The NBA brawl, John Green and alcoholism
Might alcoholism have precipitated the NBA brawl?
Top Story: The destructiveness of unimpeded early-stage alcoholism can take form in many ways, and in varying degrees. An estimated 80-90% of convicted criminals and domestic abusers are alcohol or other drug addicts. Over 35% of inconsiderate on-road misbehaviors such as failing to yield the right-of-way and tailgating are committed by likely alcoholics who are under the influence at the time of the infraction. These same drivers are responsible for an estimated 60% of obscene gestures and 80% of road rage. While some non-addicted children engage in physical violence, threats, or other forms of assault, the odds of a non-addicted adult doing so trend toward zero with age. So do childish and inappropriate behaviors such as throwing things at unsuspecting people.
Indiana Pacers player Ron Artest, described by his former coach Mike Jarvis as at times a gentle and wonderful person, has been suspended or fined by the National Basketball Association for improprieties during play on numerous occasions. With a history of out-of-control behaviors, Artest was previously forced into anger management therapy. He did, however, apologize for his part in the November 19 brawl. While there are no reports of addictive use of alcohol or other drugs by Artest in anything I have read, he clearly makes our “under watch” list, as do a number of other players.
Season ticket-holder John Green, 39, who threw the cup of beer at a sprawled-out Ron Artest that apparently caused the brawl, is a different matter. While Artest clearly overreacted, jumping into the stands and throwing punches as he climbed over seats, at one point Green stepped aside and, according to Oakland County, Michigan prosecutor David Gorcyca, sucker-punched Artest. Instead of apologizing, Green told interviewers on “Good Morning America” that he was trying to pull Artest off another fan. Green, rather than admitting to a gross error in judgment, denied throwing the cup in an interview with Detroit’s WDIV-TV, apparently before he saw the video of himself doing just that. He faces assault charges.
This is not Green’s first brush with the law. He has been convicted for writing bad checks, carrying a concealed weapon and assault, serving three years in prison for the latter. He is currently on probation for his third DUI conviction and apparently violated a Circuit Court’s order to abstain from drinking. He’d be wise to admit to this because if he didn’t purchase the beer to drink, he must have intended to throw it, in which case the assault is premeditated and would carry a more severe sentence.
Subtle misbehaviors are often clues to alcohol and other drug addiction and, therefore, of worse behaviors to come. One such clue immediately before the near-riot is that Green had sneaked into the lower section of the stands and was, according to real estate agent William Paulson, jockeying “from seat to seat” during the entire game, annoying other fans the whole time. A lack of consideration for others along with a “rules don’t apply to me” attitude are hallmark traits of alcoholics. This is not dissimilar to misbehaviors we see on the road every day as drivers jockey for position, occasionally resulting in far greater tragedy than the melee.
The reaction of the media to this event showed how misinformed observers are about the cause of most erratic behavior. Columnist Steve Dilbeck suggested this as a response to an 11-year old asking what happened: “anger can overtake all reason” and “supposedly grown adults…[descended] to their most base and repulsive side.” Yet, this doesn’t explain the fact that most people never engage in such misbehaviors. The response of the Drug Addiction Recognition Expert would be that alcoholism impedes emotional growth and results in power-seeking and attention-getting behaviors. Therefore, an adult alcoholic will sometimes engage in childlike misbehaviors, including throwing beer at people.
Another columnist, Leonard Pitts, Jr., had trouble with the idea that we could “blame it all on an excess of beer. Alcohol, by and large, does not create emotion so much as it magnifies and distorts it.” Alcohol “by and large” does not create emotion, but in the 10% or so of the population with alcoholism, it not only creates emotional states that would not otherwise exist, it also completely changes behaviors. To be precise, alcoholism damages the neo-cortex, the seat of reason and logic, rendering it incapable of restraining the base impulses of the reptilian brain, the basal ganglia, as well as the emotional reactions of the other lower brain center, the limbic system. While we cannot blame misbehaviors on an excess of beer in a non-addict, we find that excessive consumption by an addict, either at the time or during an overall period of addictive use, will result in misbehaviors at least some of the time.
