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Mon. Nov 22, 2004

Earning Disrespect

When the suspensions were handed down on Sunday as a result of the Pacers-Pistons basketbrawl (see “Cuff ‘Em On The Court”), I turned to Susan and said, “now, let the whining begin.” And boy, has it. There are a significant number of NBA players who are totally hung up on what they call “respect” (though it sounds more like “entitlement” to me). If they feel you’ve disrespected them, they have not just a right but an obligation to beat the hell out of you. And unfortunately, it’s a belief that isn’t limited to the NBA.

In the summer of 1977, I went to an outdoor concert in Winston-Salem, NC, featuring several southern warm up bands (Wet Willie, Elvin Bishop, etc.) and the headliner, ZZ Top (it was their Tejas tour). Lots of Southern Youth, gathered under the summer sun, with plenty of cold beverages and rock and roll … you get the picture. After a long afternoon of opening acts, and a long delay to set up their Tejas stage (there were snakes, tumbleweeds, and cattle), the lights finally went down to start ZZ Top’s show.

In drunken celebration, someone several rows behind me tossed their now empty cooler into the air. Well, it was empty of beer, but still very full of ice and water. That flung styrofoam cooler landed on my hard head, which shattered it, raining gallons of ice and cold water all over me. I was nearly knocked out, but when I recovered, I did what any human would … I turned around ready to take on my attacker. Except I couldn’t identify them … it was a sea of innocent angel faces.

I suppose I could have waded into the general area and started swinging, asking “did you do it?” But even though I was an angry young man (correction, an angry and wet young man) with a few beers under his belt, I quickly realized that would be really stupid. I yelled a few things I don’t remember 27 years later, then I turned around, and my friends helped me dry off.

I’m obviously not NBA material.

Charles Barkley was on CNN this morning, saying “if a fan throws something at you, you have a right to beat the hell out of them.” He claims that is “disrespect,” something a “man” doesn’t have to take. And he not only doesn’t have to put up with it, he has the right to go on the offense as the result of it, and bust heads with fists. So sayeth Sir Charles, among others.

So, when someone attacks you with a plastic cup containing 16 ounces of fluid, in an area where there are double digits of security personnel to take care of the fool, the proper proportional response is to administer a beating with your 240 pound body? Gosh, couldn’t you escalate a step at a time, and maybe start by throwing a smelly sneaker? No, you have to go try to put them in the hospital … because they got you damp and showed you disrespect.

And disrespect is cause for a physical beating.

This is an unfortunately common belief, and not just in the NBA. I hear it from “the younger generation” (yes, old fogey, right here). And it has no legal or moral foundation, at all. It’s pure ego driven attitudinal bullshit.

I’m offended by the idea I owe respect to someone I know nothing about and have never even laid eyes on before. They will get the “common courtesy” that I was raised to offer any stranger until they prove they deserve something else. However, respect is earned by actions. Just like trust. It is not given automatically, and certainly not just because you’re wearing some fancy uniform. Some of them look downright silly.

Oh, but what, you say, of the men and women of the US Armed Forces? Don’t you automatically give them a certain level of respect when you see their uniform? Yes, I do. It’s a respect earned by their actions, a choice to volunteer to defend their country. That’s what their uniform tells me. An NBA uniform tells me the person excels as putting a round ball into a slightly larger hoop from relatively great distances. It earns, at best, my wonder and awe, and maybe even a few bucks from my wallet for a ticket to watch it. But respect? Show me something more substantial.

Aside from that, why didn’t John Kerry kick George Bush’s ass at one of the debates for the clear disrespect he was shown? Maybe because it would have been counterproductive to his goals? Maybe because it would show his powers of thought are so weak that he has to resort to fist power?

If you believe that when you’ve been “disrespected” your only recourse is violence, you’ve proven you don’t deserve any respect at all.

I know these NBA players possess heightened physical capabilities and talent. I also know they have brains. But at times like this, I wonder if the two are very well connected. I possess heightened photographic capabilities and talent, but photography is not an appropriate response to every problem I encounter. I have to use my brain.

But a quick check of Artest’s peers reveals that a surprising number of them admit they would have done the same thing Artest did. Like “Charles Smith, a former New York Knick and one of the more enlightened thinkers to have passed through the Garden … called the suspension crazy and said most players in Artest’s position would have reacted the same way.”

Echoing that view is Toronto Raptors guard Vince Carter: “You can’t blame a player for reacting that way. You can’t blame anybody. ... He was protecting himself. Nobody wants to be disrespected like that. You can say what you want as long as you don’t put your hands on somebody else or touch him. You can’t blame him.”

He was protecting himself? Had Artest determined his attacker was a beer vendor preparing to wind up with another volley from his tray? Or had his attacker used up his ammunition, leaving no need to vault into the stands to protect himself from further attack?

Cleveland Cavaliers center Zydrunas Ilgauskas puts it another way: “If you’re a fan, and you step on the court, guys are going to come after you. I’m not saying the players did the right thing, but if you step on the court, then you are fair game. Players don’t know if you’re carrying a knife or something. You can hurt somebody.”

