Savannah McMillan-Christmas: NBA Must Take Steps to Protect Vulnerable Players

If Savannah McMillan-Christmas had malicious intent towards a player or official, her court invasion could have had very serious ramifications.

In case you missed it, Christmas, a female fan, wondered onto the court during the Los Angeles Lakers-Denver Nuggets playoff game on Sunday night.

Here is the video:

She appeared a little disillusioned and was escorted out by security, but not before coming dangerously close to the players. Imagine if she had ill-intent when she walked on to the court, or even a specific target.

It is unclear what her purpose for wandering on the court was, but to me that is secondary.

The situation could have been very ugly.

We’ve seen fans attack athletes before. Tennis star Monica Seles was stabbed in the back by a fan at the Citizen’s Cup in 1993. Two fans, a father and a son, attacked Kansas City Royals first base coach, Tom Gamboa during a game in Chicago against the White Sox in 2002.

We’ve even seen fans initiate confrontations with NBA players. The Malice in the Palace was precipitated by a fan throwing an object at Metta World Peace (then known as Ron Artest).

This type of access to the players can send the wrong message to crazed fans of the NBA. There are players throughout the league that are hated and have become the object of ridicule and verbal abuse routinely.

What happens if a fan sees this and decides to take it to the next level?

Given some of the heartless and inhumane actions I’ve seen from fans recently, I think this should be a major concern.

After Joakim Noah badly twisted his ankle in the Chicago Bulls and Philadelphia 76ers’ Game 3 matchup, many of the Sixers fans cheered. It was disgraceful and inhumane.

We don’t even have to talk about some of the verbal abuse LeBron James has to endure on a nightly basis. You can’t tell me there isn’t enough hate in the hearts of these types of fans to try something stupid—especially if they are under the influence of chemicals or just plain insane.

Poor behavior and decision-making can be contagious.

The mix of boos, irrationally passionate fans and a proven immediate physical access to the court, could be harmful to the players.

The NBA must put things in place to prevent, or to at least strongly discourage fans from wandering on the court, or worse.

An intimate fan experience is important, but it can’t come at the expense of player safety. After all, they are human beings too. 

Sometimes I think that is a fact, that is lost on too many of us.

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