Columnist Richard Cohen asked, “what is it with fans?” He was completely bewildered over what the fighting was for and amazed that basketball fans could be so stupid as to take on 7-foot tall athletes in the prime of their careers. However, the Darwin Awards are full of alcoholics committing stupid acts. What appears to be stupid, however, is often a very logical attempt to inflate the ego; in this case, what could be more ego-inflating at a basketball game than to successfully assault a very powerful player? Another writer, Boston Globe columnist Joan Vennochi, wrote that “beer plus sports equals rude, rowdy fans.” However, the truth is beer plus alcoholism plus codependent followers plus sports can equal rude, rowdy fans.
This was a low point in professional sports. If we look, we will often find an addict either precipitating events or leading others into committing atrocities at most low points in all areas of civilization. The NBA brawl was, sadly, no exception. Crucially, we will also find enabling long before the event. Who can doubt that friends and family members of John Green knew the Court’s requirement that he abstain from use, yet failed to intervene before tragedy happened?
Runner-ups for top story of the month, a busy one: Gregory Haidl, 19-year old son of a former Orange County, California assistant sheriff and influential political contributor, arrested for violating the terms of his bail in a rape case (involved in an automobile accident after drinking and using tranquilizers). Anna Nicole Smith, former Playboy Playmate of the Month and current TrimSpa spokesperson, who gave a “manic and incoherent” performance at the American Music Awards show in Los Angeles. Wally Backman, fired after four days as manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks when the team belatedly discovered he had a restraining order issued by an ex-wife, was once arrested for abusing his current wife after a night out drinking, had been arrested for a DUI, and previously filed for bankruptcy. Liza Minnelli, described as out “drinking again because of the heartbreak from her divorce” from producer David Gest, who reportedly struggled to “keep her away from the bottle” during their entire 16-month marriage. Former U.S. figure skating champion (1989 and 1992) Christopher Bowman, arrested on charges he pointed a loaded gun at a friend while drunk. Geraldine Kelley, who murdered her husband and stuffed him into a freezer in 1991, moved the freezer from Ventura, California to Somerville, Massachusetts in 1998 and shared her secret with her children on her deathbed. Rap artist Russell Jones, known as O.D.B., who crashed the stage after losing the Grammy for best rap album in 1998 and was later sentenced to two years in prison for drug possession and escaping mandatory rehab, dead at 35 from “unknown” causes. Actress Drew Barrymore’s father John Drew Barrymore (one of many in the generations of alcoholics in the famous acting family) who, until Drew gained legal and custodial control of him in 2000, was reportedly living on the streets for years, dead at 72.
Under watch: Former GI Charles Robert Jenkins admitted he had “started to drink a lot of alcohol” and “wasn’t thinking clearly” when he defected to North Korea in 1965. Explaining that “life in North Korea can be so miserable that you wish you were dead,” he was given probation, everyone apparently agreeing he’s more than served his time. Six-time Olympic swimming champion Michael Phelps, arrested on charges of DUI. “American Dreams” star Gail O’Grady, forced to file bankruptcy a decade ago over gambling debts even with a steady role on “NYPD Blue,” alleged to have recently gambled away $500,000 of ex-boyfriend Chris Byers’ money. Albert Robles, former South Gate, California treasurer, after having been accused of threatening to kill political opponents while exuding bravado and charm during his tenure, charged with plundering $12 million over five years from the city, whose entire annual budget is only $28 million. Linda Schrenko, Georgia state school superintendent from 1995 to 2003, reported as picking fights with “just about everybody” during her first years in office and taking after detractors “with a vengeance,” indicted on federal charges of stealing $614,000 in public funds, including $9,000 used for a face lift. “Mean Girls” star Lindsay Lohan, whose partying and multiple car crashes have recently caused friends to describe her as “spinning out of control,” following a magnificently enabling cover-story in the September 6 issue of “People” magazine, in which both she and her mother denied that anything was wrong.
Note to friends, family and fans of the above notables: we give the benefit of the doubt by assuming alcoholism. And if there is alcoholism, there is zero chance that behaviors will improve without sobriety.