Ignorance pays.. but 1 year is too much... I'm sure this guy will never come back to watch a game. HIs officemates will be too excited to know that there's one corporate ticket extra...
I would point out that this apparently not the heckler's first offense. He's been thrown out of the arena on several occassions for crossing the line. If this was his only offense, I'd say a 1 year ban was harsh, especially since he apologized. But, it could be that the Magic are pretty tired of his **** by now and Mutombo confronting him provided them with a good opportunity to toss him without a PR hit.
If that's the case, then I say kudos to the Magic Organization, cause a 1 year ban based solely on that 1 incident does seem very harsh.
Ignorance of the law does not excuse you from getting arrested and ignorance of blatent racial insensitivity is also a very weak defense. How could he NOT know that calling somebody a monkey is offensive. C'mon! If he didn't think it was offensive, why did he say it? He's a 'heckler.' His objective was to be offensive. Appology smalollogy. He alone caused this problem so he alone should suffer the consequences of his OWN actions. 1 year ban is NOT too harsh. cya next season!
Free speech doesn't always apply, and I'm not sure it applies in this case. You're not allowed to yell fire in a crowded movie theater if there is no fire because it would be dangerous to the people around you. You could make an argument that yelling slurs in a crowded area is also dangerous because it could provoke an escalating fight that would cause people to get hurt (e.g. Pacers-Pistons Brawl).
Boy, Da, you sure are quick to that with all the times you have defended a business owner's rights to patronize or hire whomever he wants. Where did that change come from?
if he was banned before then 1 year or more is just right.. what if he tries to get in the arena wearing a disguise like a decent looking shirt?
THe one year is too harsh for just this incident, but from what was said above he has been tossed out of the arena on a number of occasions. If this is true, then he deserves the 1 year ban.
At least Barkley apologized and did everything he could to make it up to the family. The Orlando fan actually blamed Mutombo! As for the fan heckling Maxwell, that fan was heckling Vernon's dead child. I'm sorry if I don't feel sorry that the guy got his ass beat and Vernon didn't get banned. Vernon didn't deserve to get banned and that guy deserved to get his ass kicked.
Lol! That just doesnt sound right. let's play along... Does one have the right to birdie a police officer? I guess they do, as long as they dont mind some nice friendly time at a local police station. Does one have the right to rob a bank? I guess they do, as long as they enjoy the free pass to jail. Does one have the right to rape and murder?....hmmm this is getting messy... NO ONE has the right to disrespect another person. He disrespected, so he has to face the consequences.
While I agree with everything else you said, and based on his history I think 1 year was good, I do not completely agree with this. need to differentiate here between offensive and racially offensive. Calling a black person a monkey has some historical and geogriphical context. People from Asia or maybe other parts of the world, who have migrated here might not be fully aware of its context. Unless of course you detail them upon it as soon as they land here. So in most cases, for these people, it would take some time to become aware of this. Now it is common for young kids and in some cultures to call each other silly names, and monkey might be one of the terms used. A friend might call another a monkey for acting silly or for imitating his actions. Is there any racial intent there? Hardly. These people might ignorantyy use the same terms in this country without being aware of its racial context. For these people, I think ignorance does play a apart. Surely with time they will learn, but you can't expect them to know about it right away. Now how do we know whether this guy knew the historical context of 'monkey'? I am not sure. But based on this guy's history, I would assume he did, and therefore 1 year is not harsh at all.
u should see it, its not just a silky shirt, a black or white one, its one with piles of flowers on it ... he looks like an @ss, dresses like an @ss, and guess what, he is an @ss.
No one else heard anything, only Maxwell heard that.....none of the fans AROUND the guy heard anything. Funny how after Max had time to make something up, this is what he came up with.... Maxwell was a punk...pure and simple...may he rot in jail. DD
Woops.....hmmmm....did not consider it from that angle Jeff...... If this is not his first offense then I understand it more clearly....it just seems harsh..... The rowdy fan was only a Macaca after all. DD
