Print

Email story

Comment

Letter to the editor

Make next target boors in the seats

By JOHN ROMANO
Published November 23, 2004

Men behaving badly

Crossing the line John Romano: Make next target boors in the seats

[AP photo] Ron Artest, who was suspended for the rest of this NBA season.

[AP photo] A fan tosses a bottle at players after the Pacers-Pistons brawl in Detroit.

credit Clemson running back Yusef Kelly, right, kicks an unidentified South Carolina player in the head during a fourth-quarter brawl after Lou Holtz' final game as coach.

The message was sent and, presumably, received.

Ron Artest has been suspended for a season, and every other NBA player now knows the consequences of stepping into the bleachers with malice in mind.

But please, David Stern, don't stop there.

Don't tell me other penalties are under advisement. Don't insinuate further measures will be taken.

Send the message today.

Pistons owner Bill Davidson should be fined immediately. If Artest is to lose $5-million in salary, that sounds fair for Davidson, too. And it sends an appropriate message to owners about their obligation to provide security.

Beer sales at the Palace should be suspended indefinitely. If Pacers fans just saw their season go down the drain, Pistons fans should suffer, too. And it sends an appropriate message to fans about acceptable behavior.

Is that unrealistic?

Yeah, probably.

Is it an overreaction?

I don't think so.

This problem is serious, and it is growing. If you saw the footage of children crying, of elderly fans knocked to the ground, of a chair flying above heads, you know Friday night's brawl could have been much worse.

You know that it is only a matter of time before a heart attack or a fractured skull is the result of one of these episodes. And if it takes jaw-dropping penalties to get people's attention, then so be it.

Look, most of us can agree Artest acted like a hooligan. He was hit with a cup of beer. His life was not in danger, and his pride was the only thing wounded. His violent reaction did not fit the provocation.

So, yes, his seasonlong suspension is appropriate. It was important for Stern, the NBA commissioner, to make clear that players should be held responsible for their conduct.

But punishing a few knuckleheads, such as Artest and his teammates, does not address the larger issue.

Ballparks and arenas are being overrun by unsavory fans. Too many loudmouths, too much cursing and, more and more, too much violence.

A coach is attacked by two fans at a baseball game in Chicago and suffers permanent hearing loss. A year later, in nearly the same spot, an umpire is attacked by another fan. An outfielder in Oakland is hit in the back of the head with a cell phone. Fans throw thousands of bottles at players and referees after a controversial call at a football game in Cleveland. A Texas pitcher throws a chair at an unruly fan in Oakland.

You might argue these are isolated incidents. Or you might wonder if they are happening frequently enough to be called a trend.

Is it fair to hold Davidson - who also owns the Tampa Bay Lightning - responsible for the behavior of fans in his arena? No. But you can say he is responsible for providing a safe atmosphere in the building.

And on that count, the Pistons failed miserably.

Stern defended team management by saying no security force can stop a rampaging mob of 20,000. That's a cop-out. First of all, it wasn't 20,000 stampeding fans. It was more like a few dozen idiots. Second, from televised footage, there did not appear to be even a minimal amount of security.

Trust me, a large security force does wonders to curtail fan stupidity. I've been on college football fields where fans were allowed to run wild after a victory. And I've been on fields where the security force was so overwhelming, not even the drunkest fool risked jumping the wall.

What is the downside to increased security? There is none, other than an additional expense to the owners. And when you are charging fans $6 for a cup of beer and $5 for a cold pretzel, you can afford to pay for more security. In fact, you have an obligation to provide that security.

As for fans themselves, they must also accept responsibility. And that includes those of us who condone aberrant behavior by looking the other way.

We can begin with alcohol, since it does seem to be the common thread. So if fans are getting rowdy in one section of a stadium, then keep beer vendors out of there. If the problems escalate, then ban beer for an entire game.

If your enjoyment of a beer is threatened because of the drunk in the next row, you might be more inclined to report the offender to security. And that type of peer pressure can be an effective deterrent.

Really, this isn't a tough call. Owners in every sport should be made aware that their commissioners are going to hold them responsible for security. And fans in every city should realize providing beer is not an inalienable right.

It's easy to look at Artest and call him a thug. And it's easy for Stern to say he acted swiftly and decisively in sending a message.

But the problem is larger than one hothead.

And owners and fans need to be held accountable, too.

That's a message that needs to be sent.

[Last modified November 23, 2004, 00:11:15]