pooh
03-29-2005, 05:43 PM
When will Pistons be held accountable for security lapses?
By Bob Kravitz - Indystar.com
March 29, 2005
Link (http://www.indystar.com/articles/9/232835-5149-036.html)
In November, the Pacers went to the Palace of Auburn Hills and were goaded into a brawl that effectively destroyed their season.
Friday night, a series of phoned-in bomb threats aimed at the visitors' locker room caused massive delays and serious consternation, especially among fearful Pacers personnel.
Now look at the playoff race.
If the season ended today, it would be the Pacers vs. the Pistons in the first round.
So here is commissioner David Stern's best and last chance to make the Pistons organization and the Palace hierarchy pay for the fact that the Pacers cannot play in that building fully assured of their safety:
Play Detroit's home games -- at least the ones against the Pacers -- in an empty building.
Absurd?
Excessive?
Well, the brawl and the multiple bomb threats were absurd and excessive, and it's time to make the Pistons and their small percentage of loony-tunes fans pay for the way they've treated the visitors from Indiana.
Nov. 19 was bad. This latest episode, though, may have been worse. Nobody, the Pacers included, should have to play a basketball game worried about their safety or even their life.
"What's made this whole thing unfair is, a lot has gone wrong and you know we haven't blamed anybody," Pacers CEO Donnie Walsh said. "But still, all the light has been shined on us. We've clearly taken the brunt of all this."
Which is true, but not completely unjustified. They were, after all, the ones who went into the stands, and the arguments they've presented -- "well, they started it" -- have sounded rather hollow.
But this wasn't entirely a solo act, and the other side has escaped culpability entirely. While the Pacers had their entire season -- Reggie Miller's final season -- entirely eviscerated, nothing has happened to the Pistons.
While the two individual miscreants got lifetime bans from the Palace, nobody has held the Pistons or the Palace responsible for controlling some of the rudest fans in the league. There was no fine for poor security. There was nothing. Just a promise from Stern that the league would review and increase its security presence.
Well, now comes time to hold the Pistons accountable.
Make them play the Pacers in front of empty seats.
The fact is, they do this all the time in international soccer. When a team's fans get out of hand, either at home or when traveling as a fan club on the road, soccer's various federations make the team with the rowdy following play games in an empty stadium.
It's really quite simple.
Get the players and the media in there, and keep everybody else out -- and that includes you, Kid Rock.
Wait a minute. Do you know how many millions the Pistons would lose with two, three or four empty home dates?
Fine.
Let's talk about losing money.
You take the money lost by Ron Artest, Stephen Jackson and Jermaine O'Neal, you could buy your own Pacific atoll, plus a private jet. (Sadly, Artest's CD sales did not quite make up for the lost cash).
And that doesn't mention the revenue the Pacers -- the healthy and active Pacers -- probably would have made with a reasonably long run in the playoffs.
If you're the Simon brothers, and you're looking at the loss of millions, it's hard to feel much sympathy for the Pistons or the Palace over a few games.
OK, but we're talking about a handful of drunks who touched off the brawl, and one or two lunatics who called in bomb threats. How do we know it wasn't somebody from Indiana, just trying to make the Pistons look bad?
We don't know. We don't know where the calls were coming from, and we don't know what the motivation might have been.
All we know is this: As the Pacers were waiting on their bus and voting over whether to play, the NBA and security chief Stu Jackson were threatening the club with massive fines if they didn't play the game.
Isn't that the way it's been all season?
A Pistons fan does something egregious, and the Pacers are the ones who are put in the position to take the blame.
On Nov. 19, the Pacers clearly stepped over the line. The other night, it was the NBA's turn.
"They (the league) assured us it was safe, so we played," Walsh said. "But yeah, I was angry. They're telling us about bomb threats, and the league is telling us we have to play. This has just been a nightmare year. Not just Nov. 19, but the whole thing."
By now, the Pacers have paid their penance in triplicate. They have played with seven players. They have worked to have the suspended players' salaries donated to local charities. They have stepped up their already considerable efforts, in this community and in other cities, to show that the Pacers should not be defined by Nov. 19. And somehow, they're still going to crawl through the back window into the playoffs.
And the Pistons?
They're complaining because Larry Brown is in the hospital.
Listen, if they win another title, the Pistons should vote Beer Cup Guy and Chair Toss Guy a half-share apiece.
We're all smart enough to know that the vast majority of Pistons fans are cultured and civilized, the same way we know most NBA players would never think to cross the line Artest and others crossed that night.
If it's Pacers-Pistons in the playoffs, though, how can Indiana trust they will get through a series without suffering bodily harm? Twice now this season, the Palace and its fans have failed them. Which leaves the NBA with the one option they're too frightened to consider.
After all, an empty seat never hurt anybody.
I agree Bob, son of a bitch must pay. The Pistons have gotten of very, very light in this matter. I'd love to see them play those two playoff games in an empty arena, serves them right. They were the ones who first started it all in the first place.
Ben Wallace didn't have to shove Artest. The game was already over, why start something then? Foolish on his part. As much as it's easy to blame Artest and the fans, who got the punishment they deserved, (allegedly) how come the Pistons and the rest of the organization got off with just a mere slap on the wrist. It's time the league holds the Pistons responsible for what happen.
