The Antonio Davis Conundrum
I have spent a couple days debating what the response should be to Antonio Davis entering the stands during a game to protect his wife from a perceived threat from a nearby fan. I really feel there are strong arguments in favor and against punishing him. Obviously, I am writing after Mr. Stern has levied a five game suspension, but I still feel some further discussion is warranted.
In favor of punishing him......the NBA has to take disciplinary action because the penalty will act as a deterrent for other players. In this case, we are less concerned with the actual event (from which there arose only a frivolous civil suit), and more concerned with the risks which AD created. While it is certainly rare for a melee to occur like in Detroit last year, any time a visiting player enters the stands it significantly increases the risk of dangerous backlash (What is the phrase....the road to hell is paved with good intentions). Therefore, the NBA should mete out a strong penalty to deter similar conduct in the future since the results are unpredictable and potentially dire.
Against punishing him....he thought his wife was at risk of physical harm. You can look at it this way: If the criminal justice system recognizes self-defense as a legitimate reason to commit an otherwise illegal act, why can't the NBA. I mean, if someone was pointing a gun at your wife at point blank range do you think you would be justified doing anything you can to remove the perceived risk? I can definitely see reasons why this is justified. To a lesser extent, I believe this reasoning applies to AD and should act in mitigation of this penalty.
On balance, I think the arguments in favor of a penalty win, but only slightly. It is a pretty easy to create a bright line rule that says you cannot go in the stands if a fan harasses a player, but a player's family is sacrosanct and then it is understandable so long as the player responds in a non-physical manner. However, any time a player enters the stands it opens Pandora's Box. In my opinion, a 2 game suspension would have been justified and could be easily distinguished from past events and potential future circumstances. Do you agree or disagree? I am interested in your opinions.
In favor of punishing him......the NBA has to take disciplinary action because the penalty will act as a deterrent for other players. In this case, we are less concerned with the actual event (from which there arose only a frivolous civil suit), and more concerned with the risks which AD created. While it is certainly rare for a melee to occur like in Detroit last year, any time a visiting player enters the stands it significantly increases the risk of dangerous backlash (What is the phrase....the road to hell is paved with good intentions). Therefore, the NBA should mete out a strong penalty to deter similar conduct in the future since the results are unpredictable and potentially dire.
Against punishing him....he thought his wife was at risk of physical harm. You can look at it this way: If the criminal justice system recognizes self-defense as a legitimate reason to commit an otherwise illegal act, why can't the NBA. I mean, if someone was pointing a gun at your wife at point blank range do you think you would be justified doing anything you can to remove the perceived risk? I can definitely see reasons why this is justified. To a lesser extent, I believe this reasoning applies to AD and should act in mitigation of this penalty.
On balance, I think the arguments in favor of a penalty win, but only slightly. It is a pretty easy to create a bright line rule that says you cannot go in the stands if a fan harasses a player, but a player's family is sacrosanct and then it is understandable so long as the player responds in a non-physical manner. However, any time a player enters the stands it opens Pandora's Box. In my opinion, a 2 game suspension would have been justified and could be easily distinguished from past events and potential future circumstances. Do you agree or disagree? I am interested in your opinions.
posted by Bearister at 2:27 PM
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