LA Sparks-Detroit Shock Game Ends in Skirmish
July 23, 2008
There will be repercussions for the fight that erupted during the Detroit Shock-Los Angeles Sparks WNBA game.
With just a few seconds remaining in the game (4.6 seconds), after a free throw Plenette Pierson intentionally entangled herself with Candace Parker. Pierson pulled Parker to the ground, causing herself to also fall. Pierson then rose from the ground indignant, and purposely ran into the still-prone Parker and a scuffle ensued. According to an Associated Press game article, Parker attempted to punch Pierson. Deanna Nolan then tackled Parker as she tried to rise from the ground.
Apparently, the skirmish might have been an offshoot of the play before when Cheryl Ford fouled Parker and the two players had to be separated.
During the encounter between players from the two teams Detroit assistant coach Rick Mahorn allegedly pushed Lisa Leslie and other Delisha Miltoin-Jones punched Mahorn in the back. Mahorn, Parker, Pierson, and Milton-Jones were ejected. Nolan who escalated the affair by tackling Parker only received a technical as did Shock guard Shannon Bobbitt.
Ford sprained her knee attempting to restrain Pierson and and to be assisted from the floor in a wheelchair.
Shock head coach Bill Laimbeer is known to exhort his players to play the game in a similar style to his own during his playing days:rough and constantly on the edge of what can be either termed as physical or dirty play. Though Mahorn was known for the same type of play as Laimbeer, in depictions of the two coaches’ relationships to the Shock players it is Mahorn who is the mediator between Laimbeer, the “tough-love”coach, and the players; while Laimbeer incites, Mahorn is the peacemaker. After the game Sparks head coach Michael Cooper said that Mahorn was being a peacemaker but is so big that any physical action on his part would appear as something more than what it was.
It will be interesting to see how the WNBA comes down on this event.
Comments
28 Responses to “LA Sparks-Detroit Shock Game Ends in Skirmish”
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Why do I have a feeling that will actually be GOOD for the WNBA? Doesn’t negative publicity always beat no publicity at all? And if so, I’ll take it…
dwil-
I saw the highlights on ESPN last night. Interestingly, they framed it all as Parker’s fault. I only saw the highlights that they put out, and I didn’t come to the same conclusion. It was clear that Detroit was playing Parker physical, no doubt in an attempt to get her out of her game. On the missed free throw that started this, it’s pretty clear that Pierson put something extra into that bump. Parker still managed to get better position, then Pierson, pulled her down. Once Pierson got up, she started coming at Parker.
I remember seeing the story on Bill Laimbeer as the Detroit Shock coach on Real Sports. He admitted that he wants his team to play like he played in the NBA. I saw Detroit’s play as a whole last night as an extension of this. Parker was just too good for them, so now, Laimbeer is implementing his “Parker rules”. Mahorn should have known better. These are women that he’s dealing with, and trying to play peacemaker using the same amount of force that he used with NBA players, he’s going to knock them down.
Now, I can already see ESPN framing this as the “Malice in the Palace II”. Complete with articles about how this was all Candace Parker’s fault. I guess since they are already blaming her, we’ll see something about her being a rookie who hasn’t paid her dues yet, and she’s got the big head. Looks like a pre-emptive hit job to make sure that they can always have something to hang over her head.
I went to a WNBA game and the ‘88 Finals break out:)
That was kind of surreal seeing Mahorn, Coop, and Laimbeer involved with a WNBA fight. Throw in Karl Malone’s daughter and it’s even more surreal.
The fight won’t help the league in the long term, but for the next 3-4 days there will be plenty of publicity. But the people who are pre-disposed to hating the WNBA aren’t gonna be swayed by an end of the game dust-up.
The end result will no doubt be more rules and regulations being laid down by David Stern. After all, we all know how he tends to overreact in these situations! I’m surprised he hasn’t banned games at the Auburn Palace yet…
The likeliest rule to emerge will be something along the lines of a “male coaches can’t leave the bench during an altercation” rule, sorta like the NBA “can’t leave the bench during a fight” rule. Having male coaches trying to break up fights between female players is going to lead to episodes like Mahorn, where it becomes hard to determine whether he was playing peacemaker, or getting in a cheap shot on Leslie. It doesn’t matter his intention - the problem will be the perception of a big former NBA guy pushing a female around.
