Davis enters stands for wife; Gordon nails gamewinner in OT
Bulls 106, Knicks 104, O.T.: Knicks Have Wild Finish on Court and in the Stands
“I witnessed my wife being threatened by a man that I learned later to be intoxicated,” Davis said in a statement issued after the game. “I saw him touch her, and I know I should not have acted the way I did, but I would have felt terrible if I didn’t react. There was no time to call security. It happened too quickly.”
Think about this one for a moment. You’re a professional basketball player, and you’re team is playing on the road. During a timeout, you look up into the stands toward where your family is sitting, only to see your wife being accosted by someone. So, what do you do? How many of us wouldn’t do what Antonio Davis did? He went up into the stands to check on the safety of his wife and family And it’s not as if he stormed into the stands a la Ron Artest and Stephen Jackson in Detroit. Davis calmly walked up the arena steps to the row where his family was seated, calmly made certain that things were under control, and when security arrived, he calmly allowed himself to be escorted from arena. Davis no doubt knows the rules; he knew that he would be ejected from the game, and he also no doubt is well aware that he may be facing a suspension from NBA Commission David Stern.
Antonio Davis is a well-respected and highly intelligent person, in addition to being a talented basketball player. As the President of the NBA Player’s Association, Davis knows the rules, and yet he did what any man would have and should have done in attempting to ensure that his family was safe. Yes, according to NBA rules, a player going into the stands can expect an almost automatic suspension, but let’s be realistic here. Antonio Davis saw his wife being accosted. What sort of man would stand by waiting for someone else to resolve the problem? Davis did exactly what any man who cares for his family would do, and that he did it calmly and under control is to his credit. It would be nice if this were taken into account when David Stern reviews the situation. Antonio Davis is not Ron Artest, and while one could perhaps argue that Davis should not have left the playing floor, I’m not going to blame him for attempting to ensure that his wife and family were safe. After all, isn’t that what we as men are supposed to do?
