Effects of 'prank' felt by players and coaches

["Stephen Beauregard" <sb@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Effects of 'prank' felt by players and coaches

By Jackie MacMullan, Globe Columnist, 3/8/2003

eltics guard Tony Delk was the first to react, springing to his feet as if he
had been stung by a swarm of bees.



But there were no bees. There was nothing visible at all, yet within seconds
of Delk covering his mouth, and immediately scampering away from the Celtics'
bench, there was a chain reaction around him.

Suddenly, everyone on Boston's team began gagging, and covering their noses
with towels. Suddenly, there was a mass exodus to the other side of the
court.

And, suddenly, the threat of a terrorist attack wormed its way into the NBA
consciousness.

Thankfully, it appeared last night's episode between the third and fourth
quarters of the Celtics-Clippers game was a stupid prank, most likely,
according to NBA security representative Paul Johnson, the release ''of some
kind of canister of mace or something.''

''The greatest concern is what is the element that has been released to the
public?'' Johnson said. ''Is it dangerous? It is some kind of terrorist
attack? Obviously that is what's on everyone's mind. Thank God it was just a
prank, or that's what it appeared to be.''

None of the players was injured, although some were still experiencing
symptoms long after the game ended.

''It was a weird feeling,'' said Walter McCarty. ''It was something that
grabbed you, and you couldn't breathe. It felt like my throat was burning, and
then I felt nauseated, like I was going to throw up.''

According to witness Jim Silvio, who was sitting in Loge 1 with his 9-year-old
son, Anthony, a section located behind and to the left of the Boston bench,
four males ''dropped something,'' directly behind the Celtics players, then
left their seats and quickly headed for the exit.

''I saw them take off, and then all of a sudden, the two guys in front of them
were coughing and gagging,'' Silvio said. ''Then the guys behind them started
gagging and coughing. Then, within seconds, my son starts coughing.

''It hit me too -- right in the back of the throat. I'm telling you, I still
have a pounding headache from it.''

Long after the game was over, nervous fans quizzed security officials about
the source of the incident, including one pregnant woman.

They were not the only ones who were unhappy. Celtics coach Jim O'Brien was
clearly upset with the decision of officiating crew chief Hue Hollins to
continue playing the game, which Boston led, 70-60, at the time.

A perturbed O'Brien was tight-lipped after his team's 83-72 win. ''I don't
want to get into it,'' O'Brien said tersely. ''That's why they have building
security and officials in charge of the game.''

Yet both Hollins and Clippers coach Dennis Johnson confirmed the obvious:
O'Brien was ticked off, and rightfully so. At that time, the cause of the
adverse reaction of the players and fans was undetermined. In fact, it still
is. How could anybody be sure the building was secure and the players and fans
were safe?

''Jimmy was steamed,'' DJ said. ''He wanted to stop playing the game. He was
very adamant about it, and Hue [Hollins] was just as adamant about the game
continuing. Those two were getting into it at center court, so I just stayed
off to the side.

''But I know exactly what Jim was talking about. If they had asked me my
opinion, I would have sided with Jimmy. With all the terrorist threats going
on in the world right now, you can't take this stuff lightly.

''Their bench was affected far more than we were. They were coughing and
gagging and having trouble breathing. I told Hue as I walked back to my
huddle, `If my guys run down there and start coughing, too, I want them off
the court.' ''

Hollins said after the game there are procedures that must be followed before
any game can be called off in the midst of play.

''We can't just arbitrarily cancel a game,'' he said.

Those procedures include conferring with the head of security for the
building, in this case Paul Johnson, to determine if it is safe to continue.
Both Hollins and Paul Johnson concluded after a nine-minute delay that the
players were not in danger, then contacted the NBA office to apprise it of
their decision.

Although a number of players made light of the incident after the game,
captain Antoine Walker admitted he found it disturbing.

''Obviously, with what's going on in the world, yeah, it's distracting,'' he
said. ''There's a lot of war talk in the world. So, people are paying very
close attention to it. As people, we have to watch that. As we go to public
events, and try to continue with everyday life, we obviously have to be very
cautious.

''There's continually heightened security, and I think the American people, we
want to continue to live and enjoy life and enjoy the things that we've worked
very hard for.''

Asked if the incident scared him, Delk answered, ''No, I'm not scared at
all.''

You know what? He should be, just a little. Somebody smuggled mace or some
kind of irritant into the FleetCenter last night. Luckily, nobody brought in
anthrax, or some other kind of biological weapon. Crazy? Not really. Not
anymore.

Some years ago, when a crazed fan stabbed Monica Seles, Celtics Hall of Famer
Kevin McHale sat in Boston Garden, shortly before game time, and pointed out
that some crazed fan could easily run out of the stands and do the same thing
to him.

''I love our security guys,'' McHale said, ''but by the time they got to me,
the guy would have already cut me up.''

Luckily, nobody ever did go after McHale. And, it appears, no one was out to
get these Celtics either -- at least not last night.

But their coach has a right to be steamed. We live in a country on the brink
of war, and not even the world of sports is immune to the tentacles of
terrorism.



Jackie MacMullan's e-mail address is macmullan@globe.com.

Thanks,

Steve
sb@maine.rr.com

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