So going forth I’m guessing it will be left up to female coaches (as Mizzo has said, there should be more in the WNBA anyway) and the refs to break up the fights, and not the male coaches.
*Sigh*
It felt weird watching all those sisters fight each other. Kind of tacky.
Girl fight! Girl fight! Girl fight!
I agree that this may actually be good publicity for the league. However, it is probably not a good thing long-tem if male coaches are seen bullying female players.
This ain’t no big deal. These are athletes in competition, tempers will flare, that’s competitive sports for ya.
David Sterns–high paid overseer as he is– will probably over react as usual, gotta make sure his whites patrons are comfortable with the plantation workers. IMO nothing needs to be done, it’s not like fights are a regular occurance. Recognize it for what it is, competitive sports at a high level, and lets move on.
It’s predictable that espn will feature this non-event in all their programing, and of course spice it up with their negative slant so that their semi-literate audience can remain semi-literate.
Imhotep you took the words right out of my mouth. Well said.
Also doesn’t the WNBA have its own commishioner??? Some lady right??
I know I know stern is still pulling the strings though.
“after a free throw Plenette Pierson intentionally entangled herself ”
It’s called boxing out.
Why aren’t the Shock players allowed to get physical with Candace, kos? She’s obviously the best player on their roster, so why not try to take her out of her game?
In any skewed vision of that highlight, it’s still boxing out and an instigation to a fight by Candace to push Pierson to the ground. Sure she got bumped but she’s the one that threw the player on the floor, not the other way around.
Imhotep, Origin
You got there before me. Always remember, in sports where the majority of the athletes are black, you have to lay down the law and let them know that their thuggish behaviour scares the paying (white) public. In other sports, say baseball, hockey, NASCAR that’s where tempers flare up in the heat of competitive passion and it’s all part of the game. We must always keep this in mind.
…not only black but, in the case of WNBA, perceived as vast majority black and lesbian.
Dwil……………bingo….couldn’t agree more.
Big man, I’m with you. Tacky.
Dwil, you said it…
These sisters have just got to be a bit more aware of the reality…and handle their business…
There is so much that makes me proud of these athletically gifted, college graduates, mothers, business-women..but, last night. Oy.
Boney
It’s ok to “take out” the other team’s best player?
Weren’t you complaining that Jameer Nelson “took out” Chauncey by hooking his leg as he went down which caused a lingering groin injury? Didn’t you call that a dirty play that was uncalled for?
But now it’s ok to “take out” the other team’s best player?
Yes, they have got to control their tempers…but Danica? Well she’s just being Danica, feisty, spunky even!!
Boney-
I have no problem with boxing out or playing physical. If you look at the video, Pierson, went at boxing out the wrong way, trying to push Parker out of the way, instead of just getting position. Then, she got her arms tangled up with Parker and pulled her down.
I do have a problem with “taking out” the best player on the team. I’m not in favor of intentionally trying to hurt the best player on any team. There are ways to make it more difficult for the best player on a team without resorting to cheap shots.
Big Man and kos
I never said that it was ok to take a player out, nor did I say that insinuate it was ok to hurt a player. I would also argue that these are “the candace rules” because Candace honestly hasn’t earned anything yet in the WNBA.
If you re-read what I said, you’ll see that I said it’s ok to take her out of her game. How is it not ok?
Also, to argue that Bill Laimbeer’s coaching had a hand in this is completely irresonposible. Sure, the guy was a physical player and a key member of the Bad Boys in the late 80s and early 90s and perhaps his coaching style promotes defense but that doesn’t mean that it’s dirty play. To reference Auburn Hills or Detroit and fighting in basketball games (which dwil didn’t do) or to say Laimbeer’s personality played a role in this skirmish is irresponsible considering this is the first real fight in WNBA history. 11 years, 1 fight, hardly Laimbeer’s fault.
What happened on this play was not dirty, it happens on a lot of free throw attempts during NBA games. Guys tangle arms, it’s broken up. I’ll continue to argue that if Parker would’ve lifted her arms while running down the court she wouldn’t be looked to as an instigator in this. Considering she got locked up and put the player on the floor, she’s just as much at fault as the Detroit player.
