In all my years as an avid sports fan, I have been exposed to a number of extraor-dinary events. However, over the last year, a certain trend has not only questioned my responsibilities as a sports enthusiast, but also my rights as a paying spectator of these enthralling events. The recent escalation of fan-player interaction and violence has made me reevaluate what purpose I serve for the athletes and that which they serve for the fans. In fact, the very idea of people paying to witness a sporting event, watch it on television, or read about it in a newspaper has come into question.

Ever since last November 19, when members of the Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers got in a fight with each other, which, within minutes, included the patrons as well, the relationship between spectators and athletes has been questioned not only by me, but also by league officials, sports journalists, law enforcement officers, and players alike. Although relatively brief, in my lifetime I have playedmany organized sports games in fairly hostile environments, but seldom have I even been tempted to respond to taunts and cheers from the audience. So in light of recent events, I am left only to wonder: at what point do athletes feel the need to, or have the right to retaliate against these raucous crowds? And how far are fans permitted to push these players until they are held accountable for their provocations?

Last November, late on a Saturday night that had started off just like any other, I happened to glance at a television and my face lit up when I saw that, in the middle of a party, someone had tuned into my favorite channel, ESPN. But to my shock, the station that usually brightens my day was showing the same horrific video clips over and over. As gruesome and barbaric as it looked, I could not take my eyes off the image of Indiana Pacers