Jazz Fans: Class of the Classless?
Rafael Araujo is either a thug or a victim, a punk or a scapegoat. Guess it all depends upon what you want to see.
The Hawks were angry after Monday's loss to the Jazz, outraged that Araujo had bludgeoned Marvin Williams with a blatant whack to the face.
The Jazz were bewildered, at a loss to explain how Araujo could be ejected for simply standing immobile while Williams crashed into him, out of control.
Amazing how your opinion can be swayed by your partiality, isn't it?
Jerry Sloan sounded surprised after the game, and said he saw no misdeed on Araujo's part on the videotape. Araujo protested his innocence in the locker room (and that's Carlos Boozer hollering in the background that "It wasn't no flagrant foul"). Both of them seemed geniunely baffled by the reaction, and Araujo kept repeating that he had meant no harm.
But that's not exactly what longtime Hawks broadcaster Steve Holman saw. The radio play-by-play man was offended by the play, several times calling Araujo a "punk" and insisting that he "had to show what a big man he is."
And he wasn't just disgusted by the guy wearing a uniform, either. When the ES Arena crowd cheered Araujo as he left the floor, Holman erupted again: "What a bunch of classless fans here in Salt Lake City!"
Not sure how insulting the paying customers makes any sense, particularly on a play that obviously can be interpreted several different ways. And the fans in Atlanta would have reacted differently if a Hawk had committed the foul? Um, OK.
Even the NBA had trouble deciding what to make of the play. Araujo was ejected by the referees and given a Flagrant 2 foul, and faced a fine of at least $1,000. But on Wednesday, the league informed Araujo that after viewing the videotapes, the flagrant foul had been rescinded and no fine would be assessed.
-- Phil Miller (with thanks to blogger Lion in Oil for the clips.)
The Hawks were angry after Monday's loss to the Jazz, outraged that Araujo had bludgeoned Marvin Williams with a blatant whack to the face.
The Jazz were bewildered, at a loss to explain how Araujo could be ejected for simply standing immobile while Williams crashed into him, out of control.
Amazing how your opinion can be swayed by your partiality, isn't it?
Jerry Sloan sounded surprised after the game, and said he saw no misdeed on Araujo's part on the videotape. Araujo protested his innocence in the locker room (and that's Carlos Boozer hollering in the background that "It wasn't no flagrant foul"). Both of them seemed geniunely baffled by the reaction, and Araujo kept repeating that he had meant no harm.
But that's not exactly what longtime Hawks broadcaster Steve Holman saw. The radio play-by-play man was offended by the play, several times calling Araujo a "punk" and insisting that he "had to show what a big man he is."
And he wasn't just disgusted by the guy wearing a uniform, either. When the ES Arena crowd cheered Araujo as he left the floor, Holman erupted again: "What a bunch of classless fans here in Salt Lake City!"
Not sure how insulting the paying customers makes any sense, particularly on a play that obviously can be interpreted several different ways. And the fans in Atlanta would have reacted differently if a Hawk had committed the foul? Um, OK.
Even the NBA had trouble deciding what to make of the play. Araujo was ejected by the referees and given a Flagrant 2 foul, and faced a fine of at least $1,000. But on Wednesday, the league informed Araujo that after viewing the videotapes, the flagrant foul had been rescinded and no fine would be assessed.
-- Phil Miller (with thanks to blogger Lion in Oil for the clips.)
3:12 PM
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1 Comments:
Aren't there any rules for announcers? Is it OK for an announcer to say offensive comments toward the entire crowd? How is this allowed by the league?
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