[QUOTE]
Originally posted by JRutledge
A man has the right to be treated with dignity. Just because you are a basketball player and you make a lot of money, does not absolve them from being treated with dignity.
Oh please... how many officials haven't been been verbally abused by some idiot in the stands? Give me a break about this crap that basketball players with money get treated with less dignity than the rest of us. For 99.9% of the time they are worshipped and given free passes on just about everything. This isn't some "respect" issue... it's a drunk idiot in the stands and a player on the floor with a temper problem that he has never been able to control.
If this was any other situation, Artest behavior would have been expected and understandable.
Huh? You can name one (let alone any) situations where it's acceptable to go willy-nilly thrashing into a crowd because you got a little random liquid splashed on you?
But for some reason because they are professional basketball players, we expect them to behave differently than any other part of society.
No way, they get more free passes than most of the rest of society.
I am just surprised this has not happen more often than it did the other week.
So many games, so few morons like Artest or Vernon Maxwell. Such a pity.
If Artest would have seriously injured the individual, I bet any fan would think twice about throwing things at players during a basketball game.
I think most sane individuals already refrain from throwing things. The fans involved were idiots and Artest is an idiot. Whether or not Artest injured anyone or not isn't going to cure the spectating world of idiots. There are always plenty of idiots to go around.
I guess the players are slaves and gladiators that deserve any type of treatment and the masters are suppose to do whatever they like because they pay money.
Pretty well paid slaves and gladiators.(your words not mine). Pretty well treated slaves and gladiators 99.9% of the time. There are proper ways to address being treated poorly and marching into the stands is not on the list.
On another note, the original post reminded me of a game I played in once at a penitentiary. My junior college coach took our team to the pen back in 1983 to play a team of inmates. A few inmates in the stands were heating up coins with lighters and throwing them at us. Dang those left a nasty welt! I guarantee you that it never crossed my mind even once to go up into the stands.
Z