Terrapin Tables

What gets me is the Jackie Robinson comments. If Robinson had been confronted on the field and one of his teammates had rushed onto the field to defend him, I imagine that teammated would be lauded. That example may interject the issue of race, but it is one guy socking another guy. Random violence? The most random thing of that evening was the fan throwing the cup of ice. Artest did the wrong thing, that seems clear. But it wasn't unprovoked. When a fan runs onto the field of any sport, what do we want to see? We want to see him get laid out. There is a sense of place, a kind of contract I suppose, between spectators and athletes. Fans violate it by coming onto the field, and Artest violated it by going into the stands. God, another convoluted column from Whitlock. What the hell does this mean:
"Maybe I'll run into Jermaine the next time I'm home. He can catch me at the Masterpiece Lounge on 38th and Sherman. People there work too hard for their money to ever throw a good beer. It's safe." O'Neal didn't throw a beer!! He didn't waste a beer!! WTF. Once the cup of ice was in the air, it seemed to me that rational action ceased. And it's probably sort of sad to say this, but if I thought a friend or teammate was threatened, I likely would have done the same thing.

Artest was a moron, and probably got what he deserved. Jackson probably went a bit overboard, but he really was just defending his teammate, to a point.

O'Neal shouldn't have punched the guy, but i agree with John, there is a "contract" between players and fans. Shocker, no one was outraged last year when that Patriots lineman tackled the goldenpalace.com guy at the Super Bowl. And that wasn't even provoked like the "Basket-brawl".

Defending your friends/teammates is a natural reaction, and not totally unjustified. I believe Mr.'s Nelson, Fisher and I have done the same to litte Bostonian punk bitches over a cake incident in New Jersey. Possibly a poor example, but apparently Mr. Whitlock has either 1) never been in a fight, or 2) no friends. Or both.

"What bothers me is that O'Neal won't admit the mistake. Oh, he says he made a mistake, but..."

Mr. Whitlock, please proceed to the editor's office and turn in your pen and pad. What the hell kind of writing is that? You are fucking fired.

"Running for cover, trying to get teammates and coaches out of harm's way never crosses O'Neal's mind."

I should hope not. If friends, friends of friends, etc., are in a fight you get their fucking back.

"we wouldn't dare tell a professional athlete when he's wrong..."

Yeah, which is why even after charges are dropped Kobe's jersey is no longer charting, why Iverson has so many endorsements, why Randy Moss gets TV spots, why John Rocker was largely ignored for running his mouth...

That Jackie Robinson line was way out of the blue. Horribly off-topic, used only for emotional value, and just pure, utter shit. Really, from my perspective - a 3.7 gpa English major who ran a college newspaper for a year and a half - this, and everything else I've seen out of Whitlock is high-school-level writing.

Regarding the incident in Detroit, my favorite comment was from Barkley on PTI. I, as a capable journalist (coughWhitlockcough), tried to find the exact quote online, but to no avail. It was along the lines of, "yes, athletes understand they are subjected to public criticism in the form of boos in their face and their name in the papers, and they need to shrug that off...but if you throw a beer at me, there comes a time when I stop being an athlete and go back to being a man. And, as a man, if you throw beer at me, you have to know it's on."

GIS for Jason Whitlock:

No wonder he makes no sense! He's as big as Siragusa, but without anything resembling athletic ability! It's just evil bitterness leaking out of his pen, not skillful observation. And, note to both of them: fat guys cannot wear purple or shiny blue, you Grimace-looking bastards.

didn't read it, don't plan on it. but it begins and ends with this: once a fan is on the court/field, all bets are off. if you streak the super bowl, hop over the dugout, or come down onto the court, the violence you encounter to prevent you from continuing onto the field/court is justified.