Basketball Brawl! Again

Beijing, China. A brawl between the basketball teams involving the Georgetown Hoyas and Bayi Rockets occurred during an exhibition game to foster good will. This was the second of two games that had been played this week between the two teams.

The brawl which cleared both benches occurred during the fourth quarter while the score was tied. Players from both teams punched and kicked each other. The game was then called after the Georgetown teem walked off the court, video showed the spectator’s booing and were throwing cups at the players.

Amateur video footage showed a bench clearing melee in the fourth quarter with the score tied. Players from both teams punched and kicked each other. The game was then called off. As the Georgetown team walked off the court, video showed spectators booing and a few throwing cups at the players.

So what precipitated the melee? From reports it started with name calling, pushing and shoving, name calling and trash talking including a Chinese player getting in the face of one of the Georgetown coaches.

Georgetown is a University team from Washington D.C. The Bayi Rockets of Shanghai play in the Chinese Basketball Association, China’s top professional league.

Larmer notes that the Bayi Rockets is the People’s Liberation Army’s team and used to be the centerpiece of the Chinese government’s state-run sports system.

Brook Larmer who wrote a book on China’s best known basketball player, called “Operation Yao Ming.” Larmer was not at the match but viewed video later and stated the Chinese team cleared the bench extremely quickly.

Larmer made comments while talking to the Voice of America Reporter Veronica Ho, who expresses concern by what he describes as “a disturbing trend” of more violence in Chinese basketball games - both within the national league and supposedly friendly matches with players from other countries.

Last year, the Chinese players involved in a goodwill match against Brazil, in which the fight was even more violent than the recent on in China. However, China is not the only International Team that has had fights before. In August this year LA Lakers Matt Barnes was involved in a fight in San Francisco’s Summer League Pro-Am game. Barnes allegedly punched a player in the face but the referee didn’t see it. Just in the last two years, a fight occurred versus Bahrain and Kuwait ended with shoes being thrown at players. In 2004 a fight between the Pacers and the Pistons is considered one of the worst fights in American Basketball History. A fight in 2010 at the Acroplis International Tournament between Greece and Serbia resulted in one of the Greek players having a chair smashed over his head by a Serbian player.

But this trend has been moving at an increasing faster pace since 2001 there have been an uptick of fights. Starting off as individual players and turning into brawls in which both benches and sometimes owners of the teams jump in as well.

So what's the cause, there are few comments offered up by the experts. The sports detractors say it is because the league is full of thugs, gang members and criminals. The talking head's blame it on a group of men who have never been told "No". Either way it is a trend that sends the wrong measure to young basketball fans, teens and adults. Young people seeing professional athletes behave badly only impacts the future of sporting and their behavior as they play the sport.

What do you think? I would love to hear