it on ESPN the night it happened. I was in shock to say the least. This was an embarrassment for the game of basketball. I remember thinking what kind of message does this send to the youth and future NBA players. I think having undercover police sitting behind the bench of both teams is a great idea because when something unexpected happens like this again, the league is already prepared. I think more security surrounding the court in the front row would also be appropriate to possibly help prevent these intolerable actions. The NBA should do more to help prevent and to help cease inexcusable actions from taking place by players and fans before someone seriously gets hurt.
You have a great point of view but I think you are missing some information. Almost every professional sports league has a fan conduct policy. Even more so each venue seams to have its own policy. I remember when there even used to be a court below Veterans stadium for fans who crossed the line. Being as though it was one of a kind and it was in Philly it was no suprise. But I do think that Teams should say the rules breify before a game. If teams drag them out to much people are not going to listen. In the end though people make up their own minds which cant be really controlled. Teams should just publicize and advertise good behavior/and or use a one strike rule, one miss hap and you cant attend the event/events for a long or indefinite period of time.
Nick, I agree with what you are saying when the NBA needs more security. This was one of the craziest things I have ever seen and it was a big image killer for the NBA. The NBA is not the same anymore when you can just go to the game and enjoy yourself. You have to be worried about hiring extra security because anything can happen. Over the years fights have only been between the people on the court and now that it has spilled into the stands it has become madness. I also agree with the idea of the undercover cops. If these incidents occur then it can be neutralized like that and then it can be resolved. The one thing that needs to be enforced more is the behavior of the fans. This whole thing occured because fans think they can do whatever they want these days because they bought a ticket. There should be more responsibility placed on the fans and they should be aware of their actions. The NBA needs to look into stricter policies so that this will never happen again.
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