The Musings of Brian Groce

What will it take for the Pacers to finally decide that it’s a good idea to part ways with players who continually tarnish the reputation of the team?

Early this morning Stephen Jackson, Jamaal Tinsley, Marquis Daniels and Jimmie Hunter reportedly got into a ruckus at a Westside Indianapolis strip club which climaxed with Jackson reportedly being hit in the face followed by someone hitting him with their car and then Jackson opening fire on the car with a 9-mm handgun. Tinsley and Daniels reportedly had guns in their vehicles, though not used, and a “small amount” of marijuana was also found in Tinsley’s vehicle.

First off, as a professional team owner and/or president wouldn’t you make it clear to players to stay far away from strip clubs, night clubs & bars? (Not to mention actually owning a night club…Jermaine.) What about toting guns around town? Wouldn’t a clause be placed in contracts the same way other extracurricular activities are not permitted? There are enough opportunities for “issues” to arise without having to worry about what happens when players are around people who are getting liquored up and/or what might happen when you have a loaded weapon on you. While I can understand wanting to unload a few rounds on someone who is trying to injure you or rob you, with a gun that you legally own and have licensed, common sense should tell you to remove yourself from that potential situation whenever that is within your power. Did someone miss the whole Ray Lewis fiasco back in 2000? How about Jayson Williams? But again, I did say “common sense”.

Secondly, aren’t professional athletes supposed to be leaders in the community? I know that Sir Charles might argue that one, but the truth of the matter is that people look up to these guys. When they see athletes acting like fools people come to think that is perfectly acceptable behavior. Don’t we have enough problems arise from the East Coast - West Coast crowd without adding professional athletes to the mix? Yet we wonder why there are kids killing each other every day.

Larry and Donnie please wakeup before yet another season goes down the toilet due to the poor choice of personnel. I’m seriously starting to wonder if Reggie Miller saw where things were headed after The Brawl with the Pistons and decided to hang it up while he still had a chance to go out without being associated with the “new” look of the Pacers. So please come to your senses guys and instate a zero tolerance policy, even if it does sacrifice this season. Rebuild. The integrity of the organization is far more important at this point than another mediocre season in which we barely make the playoffs and make a quick exit once we are there.

This entry was posted on Friday, October 6th, 2006 at 9:36 am and is filed under Life in Indy, Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.