FREE Marcus Smart

 

 

 

 Free Marcus Smart.

Lift the ban on his three-game suspension.

Quell the issue and the overblown dramatics surrounding it.

 Bury the hatchet. Let Smart and the jarringly obnoxious “superfan” Jeff Orr shake hands and move beyond it.

 It was a simple shove. He didn't put the guy in a chokehold or crack Orr's wise-cracking jaw into 81 pieces, did he?

 
Is Orr really the victim here?

Or is he another socially limited, hyperactive and ultra-childish fan who spends 99.99999 percent of his free time perusing college basketball websites/chatrooms/social media groups and representing "The University" with unrivaled pride and fervor?


If you looked like Orr, would you be bellowing insults at a 19-year-old KID who could probably bench tress a UHAUL truck?

Allow Smart to write an apology, enabling him to be reinstated. Let him explain, in 100 words or less, that it was purely an emotional outburst which he regrets deeply.

 His frustration compounded, his blood boiled during an irritability-soaring moment, and for that he is truly sorry.

 Through his career, Smart's good has outweighed his bad. This incident should do nothing to sully his image.

Done.

Move on.

Reinstate him.

Be thankful he pushed a crazed old man, and not another college kid.

Be thankful that a rowdy Texas Tech clique didn't spill onto the floor and exchange blows with Smart and his teammates. That would have been a nightmarish scene. It didn't come to that, so let's move on.

That means no more fake media outrage, no more talk of it being a "disturbing" incident.

 His actions did not merit a three-game suspension. A technical foul? Yes. A public scolding and a three-game suspension and and overblown analysis?

No. Hell no.

This was not Stephen Jackson delivering a jaw-rocking knockout punch at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

This was not Metta World Peace (then known as Ron Artest) bull-rushing a frightened fan, 1/5^th his size and perhaps 1/15^th his manpower.

Shit, that ugly scene was akin to Tyson in his prime pelting a defenseless, beer-soaked Smurf with haymakers.

This wasn’t Jermaine O’Neal unleashing a money shot to the mouth of a self-proclaimed gangster/Detroit fan, who had no business being on the court in the first place.

 To compare Smart’s love tap on an obnoxious fan to Malice At The Palace-level idiocy would be criminal.

This was not a handsomely-paid professional, crossing the imaginary line between fan and player or pumping fear into an arena rife with children.

This was Smart incensed and upset, briefly losing it with a  heat-of-the-moment reaction.  

But what about Orr, who earns his shoddy reputation trash-talking college kids?

The tough-talking, cheap thrill-seeking Waco, Texas air traffic controller, who graduated in 1983 and probably hasn’t missed a game since 1983 should be ignored entirely.

Don't give this clown the attention he and his alumni circle buddies so crave.


Another glaring example of a possessed fan who takes “University Pride” in creating a hostile atmosphere for his beloved home team.  

Another psychotic, mascot-obsessed dud who would surely turn a blind eye to a Sandusky on campus, the same way the late and legendary Joe Paterno did.

 Hey, if the pride and prestige of "The University" and the University's athletic department is at stake, there is no choice. Right?

It hasn’t been clarified if Orr, who now owns 15 more minutes of fame than he's deserving of, used a racist term to ignite Smart’s ire.

If you spend your livelihood taunting and baiting college kids...well...let’s just say Mr. Orr got what he deserved.

There's a reason you will never see a super-tiny, Paris Hilton-sized dog engaging in vicious barking warfare with ferocious pitbull.

It's the same reason you never see a washed-up, well over the hill Butterbean fighting Floyd Mayweather with millions at stake.

 The portly, dick-ish Superfan should have realized this, before letting those barrage of insults cascade down his Dominoes Deep Dish inhaling lips.

Now, he will forever be known as the hardcore fan who used Smart’s brand name to draw attention to himself. Again, 15 more minutes than he truly deserves.

He passed up the long green paper trail to the NBA to return for a sizzling sophomore campaign.

I’m pretty sure Marcus Smart losing his shit and tossing a fan who, well, had it coming, is hardly Marcus Williams five fingering lab tops.

At a bullish 6-foot-4, 220-pounds, Smart is averaging 17.5 points per game.

 While he’s been marred by inconstancy issues (he went 1-for-7 in a lowly four-point performance against West Virginia and labored through a 3-for-14, 0-for-7 from beyond the arc against Baylor), there’s no question Smart can erupt with a buckets binge (39 points on 11-for-21 shooting in a drubbing of then no.11 Memphis, another 30-spot in a 10-point win over Purdue) at any time.

Make no mistake about it, the issue this muscle-bound point guard creates is that he’s able to overpower defenders with his size and hard-driving style.

Smart's a stout on-the-ball defender, capable of hounding and harassing elite scorers into 3-for-13 off nights.

There should be no character issues hanging over Smart’s draft status before he enters the Green Room on a hot late-June night. 

He will do his time and do his time like a man.

Free Marcus Smart.