What happened in college basketball yesterday is not the
norm. Most players will walk away from taunting fans, but there comes a time
when enough is enough. Oklahoma’s Marcus Smart went past the point as a player
yesterday by confronting Texas Tech fan Jeff Orr, but we don’t know what
provoked Marcus Smart to push Orr.
Fans get carried away. I have been coaching high school
sports for over 30 years. The worst sport to coach and play where the fans are
so close to you is the sport of basketball. While coaching football and
baseball I very rarely have heard the comments made at me or my players, but in
basketball and its close surroundings, makes the comments heard sometimes personal. Fans need to be held responsible
also.
Before Georgia High School Association games, we hear the
public address announce read the GHSA Sportsmanship creed, but once the game
starts the fans don’t remember it. Yes, there are times when I wanted to confront
the fans behind me that are making absurd comments at my players, but I have to
block it out.
The only solution is the fans need to realize just because
you paid for your ticket doesn't give the right to say whatever you want at the
players playing the game on any level from middle school to professional sports.
It comes down to it that players need to be smart and need to block out all the racial slurs and negative attacks verbally
and know that they are bigger and better than the fan. Just go out and play the
game and the rest will take care of itself.
