Comments on: Basketball: The Day after The Shove

By: BlueNGold

BlueNGold — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 02:11:05 +0000

The days of coaches putting physical contact on players, regardless of how mild or well intentioned, are over. Some may think this is appropriate; some may hate it. But it is reality, so better get used to it. I do not necessarily agree that every incident justifies the uproar that has ensued following MM’s shove. But you have to know what the likely response to doing it will be. In most cases, the fallout and negative publicity is going to far outweigh whatever benefits or positive results might be claimed.

By: Gobears49

Gobears49 — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 17:27:05 +0000

Covinared, I agree with you and wish we were back in that era, as I think an occasional shove can be helpful to everyone involved. But times have changed and we have to respect that. Most people, or at least a very large percentage of them, think any shove is too invasive. It’s just too difficult to make distinctions based upon what is an acceptable shove and what is not one, so what we are left with is, perhaps unfortunately, a “no shove” rule.

By: covinared

covinared — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 16:21:09 +0000

Gobears49: you are right. I guess I am from a different era when coaches could use a little physical force to motivate. I guess the Bobby Knight throat grab ruined it for everyone.

By: Gobears49

Gobears49 — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 16:07:42 +0000

Covinered,

Never heard of a chest pop, but that is a good description for what happened. However, I believe a chest pop should be classified as a subset of, or within the same overall description of, a more general term, a shove. My main point is you can’t have a rule that a “chest pop” is allowable but a “shove” is not. They are so close to being the same thing, and would be classified as the same thing by most people, that you cannot legally distinguish one from the other. And from the recipient’s standpoint, even if they can be distinguished, both are likely to be viewed as just as offensive.

By: Gobears49

Gobears49 — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 06:37:06 +0000

Southseasbear,

Good point. And welcome to Jeff’s blog, as I don’t think I’ve seen your handle before. Our group is pretty active for basketball, but football seems to be our true love (sometimes over 150 posts). The more the merrier, as long as you can handle some people occasionally disagreeing with you, which could include me.

By: southseasbear

southseasbear — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 04:53:23 +0000

If he had shoved Monty, Crabbe’s draft stock would have plummeted; instead, the way it turned out, it rose. By waking up from his somnambulatory play and finishing strong, Crabbe has become a legitimate contender for the NBA draft – something that may not have occurred had Montgomery not reacted so dramatically.

By: covinared

covinared — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 23:10:24 +0000

gobears49: saw it again. by my defintion it was a shove, but more of a chest pop.

By: covinared

covinared — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 21:59:10 +0000

49: does not a shove assume some type of motion in the direction of the force by the recipient?

By: Gobears49

Gobears49 — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 19:40:44 +0000

Maybe Crabbe would not likely get a one game suspension for a shove of a coach, but it would be more likely to occur than it would for Monty.

By: Gobears49

Gobears49 — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 19:38:25 +0000

It wasn’t a big one but it was clearly a shove. Can’t see what else you could call it.

This point may have been made, but if Crabbe had done the same thing to Monty, I think he’d end up in a heckuva lot more trouble than Monty did, most likely resulting in a one game suspension. If true, that would show a double standard, to some extent. Monty sort of lucked out because of his longstanding good behavior as a coach. A player couldn’t point to the same extended good track record.