Let's Talk Security

The "Basketball for Thought" is a commentary by Kris Gardner.

November 22, 2004

Let's see...today is November 22, a mere 3 days after the "Pistons - Pacers' Malice at the Palace". I;m a Detroit Pistons fan (I've been a fan since 1986). So, what am I going to talk about first...the suspensions? No.

The lawsuits which most assuredly will come? No.

The impact on the NBA? No.

I'm going to talk about security. Yep, security at basketball games.

The Pistons' organization has been lambasted with criticism far and wide for not having enough security or the slow actions of security. I don't know the training techniques of the Pistons' security personnel; and, honestly, neither do the people criticizing the organization. But, my initial question is what was security supposed to do?

Two different reports have stated the security could not step onto the court until the NBA referees asked them to do so. If that is true, then the referees should be criticized not security.

Next, what are approximately 100 unarmed people expected to do if they're outnumbered by a drunk, angry, unruly mob swarming from every direction?

Let's assume the average NBA arena has 100 (basically, one for each section) people working security each game. Next, the average attendance for an NBA game is roughly 18,000. As a result, we can calculate one person is in charge of roughly 180 people. Also remember, most, if not all, the people working security are not armed with firearms. Therefore, if only, let's say, 30 of the 180 people decide to leave their seats and rush their officer, what are the chances the security is going to contain all 30 people? Not very good. Consequently, if hundreds of people get out of control like at The Palace at Auburn Hills, what's going to happen? All hell is going to break loose!

I am not removing the Pistons' organization from blame whatsoever. However, sports in general, and the NBA in particular, operate under a basic "social contract" between the players and the fans which does not take into account extreme behavior from either group of people. No sane person attends a sporting event expecting chaos to occur. Therefore, when the "unthinkable" actually happens, we are so shocked and unprepared.

If the NBA believed players and fans were in danger, fans and media would not be seated courtside. I know the teams collect big time money from season ticket holders who purchase the courtside seats; but, I do not believe teams would actually put their fans at risk if they thought the players would charge into the crowd on a regular basis.

Recently, at a Rockets game, I was mere feet away from a potential incident between a fan and a member of the media. I was seated at the baseline table; the fan was sitting roughly 5 feet behind me; and my colleague was two seats to my left. My colleague was not sitting in his chair -- he was standing over the chair writing notes on his note pad. The fan asked him, more than once, to "sit your butt down". The requests to sit down were not rude (though each request was getting bolder); but, my colleague continued to write while standing. Finally, when my colleague finished writing, he turned to the fan and said, "You know what you can do for me." "What's that?", the fan replied. "You can kiss my ass," responded my colleague. The two exchanged a few more words; then, my colleague walked away. They were so close together because of the sitting arrangement at Toyota Center. Who knows what would have happened if they decided to start throwing punches? What would the security have done if that escalated into a full-scale brawl?

The seating arrangement at Rice University basketball games is close to the fans, too. If media is seated at the sideline press table, fans can literally "reach out and touch" the person if they chose to do so. The security is stationed at the opposite ends of the seats; so, it's unlikely they could stop "contact" from occurring. Why has no one said anything about that possibility?

My point is this: rules for security differ at each venue due to size of venue; cost; and event. Though we do live in an apparently, more violent society, the "social contract" between fans and players still exists. Therefore, criticizing security for an extreme case is unfair; however, it's up to us as a society to do a better job handling our emotions and respecting everyone.