Just another reason I'm not into basketball!!!!

I largely agree with you, but honestly, what would you have done if hit in the face with a bottle/cup of beer?

Do you mean as an athlete or ordinary joe?
I'm going to assume athlete and say I would have brushed it off and try to finger the guy for security or a midnight visit from the boogey man.
Hell, I been in many bars where drinks and tables grew wings but to me those were never reasons for me to get involved.
Hell we get spit on and called all kinds of names, (not as much as in the past) but there is a time and place for everything and that definetly wasn't it. Besides they don't even know who threw the cup, they just went on a rampage and gave somebody an early Christmas present
Don't get me wrong there are times if someone crosses the line I will take action, but it has to be legit.

catch

If it was going to cost me 5 Million of my salary I would definitely think of a better way to get back at the punk.

The first rule of the NBA is never go into the stands after the fans, if nothing else I would have sued Detroit for not doing enough to protect me from their drunken fans.

Black players in particular should heed Stern warning

Rush Limbaugh read this article early today around noon. It was written by Jason Whitlock, sports columnist of "The Kansas City Star."

I have the link:

www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/sports/columnists/jason_whitlock/10242339.htm?1c

BTW, Jason Whitlock is a black man. Does that make him correct or the Armstrong Williams of sports?

OC ... I understand what you're saying, but, really, there is very little protection or redress for NBA players against some of those rabid, drunk, insulting, ugly, rude and oftentimes treatening fans that get to sit within 2 feet away from them ..... and then, think they can pay $200.00 for a seat and say and do anything they want because "the player can't come into the stands"!!!

I have been around some of those fanatics ... err, I mean fans (was a Raiders season ticket holder for years! ) and some of them should be thrown out for their behavior past half time!! Artest could have pointed dude out, but he could have only received a pat on the hand and told he had been a bad boy!!

To whoever threw that cup, a punch in the face is exactly what he needed!! Yes, the whole thing was a disgrace, but hopefully in the end, justice will have prevailed.

In case the link doesn't work, I'll write out the article myself.

THE KANSAS CITY STAR
Black players in particular should heed Stern warning
Jason Whitlock

NBA commissioner David Stern sent a message to his players Sunday.

By issuing thre of the harshest penalties in league history -- a 73-game suspension of Ron Artest, 30 games for Stephen Jackson and 25 games for Jermaine O'Neal -- Stern let his players know that the league will aggressively try to clean up its image problem.

For their role in Friday's ugly brawl at Detroit, the Pacers, favorites to represent the East in the NBA finals, received the death penalty. Indiana's season is over. O'Neal, Artest, both All-Stars, and Jackson are Indiana's three best players.

Stern had no choice. TV ratings for the league have been steadily falling since Michael Jordan's heyday. The league's image has been in decline since Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Jordan ruled.

Allen Iverson, Latrell Sprewell, Kobe Bryant, Dream Team failures an embrace of all the negative aspects of the hip-hop culture and a horrid style of play have conspired to make the NBA easy to ignore. By decimating the Pacers and pubicly acknowledging that there has been a lowering of expectations in terms of player (and fan) behavior, Stern made it clear he's not in denial about the NBA's troubles.

I am, however, concerned that the league's players will remain in denial. Surrounded by groupies and yes-men, fortified by multi-million dollar contracts and endorsements deals, it will be easy for NBA players to misinterpret Stern's warning.

In this column, I am calling on my peers in the media to level with NBA players (and all professional athletes) and tell them what's really going on.

American sports fans, particularly those who consistently shell out the hundreds of dollars it takes to attend a professional game, are fed up with black professional basketball players in particular and black professional athletes to a lesser degree.

Yeah, let's cut through all the garbage and get to the real issue. The people paying the bills don't like the product, don't like the attitude, don't like the showboating and don't like the flamboyance. The NBA, which relies heavily on African-American players, is at the forefront of fan backlash. Stern realizes this, and that's why, spurred on the by the Detroit brawl, he is reacting decisively.

What the players must come to grips with is that just because race is an element in the backlash, that doesn't mean the backlash is fueled by racism.

