It's not fair to generalize about the caliber of players' characters. They aren't all thugs. Some actually do have more self-discipline and control than they have tattoos.
But when there's a violent meltdown on the court, like yesterday night at Madison Square Garden, it leads me to believe that all players should be enrolled in an anger management program.
NEW YORK -- The NBA has another ugly scene to recover from. This one involved its leading scorer and happened in its most famous arena. Denver's Carmelo Anthony and the other nine players on the court at the time were ejected for fighting during a wild brawl between the Nuggets and Knicks, triggered in part by a New York team that felt it was being shown up on its home floor.
Multiple players, including Anthony, threw punches, and New York's Nate Robinson and Denver's J.R. Smith — fouled hard by Mardy Collins on the play that started the brawl — flew into the first row of the crowd while fighting during the NBA's scariest scene since Indiana players fought with Detroit fans in 2004.
Smith had a red mark along the left side of his face, but there were no other injuries among the players. No fans were directly involved, even after the fighting spilled into the seats.
This sort of thing makes courtside seats a risky luxury.
Woody Allen will probably need to see his therapist twice a day after this.
According to the Knicks, the whole thing happened because the Nuggets still had their starters on the floor with 1:15 left and a 19-point lead. Denver won 123-100.
"They just wanted to embarrass us," Robinson said. "It was a slap in the face to us. As a team, as a franchise, we weren't going to let that happen. A clean, hard foul happened and after that it went down from there."
The foul wasn't clean at all. Collins grabbed Smith around the neck as he was going in for a breakaway layup. Anthony and Robinson quickly jumped in, and the melee went from one end of the court all the way to the other.
You can debate about the starters still being in the game.
That's a legitimate question.
George Karl should explain his strategy, tell us what he was thinking, give us some insight into the mind of an NBA coach.
I don't get his decision.
That said, just because Karl decided to shove his Nuggets in the faces of the Knicks and their fans, that's no excuse for the home team to explode.
Does this look like a "clean foul"?
Denver Nuggets' J.R. Smith is fouled by New York Knicks' Mardy Collins during the second half of basketball action at Madison Square Garden in New York Saturday, Dec. 16, 2006. (AP Photo/\Frank Franklin II\)
I don't think so.
Robinson's claim that they were somehow defending their honor and doing it for the fans is ridiculous.
Doesn't he see that by losing control the Knicks lost the high ground and became part of the embarrassment of poor sportsmanship?
Guess not.
..."I feel bad for the league, I feel bad for the Denver Nuggets and the New York Knicks," Nuggets coach George Karl said. "Very poor display of respecting basketball and respecting the game in the best place in the world to play basketball."
Obviously, Karl feels very bad. BOO HOO.
He should take a little personal responsibility and own up to his lack of class.
Where was his respect for the game and the league when he kept most of his starters in during the final minutes of a blowout?
Karl acts as if he had no role whatsoever in stirring up the pot.
He's the Eddie Haskell of this whole thing.
..."Clearly this isn't how we or the NBA wants to be perceived," [Knicks coach Isiah] Thomas said. "It should have been a foul and the guy takes two free throws and maybe some words, but it shouldn't have escalated. This isn't even a rivalry."
The question is: Why DID it escalate?
The Knicks’ Jared Jeffries puts a positive spin on the situation:
Jeffries saw an upside to the fight, saying that when teammates defended each other, it was a sign of affection.
“It’s his rookie year,” Jeffries said of Collins. “I’m going to stick up for him.”
Oh, I get it now. It was a lovefest!
What happened was really a display of affection and loyalty.
That warms my heart.
GIVE ME A BREAK.
This wasn't a case of two players losing their tempers and becoming violent, with their teammates quickly stepping in to stop the fight.
This was a brawl, with ALL ten players on the court being ejected from the game.
It was a complete disgrace.
All involved should be ashamed, but I don't know that they're capable of shame. That would require some moral standards.
The NBA has a real character problem.
I think every grade school, high school, and college basketball coach should show their players the tape of last night's scene at Madison Square Garden.
They should make it clear to their players that they need to exhibit sportsmanship when on the court and on the bench and in their daily lives.
In other words, coaches should warn young players that they need to be very careful when looking for role models in the NBA.
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