Miller on Thursday stood at center court to deliver a heartfelt message about civility and respectNBAE/GETTY IMAGES
The NBA is asking all 30 teams to "create a PSA to emphasize 'importance of respect and civility in NBA arenas'" in the wake of Russell Westbrook's incident with a Jazz fan earlier this week, according to Jody Genessy of the DESERET NEWS. Jazz Owner Gail Miller prior to Thursday's T'Wolves game at Vivint Smart Home Arena "stood at center court to deliver a heartfelt message about civility and respect" (DESERET NEWS, 3/15). YAHOO SPORTS' Ben Weinrib noted teams "already have pre-recorded videos to play before games that talk about using respectful language around other fans." The NBA also created PSAs in '11 "that denounced anti-gay language." He wrote one way the league could reduce similar player-fan altercations would be by "more stringently enforcing the rules will belligerent fans" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 3/14). NBCSPORTS.com's Kurt Helin wrote while creating a series of PSAs would be a "good gesture," many fans likely "would ignore" it. What would be more helpful is "stricter enforcement by arena security," as there has been a "reluctance to confront paying customers yelling at the opposing teams ... that needs to change" (NBCSPORTS.com, 3/14).
