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DEL.ICIO.USThere’s no reason to go into stands — ever
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Terence Moore
Once again, here is a message to all of the knuckleheads out there:
Shy of somebody holding your loved ones at gun point or an extraterrestrial threatening to zap a family member or a close friend to Mars, you have no justification as a professional athlete to sprint into the stands.
None. Zero. Zilch.
That’s No. 1.
As for No. 2., virtually nothing is unprecedented.
Contrary to popular belief, ranging from those still wringing their hands over Philadelphia fans spilling beer on the mother of Washington Redskins’ Clinton Portis to this silliness involving Antonio Davis, folks have encountered The Abusive Fan (verbally, physically or both) forever. It’s just that athletes and most of their acquaintances once understood that the way to respond to The Abusive Fan is not to become The Drama King.
“I think these guys are more sensitive now than they were before, because they don’t have the patience with the fans that we used to have, I guess,” said Tony Perez by phone on Friday from his home in Puerto Rico. He’s the Hall of Fame slugger who starred on Cincinnati’s fabled Big Red Machine.
I called Perez, because his Reds experienced more than a few hostile moments that were underreported during that pre-ESPN era. Since those Reds were so dominating in the 1970s, they produced a mixture of jealousy and anger among opposing fans.
It also didn’t help matters that those Reds had Pete Rose whose belly-sliding, fist-pumping style turned the team into a target for boos and debris.
“Not one time did Pete try to go into the stands after somebody. No, never,” Perez said, before adding with a chuckle, “Unlike what’s happening now with players, Pete wouldn’t have had to fight one guy. It always was a bunch of them, so he wasn’t crazy.”
That’s in contrast to the slew of those in the post-Big Red Machine era who are nuts when it comes to these needless confrontations with fans. Take Antonio Davis, for instance. Earlier this week at Chicago’s United Center, he saw his wife, Kendra, jawing with a Bulls fan in the crowd. He bolted from the New York Knicks bench, leaped the scorer’s table and rushed to the scene. It was a riot waiting to happen, but things stayed calm. This time. Davis was suspended by the NBA for five games without pay, but his penalty should have been twice that much — for stupidity, if nothing else.
After the knee-jerk support of Davis for supposedly trying to protect his wife from a drunk, witnesses said that the fan wasn’t intoxicated, and that the fan was just cheering so fervently for his team that Kendra didn’t like it. The fan said he will sue the Davises, who said they will not apologize. Good. Maybe that will reverse this epidemic that hopefully reached its zenith on Nov. 19, 2004. That’s when the Indianapolis Pacers’ Ron Artest triggered a brawl in Detroit by charging into the stands after he was plunked by a cup filled with liquid from a Pistons’ fan.
But back to those Reds and a potentially explosive situation that many have forgotten or never knew. In the fifth and decisive game of the 1973 National League Championship Series, the New York Mets were three outs away at Shea Stadium from a pennant. Mets fans poured down the aisles in anticipation of storming the field, and along the way, some terrorized the large contingent of Reds family members and team personnel sitting behind the visitors’ dugout.
“They were pulling on the hair of women, and somebody got his coat torn. It was very scary,” said Bob Howsam, the Reds general manager back then, recalling the horror on Friday over the phone from his home in Sun City, Ariz.
In other words, those Reds players were more justified to jump into the stands than Davis, Artest and the rest. Instead, they showed restraint as Howsam had the group flee from their seats to a spot inside of the Reds’ dugout. He asked a group of New York police officers for assistance to a safer place.
“I’ll never forget how the three or four of them responded,” Howsam said. “They told me, ‘We’re here to protect the bats.’ I’m still angry about that. In hindsight, I should have pulled our guys off the field and forfeited the game.”
Not a bad option. Better than having a Reds knucklehead or three trying to battle New York’s wildest.
Permalink | Comments (16) | Categories: Hawks / NBA, Terence Moore
Comments
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By Larry
January 20, 2006 08:38 PM | Link to this
Wow Mr Moore, I agree 100%. Im still not exactly sure how you worked the Big Red Machine into it, but hey, I guess it worked. A lot of the sports radio guys today were very sympathetic to Davis; like you though I just don’t buy it.
By DavidU
January 20, 2006 09:00 PM | Link to this
I’m not sure if it was right or wrong what Davis did in Chicago, all I know is that understand why he did it, and if in his same position, I’m doing the same thing. Riot or no riot someone is going to have to fight me before they try to lay their hands on my wife or kids in any type of threatening manner.
Good blog though Mr. Moore.
By Bill Robinson
January 20, 2006 09:36 PM | Link to this
If I am making the big league bucks, I’ll have a reliable bodyguard(s) in the seat(s) next to my wife, not go up there risking myself, her and our livelihood. good comments Mr. moore.
