Marcus Smart

[champs99and04]

Everybody condemning Smart for his actions are evaluating the situation from a logical viewpoint, not an emotional one. I'm sure when Smart gets home and watches the highlights, he'll immediately regret his actions. But considering the game situation - two point game, five seconds left, Smart had just chased a ball-handler across the court and spiraled into the stands - his adrenaline was already high, and he was already frustrated. Now you have some fat guy in the crowd making racially charged comments at you? It's hard to maintain your cool in that spot as a 35-year-old, never mind at 20. There are certain words and phrases that carry a level of vitriol that I, and the vast majority of people responding in this thread, could never understand. He should still be disciplined harshly - and I wouldn't be opposed to an especially harsh suspension since a precedent needs to be set here - but sometimes emotion trumps logic, and I sympathize with him here to some degree.

 

[champs99and04]

And spectators are there to spectate not provoke the atheletes. Not saying Smart was right in what he did but he was provoked and acted accordingly.

The Malice at the Palace wasn't started by someone saying the N word so I'm not even sure why you would bring that up.

And even if it was instigated by that, there is a world of difference between shoving somebody and jumping over the scorers table and beginning to whale on a guy. Inevitably the comparison is going to be made, but it's dumb.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

If Marcus Smart was really called a by this fan then Smart will be be suspended for several games and I will applaud him for pushing that piece of and wish he knocked him out,

Note cultural bias built into the profanity filter.

 

[Scoe]

And spectators are there to spectate not provoke the atheletes. Not saying Smart was right in what he did but he was provoked and acted accordingly.

The Malice at the Palace wasn't started by someone saying the N word so I'm not even sure why you would bring that up.

the Malace at the palace was started when a fan threw a cup of beer at Ron Artest and that was as Artest was trying to relax and compose himself after being involved in a skirmish on the court.

 

[UCHuskies08]

If Jeff Orr dropped the N-word or something similar on Smart, the only reaction SHOULD be to APPLAUD Smart for not beating him within an inch of his life.

"It doesn't matter what he said, you can't do that!"

*ck outta here...

It doesn't. You can't assault someone for what they say. Period, end of sentence. That's the cost of being a grown-up.

 

[UConnDad]

Off the POY list!

 

[superjohn]

If Marcus Smart was really called a by this fan then Smart will be be suspended for several games and I will applaud him for pushing that piece of and wish he knocked him out,

I hear you but I don't understand how you can post the N word and that's ok when I can't post any swear word that describes fecal matter, the N word makes my skin crawl and it used in any context isn't cool, Mods please clean up the board it doesn't belong here

 

[Kitaman]

I can't believe anyone is defending him. I don't care what the guy said, you just can't shove a fan who hasn't physically assaulted you. And the fact that you didn't walk out first but walked into the confrontation to begin with is beyond stupid.

It ain't that easy. Losing 4 of your last 5, draft stock taking a hit, and then their #1 fan provokes you with saying something (the right words) to push your buttons. Its a shove not a punch, with a 50+ year grown ass man involved in this. The fan admittedly stated he said something antagonistic to Smart.

Smart is still young and certainly not beyond childness and immature behavior. It was a tense situation and he acted in the moment. He's a sophomore not full of world experiences or social interactions (e.g. practice restratint) like many of us adults.

Hell how many people on this board put up their middle finger when a driver cuts them off. Let's all not start casting stones at the kid. It was an isolated incident, and from what I've read about Smart, was out of character.

Unfortunately one mistake and now many will label him, turn on him and call him stupid. As long as Smart recognizes his error, is apologetic and remorseful/regretful I'm willing to let it go without much character assasination. His suspension or consequences will be the end of this for me.

He is after all young and prone to doing dumb things. He may become a better person or man as a result of this lesson. Any parent (or even NBA scout) would know that.

 

[imno1]

I got no problem with the push if he was called the N word. If fact I'd applaud him. Sometimes you don't just walk away

 

[UConnDad]

Right now just happy to not be Marcus Smart or even worse a Texas Tech fan!

 

[pepband99]

Note cultural bias built into the profanity filter.

Boy, no kidding, you can't say , but you can say the n-word? Well done! It's clear this board's software dates from the 50's, now more than ever

 

[huskiemaniac]

Didn't hilton sit a game for flipping that fan off, maybe in West Virginia, for repeatedly taunting him and telling him to go back to Africa? Fans were brutal to KEA but he answered with his play and usually had the last laugh. He had his own way of shutting them up!

 

[djct1999]

I hope this is a joke.

a very bad joke....... this situation is both sad and wrong in many ways. lets hope that ok state doesn't give up on this kid off the court and puts the right people around him so he can get his life back in order. he is a super talented KID that for some reason has spiraled out of control. i hate to see stuff like this and really hope that Marcus Smart can somehow get back to being who we saw in the preseason.

 

[scrappy2.0]

From a "source", it was definitely a racially derogative statement. No excuses for either party. Unfortunate.

Good for Marcus Smart. He didn't do anything too bad w a shove. A fan should have responsibility just like a player or coach. There is no doubt the fan started it while Marcus was in a precarious defenseless position. Hopefully the fan is banned

 

[boog204]

I was replaying some of the footage from ESPN and I find it strange that fans would address a player in the first place. Just seem kinda trashy to me.

