Poor Fan Behavior

Big controversy in the world of college basket ball. It happened in the OSU vs Texas Tech game Saturday night. Late in the game an OSU player, Marcus Smart, fell out of bounds after trying to block a shot. He flew into some fans and he was getting up one of them said something to him. Smart reacted by shoving the fan.  He was restrained by his team mates and called for a technical foul. He was very apologetic in a post-game press conference. Smart has been suspended for three conference games. Lots of comments from the schools involved, he coaches, the conference, and the fan who said something. He claims he made no racial comment but did admit to commenting on Smart’s athletic abilities, in a very crude way. The fan has voluntarily agreed to attend no more games this year.

Just a couple of weeks ago a Lady Griz game was stopped by the lead official after a fan in the front row said something. The official spoke with the scorer’s table and game management people then talked with the fan. Incidents like this bring up the discussion of fan behavior. Does a buying a ticket gives us the right to shout rude comments at players or officials? Is being disciplined for such action an infringement on free speech?  I’m as competitive as the next person but really we all need to remember, it is just a game.