We're witnessing a clash of cultures. A predominantly white fan base is rejecting a predominantly black style of play and sportsmanship.

Who is on the right side of this argument? The group that is always right in a capitalistic society. The customer. That's why Stern, endorsed by his owners, came down hard on the players. He stated that the NBA would take steps to ensure that its fans improved their behavior. But Stern knows the real solutions are in the hands of the players. A good businessman caters to his audience. They don't play country music at my dad's inner-city bar for a reason.

Stern's players must bow to the desires of their fan base.

In general, African-American athletes have always been -- for lack of a better description -- more expressive and flamboyant on the field of play. Go back to the Negro Leagues -- showboating was part of the the entertainment package. The Negro Leagues catered to a predominant black fan base.

We black people, begged for integration. We demanded the right to play in the major leagues, the NBA, the NFL, the NHL. These leagues accommodate a white audience. As long as the customer base is white, the standard for appropriate sportsmanship, style of play and appearance should be set by white people.

This is fair, particularly when the athletes/employees earn millions of dollars and have the freedom to do whatever -- and I mean whatever -- they want when they're not playing or practicing.

If African-American players are unwilling to accept this reality, NBA owners will speed up the internationalization of their team's rosters. Many African-American players with NBA-quality skill will soon find themselves circling the country playing basketball with Hot Sauce and the And 1 Tour while Yao Nowitzski collects a $10 million NBA check.

The black players have no one to blame but themselves.

quote:

---

Originally posted by EbonyRose:
OC ... I understand what you're saying, but, really, there is very little protection or redress for NBA players against some of those rabid, drunk, insulting, ugly, rude and oftentimes treatening fans that get to sit within 2 feet away from them ..... and then, think they can pay $200.00 for a seat and say and do anything they want because "the player can't come into the stands"!!!

I have been around some of those fanatics ... err, I mean fans (was a Raiders season ticket holder for years! ) and some of them should be thrown out for their behavior past half time!! Artest could have pointed dude out, but he could have only received a pat on the hand and told he had been a bad boy!!

To whoever threw that cup, a punch in the face is exactly what he needed!! Yes, the whole thing was a disgrace, but hopefully in the end, justice will have prevailed.

---

IMHO this was bound to happen and there are more people to blame. I agreement with the article Huey posted, people have been letting athletes get away with BS for far too long sending the wrong message to all these other knuckle heads and wanna-bes. They see these professionals get away with drinking and driving, drugs, and in some cases murder , and all they get is a slap on the wrist. I'm sorry but I don't see how someone making 5-6 mill a year is hurt by a 5k fine. Let me screw up and I really don't think I would get to choose when I got to serve my sentence either.
Yes the fans are much to blame as well since the leagues do whatever is necessary to fill the stands and if they (fans) do F**k up, they get a slap on the wrist as well. (ie community service)
Start limiting alcohol and lets see if that cleans up some acts.

catch

quote:

---

Originally posted by Huey:
In case the link doesn't work, I'll write out the article myself.

THE KANSAS CITY STAR
_Black players in particular should heed Stern warning_
Jason Whitlock

...The black players have no one to blame but themselves.

---

Bullshit.

The NBA, and indeed all pro sports, have benefitted greatly from the Black athlete. The NBA, in particular, has always looked the other way when it came to indiscretions of their players - just as long as they continued to entertain. As soon as they were no longer entertaining, they NBA had no more use for them. So the fact that something like what happened in Detroit didn't happen sooner is what I find surprising.

The NBA has allowed fan indiscretions to to fester as well. For a long time fans have been allowed to say and do just about anything to the teams, with no reprecussions, as long as they did not touch the athlete. A well known D.C. area attorney used to buy season tix to the Bullets/Wizards games, right behind the opposing teams bench, and scream at the team - all game long. He was even allowed to bring a megaphone and huge signs into the arena. With some of things he said, he really should have been punched out.

I guess that I am saying that something like the Detroit incedent was bound to happen and now that the "cat is out of the bag" the NBA should not be complaining, they should take responsibility and move forward.

http://msn.foxsports.com/story/3188220

Well, it appears that the guy that started the mess might get paid, but he won't be able to spend it until after he gets out of prison.