Incident at Providence/Marquette game

[jasonpeoria911]

Brother of one of the Providence players charged the court from the stands and berated a ref. Apparently the ref missed Jeff Xavier getting whacked in the eye which caused it to swell shut.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=200901170472

Jason

[Da Coach]

That's unbelieveable. A new low point in fan behavior.

http://www.espn.go.com/ncb/player/photo?photoId=2125389&playerId=22680

[Indy_BB]

That ref was lucky that guy wasn't a White Sox fan. They come more drunk and in pairs on such missions.

[Braves4Life]

I'm not so sure I see much difference between this and incidents at certain arenas where home fans harass, intimidate, use profanity and extremely vulgar language, throw things, and spit on fans of the other team.

You must be referring to Maryland

[real fan]

Fans cannot go onto the floor to approach an official , this guy should be banned from attending any college game for 1 year, also if you get caught throwing objects on the floor the same should happen to them, that is not acceptable actions period.

[lefty]

Fans cannot go onto the floor to approach an official , this guy should be banned from attending any college game for 1 year, also if you get caught throwing objects on the floor the same should happen to them, that is not acceptable actions period.

I don't know about a one year ban but it is unacceptable behavior....luckily nothing really happened but it sure could have turned ugly, especially somewhere alcohol could be served

[real fan]

Promotions are different as they are invited out on the floor during a timeout.

[lefty]

I know that, but it would be difficult to find wording of a law to prohibit people from going on the floor, when some are asked to all the time by numerous different people.

Getting back to the foul that triggered the incident.
In the slow-mo it is clear that the defender simply stood there, no foul, and he held his arms up, and the player/shooter's face
made contact with the defender's elbow which was extended above his head. I wasn't a foul at all and the refs did call it properly.

It was a clean play for sure. Really his brother had no reason to be upset.

Check the Wake Forest-Clemson game where McFarland gets body slammed after going into the crowd....he kind of asked for it if you watch when he goes in.I'll try and find the link

[lefty]

Here it is, lefty

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeAWznFBP-0&eurl=http://www.fitsnews.com/2009/01/18/clempsun-fans-are-classy-too/

this is really a blindside assault by the fan on McFarland.

I have met Chas McFarland and never have figured out why he didn't get more recruiting interest from schools locally (he's from near Decatur)
but he is a very good player.

If you watch McFarland specifically it looks like he gives an extra push with his leg flailing away into the guy in the bleachers.

This was a heated game with lots of trash talking by both teams and the fans for that matter.

[Braves4Life]

It's really hard to tell what happened here. It almost looks like something gave way in the bleachers or both player and fan were off balance and collapsed on each other.

I will say this though. Having watched many of McFarland's games he is a borderline dirty player and plays with a real attitude (both of wich I happen to like ). It really looks like McFarland initiated anything that happened in this incident (which he usually does) and then they both collapsed off balance.

I have to say that McFarland is an average player who becomes slightly above average based on his attitude and effort. He definately doesn't take any cr@p during a game

[lefty]

It's really hard to tell what happened here. It almost looks like something gave way in the bleachers or both player and fan were off balance and collapsed on each other.

I will say this though. Having watched many of McFarland's games he is a borderline dirty player and plays with a real attitude (both of wich I happen to like ). It really looks like McFarland initiated anything that happened in this incident (which he usually does) and then they both collapsed off balance.

I have to say that McFarland is an average player who becomes slightly above average based on his attitude and effort. He definately doesn't take any cr@p during a game

I think both McFarland and the fan knew what they were doing

[houstontxbrave]

I watched the whole thing...

first....the brother does NOT really cause any trouble.
He did not "chest-bump" the ref as I saw stated elsewhere.
I agree he should not be on the floor, but he leaves quickly and without incident when told to do so.
He did not appear at any time as if he was threatening.
I think more is being made of this than it should be.
Fans throwing their cups and drinks onto the floor and throwing objects at other fans would appear a whole lot more
threatening to me if I were at the game, and I have seen that kind of behavior many times.

I just read through this tread and can not believe you actual believe what you wrote. So because he didnt appear to be threatening it really wasnt a big deal? I guess unless he pulled a gun or knife out and killed someone, then thats a big deal? There is no place in any sport for a fan to go onto the playing surface during the game.

This guy is nothing but a thug and did not care about what the outcome of his actions were. Glad to see his overgrown ego is now sitting in a cell rotting away because of his selfish actions. Karma rears its head again.