By NBA player
January 20, 2006 10:56 PM | Link to this
What?!? I thought if some guy looks at my wife cross-eyed I have the green light to do whatever I want!!! I’m in the NBA; rules don’t apply to me!!!!
By brewerfaninATL
January 20, 2006 10:59 PM | Link to this
I agree wholeheartedly, Mr. Moore!
By doc
January 20, 2006 11:46 PM | Link to this
id be going into the stands but wishing right now for a gracious way to resolve it by my wife standing up to her responsibility and apologizing for her role in it. as usual two wrongs dont make a right as it only leads to escalation. at some poin, how silly it may sound but it could have been a time where mama teaches … sticks and stones … type of lesson to her children instead of the in your face stuff.
i hope the league comes to his aid and impresses upon his wife of how “incorporate” her role was and she needs to make amends. that would be their best support of the player as well as a good pr ploy.
By Willie
January 21, 2006 01:10 AM | Link to this
Kendra needs to apologize and act like a lady. I bet she got in free and the fan paid 95$ for his seat. I hope the fan wins his case. Another great article Mr. MOORE!
By Ken Stallings
January 21, 2006 01:21 AM | Link to this
Why doesn’t the NBA simply adopt a policy of placing family members of the visiting team in a reserved section of the arena? For all the image consciousness and security awareness the league professes, it seems a common sense solution.
An even better option would be to reserve a luxury box, but of course no team is going to surrender that much revenue.
Ken
By JustAFan
January 21, 2006 07:45 AM | Link to this
Let me get this right, “there’s no reason to go into the stands—ever!!” In these times where we are bombarded with messages of “family values”, “personal responsibility”, etc. You knock a man that values his family and wants to be personally responsible for them while he is at work. I would think less of a man that put team and sport second to family. I applaud Antonio Davis for coming to the aid of his wife and son. I also applaud him for the restraint he showed when confronting the abusive fan. Most of us go to the game and cheer for our respective team but there are jerks out there that are looking to cause a confrontation with young millioniare athletes because they know they are easy targets. They also know that in the court of public opinion a lot of people will pile on with a great deal of negative coverage, an example is this hack Terence Moore. All of this can result in a lawsuit being filed and some quick easy money for the plaintiff. One more thing Moore and so many of these other columnists miss is going into the stands is not a new phenomena. Baseball players have done it and so have hockey players. Most have done so under the cover of the “I was protecting my teammate” excuse. Maybe they were right, maybe not but I won’t knock them for trying to protect their teammate and I won’t knock Davis for protecting his family. Moore what would you do if you saw some guy bullying your wife and kid? Stand back and call for security? I agree with DavidU, if you assault or confront my wife and child thats where I step in and I don’t care if would be in the stands or on the court.
By hawks numba 1 fan
January 21, 2006 11:00 AM | Link to this
Mr Moore you are so wrong when any Family Member is in a sticky situation you have to come to their rescue forget the rules , family comes first and he put family first and his job 2nd i’m sure he has enough money to take care of his family for a long time so he was’nt worried about that he would have felt like less of a man if he did’nt do something no man or woman is going to just sit back and watch something happen to their husband or wife you have to be crazy , FAMILY COMES FIRST, AND YOUR JOB IS ALWAYS 2ND.
By A Guy
January 21, 2006 02:26 PM | Link to this
Your point is weak. Very weak If your wife was getting harassed what would you do? Wait on another man to defend her? That is crazy. Many of you commentators just tow the party line of the NBA brass. This is a no brainer.
By RZM
January 21, 2006 04:10 PM | Link to this
Wow, I can’t believe that we got through nine whole comments without race coming up. One time for tolerance!
By DavidU
January 21, 2006 04:17 PM | Link to this
The problem with waiting for Team security to go and do something is that, The Knicks bodyguard was at that moment in the dressing room, having just escorted Maurice Taylor to the locker-room after being ejected. I think Scoop Jackson said it best “If you’re driving your wife to the hospital and her water breaks on the way, you’re going to run that red light and accept the consequences.”
Davis did what he thought as a man was right, and now is getting docked $700,000 for his actions, and he’s accepting the consequences.
By DavidU
January 21, 2006 04:33 PM | Link to this
By the way, that’s more of an issue actually, that in 5 games he makes $700,000, and is not even an integral player for the Knicks, just a veteran presence. I hope my kids are really tall and athletic.
By Brad
January 21, 2006 05:39 PM | Link to this
Has anyone given the kid any grief? He is the spoiled son of a prominent politician in Chicago. What a punk kid to file a lawsuit. He said he had “one glass of wine at dinner.” I am also 22 years old and one glass of wine doesn’t make me confrontational with women. Clearly the kid was drunk and showed that he has absolutely ZERO class.
By gary
January 22, 2006 12:46 AM | Link to this
My God, someone actually referenced Snoop Jackson in an above comment!!!!