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It began with that nasty basketbrawl here in New York. The NBA could hand down some heavy suspensions today. We have more now from NBC's Mike Taibbi.
It happened near the end of another ugly loss for the struggling New York Knicks.
A flagrant foul when the Denver Nuggets up 19 with seconds to play still had most of their starters in. Knick guard Nick Robinson, shown here, driving the one Nugget into the stands, said the unwritten rule against running up the score had been violated.
It just, you know it's basically like a slap in the face. You know, to the team saying, you know. We’re just gonna embarrass you guys like that.
But in a League intent on controlling on-court violence, a reason is not an excuse, especially for what happened as the brawl progressed. All 10 players on the floor, 5 from each team got into it. And then Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony, the league leading scorer, sucker-punched Knicks' Mardy Collins before backing away furiously while being chased by other Knicks. But the memories are still pungent of the shadowy Detroit Piston-Indiana Pacers brawl that spilled into the stands two years ago.
And more, there has been no comment from the League yet. Commissioner David Stern will likely suspend most, if not all, of the ten players involved in this brawl including Anthony.
What he's going to show is that we are tough, we are not going to tolerate this behavior. Come watch our games, 'cause we are family-friendly now.
With no reported injuries and no fan involvement, some might call this a hockey fight in sneakers, except that in this league, in this game. It doesn't often come with the territory.
For Today, Mike Taibbi, NBC News, New York.
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