- Unsportsman-like Conduct -

[Lilith]

This past weekend in the US, we have experienced (IMNSHO) a rash of truly abominable sporting brawls.

Pistons/Pacers (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/basketball/nba/11/19/bc.bkn.pacers.pistons.ap/index.html)

Gamecocks/Clemson (http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=243250228)

another recent event~ "Frank Francisco arrested after hitting two fans with thrown chair (Rangers at Oakland, 2004)
The Texas bench and bullpen cleared when fans were razzing the players in the bullpen and Francisco was arrested on a charge of aggravated battery after he threw a chair into the right-field box seats near the Rangers' bullpen. The chair hit a man in the head, then bounced and struck a woman on her left temple."

I know Attest is being suspended for quite a few games for his part in the Piston/Pacer brawl but I'm curious about what you guys think????

To me this just confirms the saying I have on my fave teacher tshirt......I have not chosen the wrong profession, society has chosen the wrong heroes.

Do you think this is to be expected or do you expect your sports teams/players to abide the same basic rules we stress when they were in Little League?

Here is an article about the big US brawls ESPN (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=1927560) .

[wyndhy]

i think it's disgraceful, the way some sports team members behave and the way they are allowed to get a way with it. so what they never signed up to be roll-models? so what the games can get them feeling excited or passionate? they should behave like decent human beings, not animals. they should be prepared to pay for their transgessions without any namby-pamby whining either. your break it, you buy it, so to speak. you do the crime, you do the time. another aspect of the whole sports-player as "hero" <*scoff*> that really pisses me off is how they are allowed to keep playing or finish out a season before being sentenced because they are indispensable to their team. and a guy who makes millions of dollars a year being fined a couple thou 'cause he couldn't keep his temper in check...gimme a break! how can that even begin to teach them any kind of lesson about their behavior. they get benched for a couple games? SO WHAT! they prolly smile while writing the check thinking if all it cost them to bash someones teeth in was 2 grand next time they're goin' for the kill...i mean, hey, they can afford it. and don't even get me started on the way these guys treat their wives.

[PantyFanatic]

i think it's disgraceful, the way some sports team members behave and the way they are allowed to get a way with it. so what they never signed up to be roll-models? so what the games can get them feeling excited or passionate? they should behave like decent human beings, not animals. they should be prepared to pay for their transgessions without any namby-pamby whining either. your break it, you buy it, so to speak. you do the crime, you do the time. another aspect of the whole sports-player as "hero" <*scoff*> that really pisses me off is how they are allowed to keep playing or finish out a season before being sentenced because they are indispensable to their team. and a guy who makes millions of dollars a year being fined a couple thou 'cause he couldn't keep his temper in check...gimme a break! how can that even begin to teach them any kind of lesson about their behavior. they get benched for a couple games? SO WHAT! they prolly smile while writing the check thinking if all it cost them to bash someones teeth in was 2 grand next time they're goin' for the kill...i mean, hey, they can afford it. and don't even get me started on the way these guys treat their wives.
Pro SPORTS is a fucking joke. Don’t confuse it with the game or sports. As long as it’s about the big $$$, the players AND the fans will just keep getting MORE stupid. It’s about big business to an ignorant market.

[scotzoidman]

Do you think this is to be expected or do you expect your sports teams/players to abide the same basic rules we stress when they were in Little League?
Unfortunately the behavior shown by the so-called grownups in Little League is a template for how the atheletes are gonna behave when they get to the bigs...& PF is right, it's a bidness, & sportsmanship has nothing to do with it at that level...the leagues only crack down when the paying customers start getting hurt...

[jseal]

Lilith,

I agree with wyndhy, PantyFanatic and scotzoidman. When you’re running a business with a multi-million dollar payroll, the business comes first, the game second. When the games is suborned to success, it’s not sport it’s spectacle.

[Navarre]

Lilith,

I agree with wyndhy, PantyFanatic and scotzoidman. When you’re running a business with a multi-million dollar payroll, the business comes first, the game second. When the games is suborned to success, it’s not sport it’s spectacle.


KA-BAM!

You just hit the nail on the head.

[wyndhy]

Pro SPORTS is a fucking joke. Don’t confuse it with the game or sports. As long as it’s about the big $$$, the players AND the fans will just keep getting MORE stupid. It’s about big business to an ignorant market.

i don' think i am confusing them. i also don't believe the way they coddle certain players who act up has anything to with stupidity and only has to do with money insofar as this: if the big guns still play then the fans will still want to watch and if the fans want to watch that means more money for tickets, 20$ beers and advertising. (hey, they gotta come up with those 6-figure salaries somehow. :rolleyes: ) the fans aren't stupid, they just hunger for the ever-increasing vicarious thrill.
sports can be a *very* worthwhile pursuit if the coaches, parents and fans do it right. it teaches a comptetive drive, fairness, graciousness, the importance of not leading a sedentary life, diversity, co-operation...jeez i could go on forever but i'll stop here. i think you get the idea, pf.

[PantyFanatic]

.....sports can be a *very* worthwhile pursuit if the coaches, parents and fans do it right. it teaches a comptetive drive, fairness, graciousness, the importance of not leading a sedentary life, diversity, co-operation...
I totally agree sweet lady. :) ....... but what has that go to do with "PRO" sports?

[wyndhy]

I totally agree sweet lady. :) ....... but what has that go to do with "PRO" sports?

lol...touche...but not all pro-players are in it for the money. they play because it was an important part of their childhood and continues to be an important pat of their lives as adults.

[rabbit]

First off, what those players did set a terrible example for kids everywhere.

Second, we must STOP thinking of athletes as "heroes". They aren't.

Third, I applaud the NBA's David Stern. Drop the hammer and drop it hard.

[campingboy]

The NHL is on strike. Surprisingly the world has kept moving. It looks lke the whole season will be lost. Some teams may fold. Some players will be out of a job. What ever the out come, the world will continue to move along, one day at a time.

[MilkToast]

While it is a business that we are talking here (and college sports in many cases is also just that!) these people are also, for some reason, considered role models and as such, and for what they get payed, they really should be forced to behave. That type of behavior should not and can not in any way be rewarded. I applaud any form of discplinary action taken against any of these players.


PS. and if the NBA is any indication of what we have to look forward to in terms of people to look up to I sure do feel sorry for a lot of fans, as Rabbit said... these people should never be refered to as "heroes," that term is really something for those that have a much more lasting contribution to society as a whole.

[PalaceGuard]

Some of the players forgot that they were there to play basketball.

[scotzoidman]

Hey, it just occurred to me today that the NHL is in a lockout...I guess someone HAD to throw some punches somewhere...