Mike Giangreco

November 11, 2009

 In the wake of the scuffle between Washington Redskins cornerback DeAngelo and Atlanta Falcons coach Mike Smith, I wanted to touch on the topic of fighting in sports. Hall plays a physical game, and shoves wide receivers at the line of scrimmage for a living, but when Smith allegedly became physical with him on the sidelines, he felt a line was crossed and vowed for action to be taken. After the Redskins 31-17 loss to the "dirty birds," Hall announced to the media that he would be calling on NFL commissioner Roger Goodell for what he deemed to be a dirty act.

The whole incident began after safety LaRon Landry hit Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan when he was clearly out of bounds. Hall came to Landry's defense on the Falcons sideline and the video shows a sea of red jerseys, along with Smith grabbing Hall.

The tape doesn't lie, and DeAngelo isn't either, but he's acting like a child. I have to believe there's a personal beef between Hall and Smith and it may stem from Smith's role in making the decision to trade Hall to Oakland before he landed in D.C. last season.

Both Smith and Hall were within their rights to defend their respective teams. Had neither of the two taken any action, it would have shown a lack of loyalty. This incident is being blown up to be much bigger than it really is because fights and scrums are a part of sport.

For players and coaches immersed in the game; adrenaline is constantly flowing, passion is burning and testosterone is raging. We shouldn't be surprised when these events happen, because the powder keg is always ready to explode.

I am not promoting violence in sport, but shedding light on the situation. Is every fight in sport kosher? Of course not. But there are different levels of incidents and some deserve stiff penalties, while others may warrant a slap on the wrist or no action at all.

Let's bury the hatchet between Hall and Smith and let it go. Neither should be fined, but since the story has become so huge, I wouldn't be shocked if both were hit in the wallet with a fine from "Papa Goodell."

When it comes to famous fights, outside of boxing and MMA, the one that comes to mind most is "The Malice at the Palace." It's deemed as one of the ugliest affairs in professional sports, and resulted in the longest suspension in NBA history.

On November 19, 2004, Indiana Pacer forward Ron Artest fouled Detroit Pistons center Ben Wallace who retaliated with a shove. Both benches cleared and Artest, who was ejected from the game, laid on the scorer's table. A beer was thrown from the stands and hit Artest, who then went into the stands with teammates Fred Jones and Stephen Jackson and began throwing fisticuffs. Meanwhile, on the court, Pacers center Jermaine O'Neal decked a fan who ran onto the court.

Artest was suspended for the rest of the season (73 games), Jackson served 30 and O'Neil was dealt 25 games, which was later reduced to 15. It went down in history as one of the most disgusting displays of violence in professional sports, and the fact that fans were involved made the matter even more serious. The players were assaulting the people who pay their salaries.

NBA commissioner David Stern took necessary action and went into "damage control" mode as quickly as he could. The league rebounded from the melee and five years later, and its wake hasn't stopped fans from attending games.

The Miami Heat and New York Knicks had their share of on-court incidents in the late 90's, but they looked liked a couple of school girls slapping one another. If a ring-side judge were trying to score the fight, no one would have been awarded points because no one could connect on a punch.

Back in the day, that wasn't the case, just ask Rudy Tomjanovich. In 1977, Tomjanovich, who was playing for the Houston Rockets, was floored by Kermit Washington of the Los Angeles Lakers and ended up lying unconscious in a pool of blood with a fractured face. Tomjanovich was acting in the same way DeAngelo Hall was, simply trying to break up a fight, but the actions of Washington and the end result is what elevates this particular incident in sports history.

If there's a silver lining to the "Punch heard 'round the world," it's that the fight became a catalyst for the NBA to change the way it handled on-court fights and imposed stricter penalties on its players.

The protection of fellow players will never fade in sport; there is a Hammurabi Code which is maintained even today and it will endure forever. Professional athletes have equated the concept of "team" to "family" since the days of little league and they will come to the aid of a teammate as if their wives or children were being attacked.

