Marcus Smart

[Voltaire]

Would Marcus Smart have agreed to publicly apologize to the Texas Tech fan if he actually heard him use the n-word? I'd say no.

What is more likely if the fan actually used the n-word, that Marcus Smart would publicly say that the incident was instigated by the use of the n-word (which Marcus Smart has not done), or would he just have that rumor filter through some coaches for spin / damage control? What logically makes sense if the n-word was actually used relative to what Marcus' response has been?

 

[zelezo vlk]

Nah, Smart has an NBA career to think about. Regardless of what he heard, he needs to apologize publicly. Don't think that if somebody called him any racist slur he would be off the hook.

 

[Luckylucci]

Is anyone going to pretend that at hockey and basketball games we haven't heard literally thousands of people heckle athletes? This is part of the game and comes with the proximity to the players. Has anyone here ever attended a Duke-Maryland game? I'm sure I've heard 100s of barbs worse than what this fan said (even if he DID use a racial slur at some point) about players, families, girlfriends, wives, etc. I don't understand the media trying to act like this isn't part of the game at EVERY arena for EVERY team for EVERY player.

There is literally nothing that fan could've said that justifies going into the stands and starting a physical altercation. To me, 3 games is a joke. There needed to be a precedent set here. I can't imagine any ND coach in any sport letting a player suit for the remainder of the season if they went into the stands seeking "justice."

Irishog77 has explained the flip side to this whole thing pretty darn well... the physical altercation itself was no more than a shove, no one got hurt, and the fan was presumably pretty out of line. So I understand giving someone the bare minimum. But any league/coach/school that cares about discipline, image, or sending the right message I think would've gone much further. I'm pretty embarrassed for the Big12 and Oklahoma State.

Agreed, I thought the worst part for me was Travis Ford's (Coach) speech yesterday about Marcus Smart and his character. It was the same thing he said a few weeks ago the last time he had an episode. How many times do we give the kid a pass before we say, maybe he isn't that great of a kid and something should be done here.

 

[Praytorian]

Marcus Smart of Oklahoma State Cowboys shoves fan - ESPN

Eject the player from the game and Fan from the arena. .

I'm sorry, I can not see why you should eject the fan. He didn't run on the court. The player came after him. Trash talking from the fans is part of the sport. IF he used the N-word then ok, but people have to prove it. If he has been there that long I think we would have heard of him using it before. Too many snitches out there not to.

I'm pretty sure there are a lot of teams in the NBA thinking "PHEW" right now. "If he can't control himself in college what is he going to do with NBA fans."

 

[pkt77242]

The evidence out there seems to be that the fan called him a "piece of crap". Not really that bad at all.

 

[JughedJones]

It really doesn't matter what the guy said, kid shouldn't have gone after him period. (and some folks here know I'm a weirdo liberal who hates this kind of shit.)

Reason being, look at the reaction on the interwebs and sports media: if it wasn't racial, it certainly is now. Racists are propping this guy up as a hero of the 'marginalized white majority' and reactionaries are propping Smart up as a reason for everything from paying student-athletes to kicking fans out of games for any kind of 'off-color' taunting.

(Not to mention the inherent danger that comes with attacking a fan in a hostile environment)

It's all horseshite that could have been avoided if the kid would have kept his head on straight. I believe it's one more reason that athletes should be going to school longer. If he can't handle a college crowd, it's not going to get any better in the NBA.

 

[garyasher]

The evidence out there seems to be that the fan called him a "piece of crap". Not really that bad at all.

Well not so fast here. The evidence is about 4 seconds of one time down the court. They played a lot of game up to that point. Did the old dude yell before that?