AND NOW A WORD FROM ME

By: B

There’s a strong likelihood you’ve gotten your fill of the saga surrounding the epic NBA brawl between Detroit fans and the Indiana Pacers. Me, I can’t get enough of it. I’ve watched the clips dozens of times, discussed it with everyone within earshot, and read everything I could find. I haven’t written anything about it yet, so bear with me.

By all measures, this was the most enthralling sports moment I can remember. I was at a bar with old college buddies and we all but fell to our knees in astonishment when we saw the highlights. We were standing on the edge of a packed dance floor, our backs to the crowd as we stared at the television screen as if it was showing the Paris Hilton sex tape. Throughout the weekend, we remained captivated with every additional viewing.

Though the magnitude of the brutality was completely stunning, I sort of felt like something like this was going to happen sooner or later. The abuse from fans has gotten increasingly cruel recently, and it only seemed a matter of time that an athlete would lose his cool and fight back. And when the proximity of fans and players combines with a heated rivalry (not to mention the insane Ron Artest), maybe this wasn’t such a surprising episode after all.

Discussions of the brawl have now evolved into debates of the suspension lengths. While the extent of the punishments has only been mildly debated (some have complained that Ben Wallace deserved more than six games because he started the riot, but he shouldn’t be blamed for the actions of the fans), much of the discussion has involved Ron Artest’s 72-game suspension (a.k.a. the rest of the season). It was an unprecedented amount of time – almost three times as lengthy as Vernon Maxwell’s 25-game suspension for clocking a fan in 1995 – but it was also an unprecedented lack of self-control.

While the length of suspension is more than I’d predicted, I don’t have a problem with it. Something has to be done to show the players that Artest’s actions can never be repeated, and a long suspension can only be viewed as a step in the right direction. This was an isolated incident, but it’s been brewing for quite a while.

Artest has been labeled a scapegoat (the Martha Stewart of the NBA), but who better to make an example of than him? Not only did Artest completely pummel fans, but he pummeled the wrong fans. This is an important note, and it illustrates just how dangerous he is. No one should feel scared about sitting in the first few rows of an NBA game.

Which isn’t to say Artest’s actions were 100% unjustified. The behavior of the fans was completely wrong. They act as if they’re invincible, abusing athletes as much as they see fit. People forget that just because an athlete learns to ignore the constant taunting doesn’t make it acceptable. I can look past a little good-natured ribbing here and there, but the actions by the Detroit fans were downright appalling.

The police should have arrested anyone who threw anything on the court that night, and should continue to do so from here on out. No questions asked, no discussions, no exceptions – if you throw something on the court, you’ll get arrested. If anyone complains about your actions – athletes, coaches or other fans – you’re kicked out of the building. Handmade signs with negative messages shouldn’t be allowed because they are a particularly pathetic cry for attention. Trying to weed out the fans who take the game too seriously would be an effort in futility, but punishing them isn’t out of the question. This goes beyond cheering for sports; the fans who threw beers and dumped popcorn on players represent a problem with the entire social fabric.

The extreme disciplinary actions handed out by David Stern should deter future players from behaving in the same way, but until consequences are given to the fans, only half the problem will be solved.

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