SML,
Donna Orender is the WNBA commissioner, not David Stern.
Big Man
To go back to my thoughts on Nelson and him hooking Billups’ foot on that play.
After watching the highlights and then watching Detroit easily dispatch Orlando without issue, it’s no longer an issue with me.
But it does concern me when I see a guy get beat on a drive, flop, and when most guys fall on the butt and slide on the floor with their toes straight up, play the replay in slow motion you’ll see him look down at his feet as he hooked Billups’ heel.
It was to keep him from completing the play because he got beat. I don’t 100% think it was dirty, but it was a bush league move by a guy who was dominated by both Billups and Stuckey in that series.
This type of exposure will only help the WNBA, and like Modi said, any attention is better than no attention at all. Look at the former NBA players from the “Bad boys” involved! It may have even been “staged” as Stern knows that in each one of us both Male and Female …is a Barbaric nature or “Gladiator watcher inside us.” Build a team that is Hated because of their rough play or “thug type” persona, and you will pick up a lot more boarderline fans ….simply to watch
the hated team lose, but the key is that that team must always win for the continued “watching and followers.” I believe ALi sold more people on buying tickets to watch him lose than win! Drama is good for the WNBA.
Boney-
I apologize for the “take out” comments. I read your statement wrong. Darn work gets in the way of me reading and commenting sometimes.
I stand by what I said about Pierson wasn’t trying to box out Parker as much as push her out the way. If Pierson just boxes out, instead of pushing, then we aren’t posting about the WNBA. As for the “Candace rules”, any time a player is good or gets hot, a coach will set up ways to try to stop them. Out of the WNBA games and the highlights that I’ve seen this year, Detroit played the Sparks and Parker in particular, more physical than any other team in the league. It’s a strategy. It’s no different than what happened to Kevin Durant this past year in the NBA. He’d have a game where he was hot, then the next five, teams would wear him down physically. It won’t be the first time teams test Parker, and now, I’m guessing that we’ll see more of it against her.
Some of you believe that fights and, presumably, the mandatory suspensions that follow, will actually “help” the WNBA.
How can this be?
Not when I’ve had floor seats at the Garden for two months now, eagerly anticipating this Friday’s Sparks v. Liberty matchup, and specifically because I wanted to see Ms Leslie and Ms Parker play basketball.
If Ms. Parker is suspended - and, for reasons unknown to me, all the pundits seem to think she should be - then I may not even attend. If I do not attend, that’s $170 wasted on two courtside seats, which isn’t a lot of money, but would leave a bitter taste in my mouth about the WNBA nontheless.
So, tell me again, please: how does the WNBA benefit by suspending its star player for, essentially, excersizing a natural survival instinct against multiple unwarranted, unprovoked attacks? Does the league benefit by creating a disgruntled fan (me), who will miss out on watching an electric player during her only appearance in NYC this summer, all because of some cheapshots from opponents? Does the league benefit by depriving its marquee player the opportunity to play on basketball’s biggest stage?
How does THAT work?
Last P-
Agreed. There is no way this aids the WNBA’s cause of “appearing” as a legitimate basketball league. And it’s not as if scads of people are going to suddenly begin showing up for games hoping for a fight to break out.
The league’s grip on the paying public is tenuous enough. Black women “fighting” and a black ex-pro coach with a reputation for dirty play (warranted or not) allegedly pushing a female basketball player does not mean people are going to start turning out for Chicago-Atlanta WNBA matchups.
Plus, as you said, a suspended Candace Parker, who, with Diana Taurasi, are the only two players I have ever heard men say they actively want to watch, what men would see a Sparks game without her in the lineup outside of those relatively few who already watch?
Boney
i apologize for mis-reading your comment. Sorry about that.
How does the WNBA benefit from suspending a star player?
What is the league supposed to do? Slap her on the wrist and say “you know Candace, we’ll suspend the girl that you threw a punch at… don’t worry about it you do your thing girl”… c’mon, let’s get real.
Taurasi was suspended a few games for criticizing officials against Detroit, and she’s a “superstar” too.
dwil,
You keep thinking that black women fighting on the court are a reason why no one sits in the seats for a WNBA game. Women’s basketball, in general, is almost impossible to watch and to say that the WNBA isn’t popular because black women play in it is irresponsible. The women’s game is as popular as it’s going to get. You may lose a few fans here and there and the little girls will eventually grow up and become fans, but it all evens out.
