Its fair to say quite a stir was caused in the sports world after an ugly incident involving Oklahoma State’s Marcus Smart and Texas Tech fan Jeff Orr made national news. Countless replays repeatedly showed Smart angrily shoving Orr after entering the crowd hustling to make a play late in the Cowboys’ upset loss to the Red Raiders. It was not a pretty scene, and it immediately elicited visceral responses, and in many cases, hasty knee-jerk reactions.
Many immediately placed the onus on Smart. Predictably, those who placed full responsibility on Smart’s shoulders called it another “Ron Artest moment.” Who can forget the ugly incident better known as the “Malice in the Palace?” It was a watershed moment in professional sports. Players going after fans and throwing punches.
Of course, for many, the fact that multiple fans involved in the melee had criminal records, or that they threw both beer and serious verbal barbs at players was an afterthought. It seemed easier to call the players involved thugs, or worse. It seemed to be safer to simply say the players have to exert more control. They are getting paid millions of dollars, right?
So back to Smart: Let’s be clear, Smart made an extremely regretful decision, and to his credit, he took full responsibility and the consequences that come with it. Those consequences will be a three-game suspension, along the with the unfortunate stigma that he is a significant behavior risk moving forward. Not exactly a good thing for a player many experts believe is a potential lottery pick in this year’s NBA draft.
It seems that many in the public sphere have not given a 19-year-old college sophomore much leeway in this incident. Again, a 19-year-old student athlete, not a professional. Those playing judge and jury in regards to Smart will tell you there is no excuse, something on the surface I totally agree with. Where the problem lies is that inexplicably, a larger, more sinister issue is being glossed over, the behavior of Orr, and the larger statement his actions say of fans behavior.
Orr, otherwise known as a Texas Tech “Superfan,” has a track record of inappropriate behavior. Multiple former Big 12 opponents who traveled to Lubbock for games remember Orr for his insults, both verbal or through gestures. Sadly, this is something we have almost become numb to. Insults, lewd comments, racial epithets, it seems that just part of “fans being fans.”
Really? One has to openly wonder why players at both the college and professional level often want nothing to do with fans. They are often looked at more as the enemy, as someone who can’t be trusted, a truly sad conclusion to come to. It’s even more sad when you consider how many great fans there are. Fans, young and old who are passionate about their teams and support players and respect opponents.
Whats more, Mr. Orr is not a 19-year-old college student; he’s a Texas Tech grad in his 50s. What in the world would provoke a man old enough to be Smart’s father to feel the need to antagonize or provoke someone playing a game? Sadly, this garbage behavior is something you might expect from a drunk fan 30 years younger than Orr. What is Orr’s excuse?
Yesterday, Mr. Orr issued his own apology, sort of, and then went on to volunteer to skip the remainder of Texas Tech games this season. Well thanks good sir, but the damage has been done, and it has become clear that there are too many Jeff Orr’s out there, not just in West Texas, but probably at the local venue you want to take your child to. Often, going to games means dealing with idiots like Orr, who way too often are given a free pass to act like fools. Thats on Texas Tech, who was acutely aware of Orr, and his preponderance for taking things too far interacting with players.
Frankly, behavior like Orr’s takes many forms, it happens on message boards, Facebook, Twitter. It gives people solace I suppose in an otherwise lonely existence. I’ve personally talked to players at both the college and professional level, they recognize it, and its making them jaded. Count me in as another that has quickly become jaded by fans like Orr. I encounter them at games and I read their comments, anonymous more often than not. They are ruining it for everyone, but it seems much easier to blame a 19-year-old for a mistake, than to look in the mirror, or to simply say, enough is enough.