Baseball and hockey are two of the "Big Four" mainstream sports where violence is accepted as tradition. It's customary, and expected that when an opposing batter is hit by a pitcher, there will be retaliation. Benches are usually warned once the scores are settled, but it takes a player getting pegged for the umpire to make that call.

The New York Yankees have been involved in a number of brawls over the years, with two of the most infamous involving Don Zimmer. During the 2003 ALCS, Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martinez hit the Yankees Karim Garcia with a pitch and the next inning Yankee pitcher Roger Clemens threw high at Manny Ramirez, which sparked Manny to charge the mound. Both benches cleared and the then 72 year old Zimmer (who was with the Yankees) took a swing at Martinez who threw Zimmer to the ground.

Five years later, Zimmer was in the Tampa Bay Rays dugout during a spring training game against the Yankees when another brawl ensued after a player purposely slid with his cleats up and tried to injure the Yankees second baseman. Zimmer stayed clear of the fight this time, but he'll forever be remembered as the man Pedro tossed. Martinez was caught up in the emotions of the fight and could even say he was defending himself, but senior citizens shouldn't be abused in any situation.

Nolan Ryan is one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history, but along with throwing seven career no-hitters, he also threw Chicago White Sox third-baseman Robin Ventura to the ground after Ventura charged the mound following Ryan hitting him with a pitch. "I was just trying to pitch him inside. I'm not a big believer in fights, but I'll do what it takes to win games," Ryan said after the game 1993 fight. Ryan was 46, Ventura was 26 at the time. The old man schooled the young punk and no one was seriously hurt; that's why it was humorous and is one of the best YouTube videos out there.

Hockey is an inherently violent sport, but the interesting thing about the NHL is that it referees allow players to fight one another as if it were a boxing bout. Ask a female sports fan why she enjoys going to hockey games and I'll guarantee you her first response is the fighting. The scrums around goalies happen every night and the "enforcer" actually has a major role on the team.

Former Washington Capital Donald Brashear is one of the surviving "enforcers" in the game, but in 2000, he was the victim of assault when tough-guy Marty McSorley of the Boston Bruins swung his stick and hit Brashear in the head. Brashear suffered a concussion and memory lapses, but later returned to play in the league. McSorley was found guilty for assault the following fall.

McSorley's trial was the first for an NHL player in 12 years, but in 2004 another ugly on-ice incident shocked the sports world when Vancouver Cancuks All-Star Todd Bertuzzi blindsided Colorado Avalanche rookie Steve Moore with a punch from behind and left Moore with three broken vertebrae in his neck and a concussion. Bertuzzi was re-instated after serving a one-year suspension, but the hit ended the young Moore's career.

Bertuzzi should have never been able to play in the NHL again; hell, he shouldn't have been allowed to play street hockey with 10 year-olds. It was a disgusting act and his punishment didn't fit the crime.

Acts like that have become far too common in sport these days. How quickly we forget the past offenses of these players. Take Redskins defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth for example. He doesn't seem like a bad guy. He's soft-spoken, polite and seems genuine, but just three years ago, when he was with the Tennessee Titans, Haynesworth stomped the face of Dallas Cowboys center Andre Gurode and served a five-game suspension which was the longest for on-field behavior in NFL history.

DeAngelo Hall was coming to the defense of his teammate and friend and when push literally came to shove, a coach got involved. However, Mike Smith didn't pull a Woody Hayes and choke Hall; he simply grabbed jersey and tried to instill some fear in what he likely saw as an insubordinate loud-mouth who gave him trouble in Atlanta.

This week, Oregon football player LeGarrette Blount was welcomed back by his team after serving an eight-game suspension for sucker punching Boise State's Byron Hout and a video of a Rhode Island high school girls soccer fight has become one of the most watched videos on the web.

Fighting is a part of sport. It will never be eliminated, but it can be controlled. Some fights are comical, some are overblown and others can become serious to the point where lives are in jeopardy. Emotions get the best of players; they get the best of people. When emotions are running high anything can happen; it just depends on who's there to stop things from going from bad to worse.