Big Man and kos,
It’s no big deal about the comment. I don’t want anyone to take out a player (although an elbow or 2 to LeBron during the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals wouldn’t have hurt).
TLP,
It’s “fans” like you that threaten to not pay $170 for courtside seats that cause the league to not be successful. Why not still attend the game? Her teammates will be on the floor, it’s not like she’s so great of a player that she’s playing 1 on 5.
Show your support, pay your $170 and go be a real fan. Don’t threaten to not support the league because someone got suspended. She threw a punch, and just like Carmelo and those Knicks who got suspended, she deserves to be suspended for participating in the fight.
Personally, I don’t think any players male or female should be suspended mulitiple games for fighting. Ejecting, mabye, but the “fights” in the NBA are not worthy of the heavy handed approach that David Stern implements. Often, over quickly and rarely serious (yes, I remember Kermit and Rudy T-extremely unlucky punch on both parties part) I never thought multiple game suspensions were warranted. Let ‘em play, I like to see the passion.
On a side note, Dwil mentioned that Parker was one player that men actually want to see play. (although Sanaa Lathan in “Love and Basketball” I will watch all day-that scene where she plays Omar Epps one on one-gets me everytime.) As someone whose womens basketball viewing was pretty much limited to the SEC and more specifically the Lady Vols and Vandy women, I can say that I have actively tried to catch Parker playing and am looking forward to going to a game. Chick has skills and an attitude. I love it.
Bones
Are you telling me how I should spend my money now?
This coming from someone who a few paragraphs earlier said that women’s bball is “almost impossible to watch”?
As usual, you misunderstand and misinterpret my comment. Why? Because you’re stupid, of course.
Do me a favor: please stop reading and attempting to provide your special brand of idiocy to my comments. I do not need advice from you, and I do not wish to send the short bus over to pick you up every time I leave a comment. Modi, Big Man, and precious few others are here for your knowledge and edification, not me. Are we clear?
Boney-
Are you on drugs?
You keep thinking that black women fighting on the court are a reason why no one sits in the seats for a WNBA game. Women’s basketball, in general, is almost impossible to watch and to say that the WNBA isn’t popular because black women play in it is irresponsible. The women’s game is as popular as it’s going to get. You may lose a few fans here and there and the little girls will eventually grow up and become fans, but it all evens out.
When did I say that?
I watch the WNBA regularly. I took my daughter and her cousin to a San Antonio-Detroit game for my daughter’s birthday…. and further, I suggest to young boys who play ball but cannot dunk that they all watch the WNBA as avidly as they do the NBA. That way they can see and take in the game as it is played under the rim before they get over the rim.
I was responding to Last P’s comment about having tickets to a game and now Candace Parker isn’t playing. And my comment about black and lesbian is an at-large perception of the league (collegiate hoops, too).
Parker’s suspension isn’t going to make people who bought tickets to see her play very happy, is it? And if you can’t understand what I just wrote, go back and read Poet’s comment…. then look at “awb” writes in his comment above about Parker.
Finally, I have never agreed with a player getting suspended for defending him/herself. When Pierson tromped up and walked on Parker that opened her up for Parker to defend herself - and she did. What was she supposed to to, ball up on the floor and get stomped?
At worst, let the two fight it out, give ‘em 5 minutes in the penalty box, and let’s keep ballin’ (joking)
This really wasn’t even a fight. people just got tangled up. Pierson was the only antagonist in this whole thing. Mahorn’s push was accidental, and the punch on mahorn’s back was nothing. besides Pierson, nothing happened here.
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LP, my take is that the league loses out for one game, but gets aided by reminding folks that the WNBA actually exists. I don’t think that there is ever much of a direct cognitve process where one sees a WNBA fight and says that they will buy a ticket because of it. I think that just like most advertising, it works on a subconscious level.
Too bad there is only one more game before the Olympics because if not I would have liked to look at nielson ratings and attendance rates for the next few games to see if there is a negative effect, no effect, a short-term spike, or any long-term boost.
BTW, a 50 year old nancy leiberman will suit up for the Detroit Shock tonight.