Men Behaving Badly

Last weekend all of America witnessed the shameful behavior of supposedly grown men gone out of control at 2 sporting events. First was the Detroit fiasco, which displayed the sad state of American sport both on and off the court. Then came the South Carolina/Clemson brawl, which added to the display of brainless behavor.

As bad as the behavior on court & on field was, I was even more disappointed at the off court attitudes in response to inexcusable behavior. People that should know better, people who have acted better, were making excuses for the inexcusable.

Last week's displays should not really have caught us by surprise. This type of behvor has been brewing for some time. We have seen close calls in baseball and hockey for the past 2 or more seasons. It was just a matter of time before it blew up.

The difference in last week's events and those in the past are seen in the response by those closest to the sport. Players, owners, coaches, sport writers have shamed themselves, in my opinion, in their excusing of this behavior.

I have to go no further than the NBA playoffs of 1976. It was Philadelphia vs. Portland. Dr.J vs. Bill Walton. In Game 3 a fight broke out on the court. Things looked out of control. As the camera swept the court, at the opposite end sat a lone figure looking away from the action at the other end. It was Dr. J, all alone an sending the message that he was not in this, this is not what he does. He was committed to playing the game and this ws not a part of the game he loved. We need some new Dr. J's