Jermaine O'Neal compares it to calling 911

http://www.indystar.com/articles/4/210138-4024-036.html

O'Neal spoke for almost 30 minutes, his demeanor alternating between
thoughtful and animated, but he also had a question: What would you do in
the same situation?

"I don't think there's enough people in this world that's actually sat back
and pondered," he said. "There's 15 of us with Pacers jerseys on against
thousands. If you listen to some of the 911 calls, people were afraid. What
about us? If people can come onto the court, there's no way in hell you can
get off the court."

O'Neal said NBA commissioner David Stern overreacted, in part because of the
media attention the incident drew. The day after the brawl, Stern announced
indefinite suspensions to Ron Artest, Stephen Jackson, O'Neal and Detroit's
Ben Wallace. On Nov. 21, Stern revised those suspensions: Artest was lost
for the season, Jackson was out for 30 games, O'Neal for 25 and Wallace six.

"I don't feel like he possibly took his time and looked at everything,"
O'Neal said. "I think he felt pressure from watching too much TV and made a
quick decision. His responsibility is for the NBA -- for fans and also for
the players. You can't just say, 'We're going to make it safe for fans.'
This is his statement in the press conference.

"Well, what about the guys that got the fans here?"

The police report says officers felt compelled to draw pepper spray on
players.

"They don't talk about how they tried to mace us, the players," O'Neal said.
"What are we of value? You don't value us?"

humbubba.TakeThisOut@smart.net
>http://www.indystar.com/articles/4/210138-4024-036.html
>
>O'Neal spoke for almost 30 minutes, his demeanor alternating between
>thoughtful and animated, but he also had a question: What would you do in
>the same situation?
>
>"I don't think there's enough people in this world that's actually sat back
>and pondered," he said. "There's 15 of us with Pacers jerseys on against
>thousands. If you listen to some of the 911 calls, people were afraid. What
>about us? If people can come onto the court, there's no way in hell you can
>get off the court."

Good points. Exactly the myopia of the Commissioner and the media.
Mercifully, the city of Detroit did what Stern did not, which was create a
strong disinclination for fans to get involved, by it's diligent
prosecutions of criminal behavior by fans. In the fight between Olowokandi
and Nene, after grabbing Nene and pulling him out of the flailing, Kenyon
Martin seemed a bit disappointed in how passive the Denver fans were.
Good. Thank you City of Detroit.

Not in your house.


--

Rick (Richard Allen) Hohensee
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