BASKETBRAWL

Much is being made about the recent brawl between NBA players and fans at The Palace in Auburn Hills, Michigan. By now, everyone with cable TV should have seen video of the brawl at least a dozen times. So far, the NBA is reacting properly by first suspending the players involved and then completing an investigation to determine final punishment. It seems pretty clear to me that everyone agrees players should not go into the stands to fight with fans (although one of my fondest memories of the old Boston Bruins was the night that Peter McNabb, Mike Milbury and Terry O'Reilly went into the stands at Madison Square Garden in New York back in 1979 to duke it out with some unruly Rangers fans...but maybe that's just the Boston-New York thing). It's also clear that fans shouldn't throw objects at players or go onto the court to challenge them to fisticuffs (both of which happened at The Palace).

The bottom line is that while this is an unfortunate incident, and an embarrassment to the NBA, it is not some earth-shattering event. There have always been incidents involving professional athletes getting into fights with fans. The key is to make sure the people involved are severely punished. The players and fans involved share one thing in common...they are all under the jurisdiction of the laws of the United States and, in this case, the state of Michigan. The authorities should examine the videotape of the incident and identify players and fans involved and charge them with the appropriate crimes. They should be prosecuted and, if guilty, properly sentenced under the law. In addition, the Detroit Pistons should make sure those fans so identified as having thrown objects or engaged in fighting are no longer allowed into their arena. The Pistons should also spend the money necessary to have more security personnel. As for the NBA, severe suspensions and fines seem appropriate.

Finally, if there is one potential long-lasting result of this incident, it is that it continues the trend of the NBA being viewed by more and more Americans as out of touch with their values. Do you really want to bring your kids to an arena where you are packed closely with people who get drunk, shout obscenities and generally look like they are a bunch of hooligans and thugs? For a long time the World Champion New England Patriots suffered because of the boorish behavior of their fans in that rat-trap called Foxboro Stadium. The Kraft family changed all of that. Boorish behavior at Gillette Stadium leads to banishment. The NBA needs to recognize that cultivating a family-friendly environment is the only way to ensure long term success as an entertainment franchise.