Basketball and Philosophy: Thinking Outside the Paint

Basketball, Violence, Forgiveness, and Healing

BASKETBALL, VIOLENCE, FORGIVENESS, AND HEALING Luke Witte ANYONE WHO IS even a casual basketball fan will readily recall the ugly brawl that disrupted the game between the Detroit Pistons and the Indiana Pacers in November 2004 and resulted in suspensions for several players. The incident was a major story in the media and was replayed over and over. Like almost everyone else who saw it, I was sickened by the continuous stream of video showing the violence erupting on the court and even into the stands. For me, however, the incident touched a deeply personal nerve because it brought back memories of a similar event I was involved in more than three decades ago. Sports Illustrated called it “the most vicious attack in college basketball lore.” ESPN ranks it as one of the ten worst fights or brawls in twentieth -century sports. Today, most basketball fans wouldn’t recognize my name. Many, however, have seen clips of the infamous brawl in which I participated on January 25, 1972, in a game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Minnesota Golden Gophers. In this chapter I tell my story, and as you’ll see, it’s a tale in which both faith and philosophy play an important role. The encounter was a media heyday. Ohio State and Minnesota were two nationally ranked teams with the winner likely to be the Big Ten representative to the NCAA tournament. Ideologically and philosophically , the two programs seemed to be at opposite ends of the spectrum. Ohio State was a predominantly white team with a rich basketball history that emphasized hard work, discipline, fair play, and integrity. Minnesota was an emerging Big Ten power with nothing traditional about it. Under young new coach Bill Musselman, the predominantly African 72 Luke Witte American Gophers featured slick Globetrotter-type warm-ups, glitzy marketing, junior college recruits, a fast break / no-set offense, and a winat -all-cost attitude that culminated a few years later in a major recruiting scandal and Musselman’s resignation. The game was tense and emotion packed from the beginning. Our Buckeye team was booed when we came out on the floor, and the loud music and slick Gopher warm-ups seemed to whip the large crowd into a frenzy . The first half was relatively cleanly played, but at halftime, as the two teams were going to their dressing rooms, Gopher Bob Nix passed in front of me with his left arm raised in a clenched-fist salute. I tried to shove his arm out of my face and accidentally clipped him lightly on the jaw. Later, Musselman claimed that it was this incident that incited the brawl. Things turned ugly in the second half. After Ohio State went ahead 40–32 with less than ten minutes to play, the crowd began to boo and throw debris on the floor. With less than a minute to play and the Buckeyes up 50–44, the Gophers had to press, which left me open near midcourt . I received the pass and headed down court for an easy layup. As I went up for the shot, I saw Clyde Turner coming in from my right side. I expected the block attempt, shifted the ball to my left hand, and used my right arm and the basket to ward off any attempt to block the shot. Turner had other thoughts. Instead of going for the block, he came across with a right hook that hit me in the face. I crashed to the floor dazed and disoriented. The crowd cheered when I went down, then booed when Turner was called for a flagrant foul and ejected from the game. My head spinning, I managed to get to my knees. As I sat on my haunches, Minnesota player Corky Taylor extended a hand of assistance, and I took it. Instead of helping me, however, Taylor jerked me forward and kneed me in the groin. I fell back to the floor and lay on my side holding both hands to my groin. Chaos ensued as both benches unloaded, followed by fans from the stands and even student-athletes from other sports. Dave Merchant, a starting guard for Ohio State, pushed Taylor away from me and also from Minnesota’s Jim Brewer, who had come to see what was going on. As Merchant tried to fend off the much bigger and stronger Golden Gophers, he realized that this wasn’t going to work and ran, pursued by their players . That left...