OK, I can mostly agree with that statement. But I wonder if Zydrunas would agree with the complementary statement: “If you’re a player, and you step into the stands, guys are going to come after you. I’m not saying the fans did the right thing, but if you step into the stands, then you are fair game.”

And it’s not just the players, as Donny Harper of Indianapolis tells us: “I really don’t blame Artest for doing what he did … I am 31 years old and I have a 10-year-old daughter, and I can honestly say I would have done the same thing that he did. As for the fans that came on the floor and got hit, they shouldn’t have been on the floor in the first place, so they should have nothing to say.”

Again, I wonder if Mr. Harper would agree that “as for the players that went into the stands and got hit, they shouldn’t have been in the stands in the first place, so they should have nothing to say.” I also wonder what his daughter would think while watching Daddy pound some guy’s face for spilling a beer on him.

There is no doubt it must be frustrating to endure excessive verbal abuse from fans, and when it turns to thrown objects, it’s got to be infuriating. But you’re a highly paid professional, and your business is on the court. Meanwhile, there are people on hand in uniforms with pepper spray, handcuffs, and training, earning a sliver of a fraction of Artest’s salary. If you’re a big shot NBA star, why not let those little people take care of your light work?

Beyond that, Artest makes his living by delicately and deftly maneuvering a round ball with his fingers and hands. How smart is it to bash those tools of the trade on the thick skulls of fools who throw things?

It’s also illuminating to look at the context of Artest’s disciplinary history in the NBA, as it is a context Stern kept in mind: “Since entering the NBA with the Chicago Bulls in 1999, Artest has been suspended at least 10 times by the league or by his team, with nine of the suspensions levied since his trade to the Pacers on Feb. 19, 2002. He has been fined on numerous other occasions [...] On Jan. 3 last year, Artest destroyed a Madison Square Garden camera, worth around $100,000, and slammed a monitor to the ground after the Pacers lost to the Knicks. He was fined $35,000 and suspended for three games. At the time Artest destroyed the camera, he was participating in court-mandated anger-management therapy for having threatened a former companion the previous summer.”

I’d say the “court-mandated anger-management therapy” didn’t do the trick. His anger has now cost him about $5 million. And all the bills haven’t come in yet, for Artest, or his original fluid flinging attacker, who has so far gotten off way too light.

[Oakland County Prosecutor David] Gorcyca said he repeatedly viewed a videotape of the melee at Friday night’s game. He said authorities have identified and questioned a fan who they say threw a cup that hit Indiana’s Ron Artest and started the brawl.

The fan “admits he is the one in the video,” Gorcyca told WXYZ-TV on Sunday. “He will not go so far as to admit anything further than that. We’re going to ask that he be questioned further.”

“He, I think, precipitated the whole event that transpired in the spectator section,” Gorcyca said. “I think he’s going to be facing some criminal charges.”

Asked if players would be charged, the prosecutor said: “I don’t want to pinpoint players, but I would say yes. Based upon what I’ve seen, I believe there will be some charges levied against certain players.”

Sports Illustrated: “Prosecutor: Players, fans, personnel could be charged”

Fine with me. Throw the book at anybody culpable, fan or player alike. That will deal with the past. But it takes an action like Stern’s to deal with the future.

Some players got the word: “If Stern was using the suspensions to send a message, everyone heard it loud and clear: Going into the stands is off limits. ‘It scared me,’ Trail Blazers forward Darius Miles said. Said guard Derek Anderson: ‘It’s shocking. Whatever they did, I know not to do.’”

I’d hope so. If not, they’ve got coaches to remind them. Bulls coach Scott Skiles thought the penalties were “light,” and what about the player who had his jaw shattered during a game by a sucker punch from a another player in 1977, Lakers coach Rudy Tomjanovich: “I thought the commissioner handled the situation well and did what he had to do … I’m just glad that nobody got hurt seriously.”

And then there’s one of the classiest guys ever to grace the court, Hall of Famer Walt Frazier: “When we played, the fans were more volatile. We didn’t really have security. Fans could come right up to you, yelling and screaming … But nobody ever retaliated; you might stop and curse somebody, but you never threw any punches.”

That kind of act was beneath someone like Walt Frazier.

Here’s the bottom line message for NBA players: you think you’re big and bad? Well, there’s a short silver-haired middle-aged white guy who wears glasses who can hit you harder than you ever dreamed, right where it hurts. Though he never lifted a finger, it looks to me like David Stern packs a much harder punch than Artest. Artest might have raised some welts with his physical attacks, but Stern knocked him out, for the whole season. With words.

There’s a lesson in that, for everyone, but especially for spoiled young NBA’ers who’ve had too-full-britches for some time. Words are powerful, earn respect, and ultimately win big. Your fists are common, earn nothing but contempt, and make you a loser.

Artest is Exhibit A.