Isn't it the same thing as people tweeting/following our players/recruits?

 

[J187Money]

I'd like to see what the TT players have to say about their number 1 fan. He should have his tickets revoked. But he won't.

 

[UConn990411]

I'd like to see what the TT players have to say about their number 1 fan. He should have his tickets revoked. But he won't.

It's Lubbock - he'll probably get free season tickets if he doesn't already.

 

[jibsey]

There is no proof of the N word yet. Let's wait for confirmation because punishment for both parties hinges on that and otherwise we are premature.

 

[Danzz]

I didn't think it was any big deal. Yes the kid should have kept his composure but why wasn't the fan booted? Smart will likely get a 1 game suspension while the fan will get nothing.

 

[Rico444]

Smart should be suspended, because you just can't put your hands on a fan. But it's likely the guy said something godawful to him, because I'm sure players are frustrated all the time but never go after a fan. So I think he deserves a pass, at least as far as his future reputation goes.

It's being reported the fan used the n-word...if he did, he deserves to have his season tickets revoked for the remainder of the year, and all of next season. I think kicking him out of the arena for life is a little too far, but that garbage can't go on unpunished.

 

[mauconnfan]

The N word huh? The fan is a …….deserves the fear of God with a push I agree, but Marcus Smart can't lose it like that……..he stayed for a reason, to grow, mature and lead his team to do some special things this year. He hasn't been that guy and especially lately has shown the inability to keep his cool, act like a decent young man and lead his team. I see Nash and Brown having fun on the bench the other night (Nash has been great in improving his game as has Brown) and Smart next to them after a bad personal game not even paying attention to them….this during the waning moments of a team victory. The kid is frustrated, he's shown it lately in many forms so now with their year on the line, it's time to man up. Yesterday is over but Travis Ford (who has seemingly done a real crappy job with him, not sure who the coach is) needs to sit his butt down and tell him what he is doing, not only to himself, but his team. He's a special player but as of now, he's too much ME and not enough US. He can get his stock back with a change of attitude and get that "bad" chip" off his shoulder, just play!

 

[TRest]

I didn't think it was any big deal. Yes the kid should have kept his composure but why wasn't the fan booted? Smart will likely get a 1 game suspension while the fan will get nothing.

Back in the day, I sat right behind the visiting bench at Gampel, I remember Rollie M. getting a fan tossed for riding him all game. And the student section was vicious and very close by, but there's a line you don't cross with people no matter what the setting. They should revoke his tickets and let him in next year in the upper deck, let him spend a decade buying his way back down to courtside. Actually, people like this should never be allowed near the court.

 

[Rico444]

The N word huh? The fan is a …….deserves the fear of God with a push I agree, but Marcus Smart can't lose it like that……..he stayed for a reason, to grow, mature and lead his team to do some special things this year. He hasn't been that guy and especially lately has shown the inability to keep his cool, act like a decent young man and lead his team. I see Nash and Brown having fun on the bench the other night (Nash has been great in improving his game as has Brown) and Smart next to them after a bad personal game not even paying attention to them….this during the waning moments of a team victory. The kid is frustrated, he's shown it lately in many forms so now with their year on the line, it's time to man up. Yesterday is over but Travis Ford (who has seemingly done a real crappy job with him, not sure who the coach is) needs to sit his butt down and tell him what he is doing, not only to himself, but his team. He's a special player but as of now, he's too much ME and not enough US. He can get his stock back with a change of attitude and get that "bad" chip" off his shoulder, just play!

You bring up a good point. Marcus was a guaranteed top-5 pick last year, but he decided to stay because he recognized he wasn't mature enough to go to the NBA. That alone tells me that he is always looking at himself and trying to become a better person, and that makes me personally more willing to look past some of the stuff he's done this year. The flopping, kicking the chair, the poor attitude when his team loses...listening to him speak off the court, I think it's more an issue of him having a hard time controlling his anger, which is something that I (and I'm sure, most of us when watching our huskies at times) can relate to.

Regardless, this is a turning point. It's easy to forget that this kid is still a teenager. I did some pretty stupid my first few years in college, and was lucky enough to not have the whole world watching. But now is the time for him to start to get past this kind of behavior.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

So far, it appears to be a heat-of-the-moment altercation, taking place in an uncommon location, and involving team's #1 player and another team's #1 fan. It's clear that the player's behavior was beyond acceptable bounds. It's pretty likely that the fan's behavior was also beyond acceptable bounds. The player and fan are clearly different ages and skin colors in society where that's undeniably significant.

I could smugly announce "teachable/learnable moment" because it truly is, and even suggest that Marcus Smart and Jeff Orr should share a beer at the White House, as Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates and Cambridge police Sgt James Crowley did in 2009. This remains a complex American issue, as attested to by the spectrum of responses that has demonstrated varying viewpoints and degrees of certainty.

Unfortunate incident, but not wholly surprising. Who will grow from this, and how?

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Reading lips right before the push, the man looks to have said "sorry about that."

He probably did, and he probably was, as soon as it was clear that he'd gotten Smart's attention at unexpectedly close quarters. I suspect that Smart will be counseled toward his own "sorry about that" moment, however it gets eventually expressed.