Anyone who has ever played in some sort of competitive sport will tell you: there are many stresses involved in athletics.
With so much on the line, the stakes are often high and nerves are often higher. In any sport, regardless of division or class, not every problem, every slip-up or every argument gets to see the light of day. However, when "professional" athletes make mistakes, it becomes news... fast.
Such was the case for the Indiana Pacers and the Detroit Pistons Friday night, with news that seemingly will be hot for some time to come.
Time and time again, players are reminders of their social status in our country. They are not (usually) political leaders, they do not establish billion-dollar computer corporations, nor are they working to discover the cure to many terminal diseases.
Regardless, they are still role models in the eyes of many. Yet, somehow they seem to forget this.
Be it drug charges, rape accusations, alcohol-related incidents or some form of assault, when professional athletes do something wrong, it hits the press faster than some politician's personal history.
Wrong or right, it is certainly fact.
The actions of particular players from the respective teams are, at best, inexcusable. For players who are looked up to by so many young children, how are parents left to explain the violent behavior of the players?
Of course, this is assuming the parents weren't provoking it.
Also to shun are the fans (certinaly some were parents) involved in Friday's debacle. Those who egged on the players from behind media row certainly received something they had not expected; some critics would argue that they even had it coming to them.
Fans are almost equals in many of today's spectators sports. Their energy fuels players and coaches unlike any other feeling in the world. With such being the case, the fans owe respect to the players as much as players owe it to the fans.
When that does not happen, problems ensue.
The ideals behind sportsmanlike conduct work on both sides of the bench. Over the years, stadiums have changed security, regulations and set-ups to help protect the players from the fans, and vice-versa. Venues no longer serve specific products or remove problematic items (i.e.: caps) from concession stands while prohibiting other items from even entering the stadium.
All this because fans, and now players, can no longer control themselves.
There are no fingers to point here, because the lessons will soon be learned by all if they have not already. The bottom line is that all parties involved in this fiasco are equally responsible.
Or should we say, irresponsible?
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