November 19, 2004 is a day I will not forget as it was one day before the Cal - Stanford Big Game and I was at Beckets in Berkeley with some friends as this happened.
What has been called "The NBA Brawl" is described as the most terrible on court event in NBA history. Larry Brown called it "the ugliest thing I've ever seen as coach or player."
Wikipedia had this text:
The game was broadcast on ESPN, with Mike Breen calling the game alongside former NBA great Bill Walton. Breen's call of the event after Artest was hit by the beer:
"Now Artest has jumped over the scorers' table, and is trying to get down to the bench! Artest is in the stands! Oh, this is awful! Fans are getting involved! Stephen Jackson's in the fans! Rasheed Wallace going into the stands! The security's trying to somehow restore order! Fans and players are going at it, and the players are trying to help each other out!"
Added Walton: "This is a disgrace."
Walton's description of the incident as the Pacers were escorted to their locker room:
"This is a low moment in NBA history."
To me the brawl is an example of almost everything that's wrong with the NBA, from the lack of security at events, to the extremely permissive set of rules the players work under. It's also an example of how unruly our society has become, as fans really contributed to the action out there, and not in a good way. Watch the video carefully. You will see more fans throwing drinks at players and generally coming apart at the seams.
Indeed, it still continues today: witness the ejection of a fan for racist comments. I'm glad he was kicked out, but why did he do it anyway?
One image will always stand out from this: Ron Artest going into the stands like a wild man.
Here's the video:
No comments:
Post a Comment