MOTOWN BRAWL AND WHAT IT MEANS

Being in Indianapolis, the Pacers-Pistons brawl has personal significance, and has hit me like it has many other people: shock, disgust, and anger. It has also brought up a flurry of thoughts.

1) Character matters. Along with a lot of the national media, I believe that Ron Artest had justification to go after the fan(s) throwing things at him, especially after he was hit in the face. In a lot of respects, though, that didn’t ultimately matter because it doesn't excuse him.

Unlike many other sports cities, Indianapolis doesn’t deal well with prima donnas or spoiled brats, and the local franchises have always stuck with high-character players. Artest, though, has been an anomaly. He's a loose cannon, and he needed to be traded as soon as possible for whatever the franchise could get; otherwise, he could blow up in the team’s face. Well…guess what? The bomb went off. Now the Pacers, who have been as clean as any team in professional sports, have an indelible stain that may never be wiped away.

In my years on the road playing music, I learned that, although there are a lot of extremely talented musicians, talent is not what matters. Yes, there has to be a minimum level of talent, but once someone has reached that threshold the most important thing is their character. Do they buy into the system of the organization? Can they get along with the other members even in times of adversity? Do they have bad habits (e.g. substance abuse, temper problems) that will cost you down the road? I don’t think that’s much different in any other organization, including sports teams. If your choice is between a guy with incredible talent but character flaws vs. the guy who is workmanlike but is a team player, take the latter without hesitation.

2) There has to be culpability for ALL organizations. Yes, the Pacers were the ones who went into the stands. But the conflict started because a) Piston center Ben Wallace shoved Artest, b) the Piston bench emptied prompting the Pacer bench to do the same, and c) the Pistons fans started throwing beer, ice, and anything else they could get their hands on at the Pacers. Then, the fans excerbated the conflict by coming onto the court, and continuing to throw objects and pour beer onto the Pacers. Yet it’s the Pacers who have had their season ruined by the suspensions that have been doled out. The Pistons are essentially getting off scot-free. How about a fine so large that it prevents them from signing players? Or banning them from selling beer for the remainder of the season? Or something novel, like a $100 million dollar fine, which is reduced $1MM for each offending fan they identify and prosecute (there were easily 100 fans involved)?

Without coming down hard on the Pistons the NBA punishment is hollow, unfair, and it will come back to haunt them, perhaps in ways they don’t even see now.

3) Society needs to clean itself up. What is the parentage of people who think it’s ok to show up at a sporting event and behave that way? How has violence become a solution in situations that don’t call for it, whether it’s at a sporting event or on the highway? At some point, we need to examine ourselves in the mirror and change a few things about our daily lives, and acknowledge that it's not always "the other guy." Perhaps that’s what was meant by “moral values” at the polls.

4) Why the hero worship of those who aren’t heroes? Ron Artest isn’t the kind of athlete who engenders hero worship because he’s a strange combination: a normally quiet loner with tremendous talent, and an anger management problem. But other “self-promoters” have had legions of followers, such as Dennis Rodman, Terrell Owens, Warren Sapp, and Randy Moss, while having questionable to serious character flaws. Why? What has happened in our society where these people are actually revered? And no, it’s not lost on me that all of the above are black. Is that just me as a white person missing something about the black community that allows or even encourages this type of behavior to flourish?

I don’t have all the answers, but I do see the problems. And I know we need to start finding and focusing on answers, without prejudice as to what and where the problems and solutions are found.