"Oh come on," Brown said, shaking his head in disgust. "That's totally different. Tony thought his wife was in trouble."
It's true. Davis' venture into the stands, according to the Knicks' forward, was initiated by what he perceived was a threat to his wife's safety. According to Davis, he thought he saw his wife being physically accosted, or about to be such. So without hesitation, he climbed several rows into the expensive seats to take matters into his own hands.
Davis on his way out of United Center stands
It was hardly the momentary dementia to which Ron Artest fell victim in Auburn Hills.
Yet I saw such headlines on the Net as "Davis charges into the stands." If you watched the video, which as usual nowadays is quickly ascending to Zapruder film-like screening frequency, Antonio Davis didn't charge anywhere. He didn't dawdle, either. But he wasn't a raging lunatic. He made his way into the stands, one step at a time, and once he got to his destination, he listened to his wife and other supporters who assured him that the situation was under control. By that time, security happened on the scene. He then calmly left, being escorted away.
He didn't throw a punch. He didn't so much as raise a hand. Frankly, I think the mere presence of a 6'9", 245 pound man was enough to quell whatever trouble a fan may have wanted to cause. Needless to say, because Davis showed such restraint, the situation did not escalate. And it could have, because this was a player from the opposing team entering the seating area.
Yet despite being mostly defended in NBA circles and in the court of public opinion, the league suspended Davis, the president of the Players Association, for five games.
This is where it gets dicey. But the NBA did the right thing, albeit a tad excessively.
Since everyone says sports is a bottom line business, here's the one in this instance: the NBA had no choice but to levy some sort of punishment on Davis. It would set a dangerous precedent if the league slapped him on the wrist, because then you'd be saying, in essence, "It's okay to go into the stands under certain circumstances."
Can you imagine what sort of Pandora's box that would open?
What were the circumstances? What was the intent of the player? What did he do once he was in there? Yadda, yadda, yadda.
I'm sorry, but something as admirable as Antonio Davis coming to the defense of his wife cannot be separated from any other situation in which a player leaves the court and enters the crowd. It simply cannot be tolerated. It still is a lighted match in a room full of gas.
But what you can do is make the punishment phase subjective. The amount of fine, or length of suspension, is where the league can separate the Goofuses from the Gallants.
So was five games the proper suspension length?
I would have been more comfortable with anywhere from one-to-three games, in all honesty. Something about five, which can be tantamount to almost two full weeks of play, makes me squirm a bit. Davis, 37, is a veteran who doesn't have, as far as I know, a history of trouble with officials or the league. Perhaps his position as president of the NBAPA holds him at a higher standard, but again, consider the circumstances and the player's history.
Five games was too much. But there should have been some retribution.
What was Davis to do?, folks would ask who think he shouldn't have been suspended at all.
Well, there are security people crawling all over NBA benches, especially in light of what happened at the Palace in November '04. There are police. There were plenty of folks nearby that Antonio Davis could have grabbed, and then he could have pointed out what has transpiring in the stands. It may not have been quite as quick as Davis himself investigating the matter, but the results would most likely have been the same.
But, please -- to even suggest that Antonio Davis' incident is on par with the Ron Artest debacle is wayyy off base.
Maybe they should check out more thoroughly to whom they issue those microphones and tape recorders.
3 comments:
I see where you are coming from, but I can live with Davis getting 5 games. If this happened before the Palace brawl, Davis gets 1 - 3 games off. But it's a new era. He had to be punished, extenuating circumstances or not. He got more than just a wrist slap, but Stern didn't come down with the slegehammer of wrath either.
By the way, thank you for the kind words about my blog! Much appreciated...
Al
"Frankly, I think the mere presence of a 6'9", 245 pound man was enough to quell whatever trouble a fan may have wanted to cause."
But as we are learning now, it seems Mrs. Davis was the one causing the stir.
5 games is appropriate. You can't be subjective about the rule. He got only 5 because little to nothing happened.
You're right, Greg - this isn't Artest, part deux. And five games does seem a bit harsh (along with the $600,000 Davis will reportedly lose, as a result), considering that Davis had his family's safety in mind.
But David Stern had to set some sort of precedent, draw some sort of line. Especially when it appears, as the zoner mentioned, that Mrs. Davis may have been the one who instigated the incident, and Davis entering the stands could have ignited the situation.
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