If anyone can speak on how to handle an unruly fan, it's the great Charles Barkley, who once threw a man through a first-floor bar window because the man was being disrespectful. When asked by a judge if he had any regrets, Barkley famously said "yeah, I regret we weren't on a higher floor."
Luckily for Charles, his fan run-in was well before the age of social media and smartphones, thought he is so beloved that everyone would have probably stood up and cheered watching a video of Barkley beat someone's ass. Come to think of it ... that sounds like a pretty good idea, letting players take a few swings on mouthy fans who don't know when to shut up.
Well, to the surprise of no one, that is the Chuckster's idea for handling unruly spectators. Five minutes at center court. Anything goes.
"I've always said, we could put an end to all this stuff, some of the stuff these fans say, let's take 'em right down to center court for five minutes," Barkley explained on Inside the NBA Sunday night. "Just give me five minutes at center court with 'em, and just say 'you ain't gonna press no charges, ain't nobody gonna be sued civilly. Say what you just said to me right to my face right here for these five minutes, and I'm gonna beat the hell out of you.'"
Would anyone be opposed to this? Absolutely not, especially in NBA arenas, where a center court meeting would probably be more entertaining than the game itself. You could sell these as pay-per views and make a fortune. Have a red zone style channel that does live look-ins each time there is a player-fan throwdown. Who says no?
Well, Adam Silver for one. Fans would say no, too, or they'd simply stop being disrespectful altogether if it meant they didn't have to get roughed up in front of 18,000 people. It would only need to happen once. Think about it, Mr. Silver.
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