Thursday, June 01, 2006
Let's Make The Punishment Fit The Crime
Some dude on the Dallas Mavericks who I've never heard of, DJ Mbenga, was suspended for 6 games for going into the stands during a game in order to help quash an argument between some fans and Avery Johnson's wife. At the time Mbenga was inactive and in street clothes and when he got to the situation he told Johnson's wife to go watch the game from the locker room and that was it.
Apprently this is worth a 6 game suspension, which won't affect the Mavericks, since this dude doesn't play, but will affect Mbenga because he won't get paid for not playing for the next 6 games. Mbenga is the second Maverick to be suspended in the playoffs since Jason Terry was suspended for one game for punching Michael Finley in the nuts.
How is it that a guy who's not even actuve for the game going into the stands with obviously peaceful intentions get suspended for 6 games and the dude who punches a guy in the nuts gets 1 game? This makes no sense. I understand that the league is trying to keep fans out of the stands after the brawl in Detroit and the rules are very clear. I also understand that the rules for punching guys are very clear, automatic one-game suspension. These two things don't match.
Not everyone is crazy like Ron Artest. The league's stand is that they do not have control over fans and once a player goes into the stands the league loses control of the situation, as evidenced by the arbitrator's decision in the Detroit case when he ruled that the NBA did not have jurisdiction since it was not an on-court incident. I guess that's why they do it, because guys who enter the stands tie the league's hands if something does happen. Still, if they are going to be so harsh with going into the stands, they should be just as harsh with punching guys. In the nuts, especially.
Apprently this is worth a 6 game suspension, which won't affect the Mavericks, since this dude doesn't play, but will affect Mbenga because he won't get paid for not playing for the next 6 games. Mbenga is the second Maverick to be suspended in the playoffs since Jason Terry was suspended for one game for punching Michael Finley in the nuts.
How is it that a guy who's not even actuve for the game going into the stands with obviously peaceful intentions get suspended for 6 games and the dude who punches a guy in the nuts gets 1 game? This makes no sense. I understand that the league is trying to keep fans out of the stands after the brawl in Detroit and the rules are very clear. I also understand that the rules for punching guys are very clear, automatic one-game suspension. These two things don't match.
Not everyone is crazy like Ron Artest. The league's stand is that they do not have control over fans and once a player goes into the stands the league loses control of the situation, as evidenced by the arbitrator's decision in the Detroit case when he ruled that the NBA did not have jurisdiction since it was not an on-court incident. I guess that's why they do it, because guys who enter the stands tie the league's hands if something does happen. Still, if they are going to be so harsh with going into the stands, they should be just as harsh with punching guys. In the nuts, especially.
# posted by ChuckJerry : 6/01/2006 05:31:00 PM
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But how is Mbenga's crime worse than what Antonio Davis did? Davis was an active player and was playing in a game when he went into the stands to protect his wife (who incidently by all accounts is the one instigated the whole thing). And Davis only got 5 games.
And how is punching in the nuts worse than grabbing a hold and trying to pull them off?
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And how is punching in the nuts worse than grabbing a hold and trying to pull them off?
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