By Bob Kravitz - Indystar.com
March 29, 2005
Link (http://www.indystar.com/articles/9/232835-5149-036.html)
In November, the Pacers went to the Palace of Auburn Hills and were goaded into a brawl that effectively destroyed their season.
Friday night, a series of phoned-in bomb threats aimed at the visitors' locker room caused massive delays and serious consternation, especially among fearful Pacers personnel.
Now look at the playoff race.
If the season ended today, it would be the Pacers vs. the Pistons in the first round.
So here is commissioner David Stern's best and last chance to make the Pistons organization and the Palace hierarchy pay for the fact that the Pacers cannot play in that building fully assured of their safety:
Play Detroit's home games -- at least the ones against the Pacers -- in an empty building.
Absurd?
Excessive?
Well, the brawl and the multiple bomb threats were absurd and excessive, and it's time to make the Pistons and their small percentage of loony-tunes fans pay for the way they've treated the visitors from Indiana.
Nov. 19 was bad. This latest episode, though, may have been worse. Nobody, the Pacers included, should have to play a basketball game worried about their safety or even their life.
"What's made this whole thing unfair is, a lot has gone wrong and you know we haven't blamed anybody," Pacers CEO Donnie Walsh said. "But still, all the light has been shined on us. We've clearly taken the brunt of all this."
Which is true, but not completely unjustified. They were, after all, the ones who went into the stands, and the arguments they've presented -- "well, they started it" -- have sounded rather hollow.
But this wasn't entirely a solo act, and the other side has escaped culpability entirely. While the Pacers had their entire season -- Reggie Miller's final season -- entirely eviscerated, nothing has happened to the Pistons.
While the two individual miscreants got lifetime bans from the Palace, nobody has held the Pistons or the Palace responsible for controlling some of the rudest fans in the league. There was no fine for poor security. There was nothing. Just a promise from Stern that the league would review and increase its security presence.
Well, now comes time to hold the Pistons accountable.
Make them play the Pacers in front of empty seats.
The fact is, they do this all the time in international soccer. When a team's fans get out of hand, either at home or when traveling as a fan club on the road, soccer's various federations make the team with the rowdy following play games in an empty stadium.
It's really quite simple.
Get the players and the media in there, and keep everybody else out -- and that includes you, Kid Rock.
Wait a minute. Do you know how many millions the Pistons would lose with two, three or four empty home dates?
Fine.
Let's talk about losing money.
You take the money lost by Ron Artest, Stephen Jackson and Jermaine O'Neal, you could buy your own Pacific atoll, plus a private jet. (Sadly, Artest's CD sales did not quite make up for the lost cash).
And that doesn't mention the revenue the Pacers -- the healthy and active Pacers -- probably would have made with a reasonably long run in the playoffs.
If you're the Simon brothers, and you're looking at the loss of millions, it's hard to feel much sympathy for the Pistons or the Palace over a few games.
OK, but we're talking about a handful of drunks who touched off the brawl, and one or two lunatics who called in bomb threats. How do we know it wasn't somebody from Indiana, just trying to make the Pistons look bad?
We don't know. We don't know where the calls were coming from, and we don't know what the motivation might have been.
All we know is this: As the Pacers were waiting on their bus and voting over whether to play, the NBA and security chief Stu Jackson were threatening the club with massive fines if they didn't play the game.
Isn't that the way it's been all season?
A Pistons fan does something egregious, and the Pacers are the ones who are put in the position to take the blame.
On Nov. 19, the Pacers clearly stepped over the line. The other night, it was the NBA's turn.
"They (the league) assured us it was safe, so we played," Walsh said. "But yeah, I was angry. They're telling us about bomb threats, and the league is telling us we have to play. This has just been a nightmare year. Not just Nov. 19, but the whole thing."
By now, the Pacers have paid their penance in triplicate. They have played with seven players. They have worked to have the suspended players' salaries donated to local charities. They have stepped up their already considerable efforts, in this community and in other cities, to show that the Pacers should not be defined by Nov. 19. And somehow, they're still going to crawl through the back window into the playoffs.
And the Pistons?
They're complaining because Larry Brown is in the hospital.
Listen, if they win another title, the Pistons should vote Beer Cup Guy and Chair Toss Guy a half-share apiece.
We're all smart enough to know that the vast majority of Pistons fans are cultured and civilized, the same way we know most NBA players would never think to cross the line Artest and others crossed that night.
If it's Pacers-Pistons in the playoffs, though, how can Indiana trust they will get through a series without suffering bodily harm? Twice now this season, the Palace and its fans have failed them. Which leaves the NBA with the one option they're too frightened to consider.
After all, an empty seat never hurt anybody.
I agree Bob, son of a bitch must pay. The Pistons have gotten of very, very light in this matter. I'd love to see them play those two playoff games in an empty arena, serves them right. They were the ones who first started it all in the first place.
Ben Wallace didn't have to shove Artest. The game was already over, why start something then? Foolish on his part. As much as it's easy to blame Artest and the fans, who got the punishment they deserved, (allegedly) how come the Pistons and the rest of the organization got off with just a mere slap on the wrist. It's time the league holds the Pistons responsible for what happen.