On Rioting
Originally published at The Prodigal Blogger. You can comment here or there.
By now, I’ve seen the Pacers/Pistons riot about a dozen times. It was so odd…when I READ about it, my first reaction was “awesome”. Why? Probably because it seemed…well, typical. In hind sight, I should have known better. Once I saw it, I was shocked. I’ve never seen anything like that. Todd Bertuzzi cheap shotted an opponent from behind and took him down to the ice. Marty McSorley stick checked a guy in the head from behind. Frank Francisco threw a chair into the stands. Latrell Sprewell choked his coach. What Ron Artest did tonight was worse than any of them. Yes, he was provoked. But I see that as no excuse. First of all, he should have known much better than to even THINK of running into the crowd. But the fact that he did…well, I look at it this way:
When a player runs on the field in a sporting event, he/she is leaving his/her own space and entering the athletes’. This in and of itself is a danger to both parties. However, when these actions begin with the wanton intent of violence (i.e. Tom Gamboa), it becomes a battlefield. When the roles are reversed, the danger is increased. the stands have a lot more people. Those people are often weaker and younger, often even children. I remember seeing Artest run right past a girl that couldn’t have been older than about 12 years old that he, without even thinking, could have trampled. I remember seeing an elderly woman being helped up who looked like she had been trampled. I can find no word for this, other than inexcusable. Actually, I can think of more…but that’s probably the nicest.
That’s not to say that Mr. Artest solely bears the blame. What he started was finished by the Pistons’ fans. I’m really not sure what to say about them. They’re asses. They’re probably the worst fans I’ve ever seen - at least the ones who chose to “represent” their fan base, anyway. Sure, there’s a rivalry between these teams. Some tension is to be expected. Of course, this goes far beyond tension and into madness. I just can’t comprehend what compelled any of these people to allow this. My hope is that this will set a precedent…the people most responsible will bear the highest burden. Hopefully, the punishment from the NBA will be the biggest they’ve ever handed out. It seems warranted, certainly. I think this tirade has run its course…which is too bad, because I was just getting into it. Oh well. I’m fairly certain that as long as I am a living, breathing person, I will never, EVER run out of things to complain about. Thank God for blogs.
EDIT: For those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about in this rant, follow this link:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=1927380