Sports Warfare Part 1: Physical
As we move deeper into the holiday season, the sports world is certainly not filled with cheer and good will towards men. One need only look to T.O.’s spitting in DeAngelo Hall’s face on Sunday and Saturday night’s Knicks-Nuggets brawl for confirmation. Both stories swirl with controversy – Did Isaiah Thomas warn Carmelo Anthony to not go in the lane? Was George Karl simply protecting a lead, or running up the score on the Knicks in retribution for the Larry Brown situation? Regarding T.O., did he intentionally spit, or was it accidental while jawing with Hall?
In basketball, the League has spoken, most notably with 15 game suspensions for Carmelo and 10 games for Nate Robinson and J.R. Smith. What will be the psychological affect on the two teams? Surely, the Nuggets are hit harder with the loss of league scoring leader ‘Melo. Or, will it be a source of motivation for the team? Time will tell.
In football, response has been mixed to the spitting incident. Should Hall have retaliated? Should T.O. have been punished beyond his $35,000 fine? What is the impact of being spit upon on a players mindset? Here is Michael Irvin’s take, as heard on the Dan Patrick Show on Monday: “[Spitting] is as low as it gets…There’s no excuse for it, there’s no reason for it, there’s no talking around it…I let another man spit in my face you take away my integrity as a man. I’m no good to you as a player because I’m no good as a man.” According to Irvin, physical retaliation is necessary to preserve the confidence and self-worth necessary for competition. However, if the retaliation leads to an ejection, how can the player be any good to his team on the sidelines?
Keep checking with SPINw for more news as these stories develop.
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