Yeah, where's all those noise makers from the other thread screaming about the NBA and the Magic discriminating against "stupid" people that don't understand the meaning of calling somebody a monkey. Come on you guys, pile on.
Novak would have raced across the court, hurdled over the front rows, taken the man down with a headlock, ripped his heart out barehanded, would have chewed it up raw, and spit it out on the court for the ballboy to clean up. He would then walk over to Gundy and beg like a little schoolgirl in a short skirt for more playing time. Unlike Mutombo, Novak is a bad @ss! That's why the heckler picked on Mutombo.
Naw, Novak would have just canned a couple 3's from midcourt, looked at the guy and said, "Monkey see, monkey do."
Some people said the heckler apologized, but I'm sure he has been in contact w/ a lawyer and knew a ban was coming. It's very possible he just apologized ahead of time to soften/avoid the penalty.
I am surprised at this punishment, especially since the fan was apologetic and Mutombo was willing to forgive him. I think they should look into whether or not the fan has any history of racism before they ban him for a year. From what it seems in the letter he wrote, he was just a heckler who got carried away and definitely did something very stupid. But a whole year for that, when Shaq got nothing for making fun of Yao in that chinese accent. I dont think Shaq is a racist, I think he just got carried away and did a stupid thing, like this guy. If the NBA didnt punish him, what makes them think they are justified in hammering this guy.
I think they should kick out all of the hecklers yelling insulting or hurtful things at the players. What if you get great seats and you want to take your kids or your girl to a game... do you want to expose them to that kind of negativity throughout an entire game? I think those hecklers must be really screwed up people if they think it's cool to be doing what they do.
Going out on a limb, no pun intended, I don't think the heckler was calling Mutombo a monkey suggesting that Deke was acting silly. I can't go to work and pull up p*rn websites and claim I didn't know it would make co-workers uncomfortable. That would be immediate cause for dismissal regardless. As repubs love to say, it is about personal responsibility. The guys screwed up and now he has to pay the consequences. Too bad ...so sad.
Surprising, considering the dude isn't your average heckler and is a magic corporate sponsor and hosted a magic party at his house last week at the request of the team. Good punishment though.
Isn't this the NBA's most famous heckler? I remember watching a story about him. He would annoy players, but never cross the line like the guy in Orlando.
wow, i had no idea they would be so severe. On the other hand, i like the precedent set, the players need to be protected and this is a step in the right direction, but wow, it is severe and kind of unexpected, maybe too hard too fast?
Neither do I and thus I agreed with the punishment. I was clarifying that it is possible for some to not know the historical context of the term.
This thread is definitely too funny. If anyone saw the game, they would see how obnoxious the fan was. It doesn't matter what he said. It's how he acted. Personally I don't see why being called a monkey is racial, but like I said earlier what he said isn't as big an issue is how he came about saying it. Also, by banning him from the arena, they are just refusing service to him, hence the refund. The law can be vague sometimes, but the point is that right is reserved for the business. I thought the punishment was way too high, however....but then again, I don't understand the magnitude of the word "monkey." On the otherhand, I was very surprised that there were no actions against Mutumbo. I guess when it comes to racial issues, the league becomes extra cautious, but come on....Jeff's been fine for far less than that. Mutumbo was about to bust a cap , lol.
well mutombo did not throw a punch or went to the stands.. what offense did he do? be angry and stare at the fan?
