Incident seen as a mere prank

["Stephen Beauregard" <sb@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Incident seen as a mere prank


By Shira Springer, Globe Staff, 3/9/2003

ALTHAM -- The investigation into the incident that delayed Friday night's
Celtics-Clippers game at the FleetCenter for nine minutes is ongoing,
according to spokespeople for the NBA and Boston Police. And there are no
immediate plans to make changes in security procedures.



Between the third and fourth quarters, a substance sprayed behind the Boston
bench irritated the eyes and throats of those in the area. The Celtics
immediately moved away from the bench, some holding towels over their noses
and mouths. Game officials met with head coaches Jim O'Brien and Dennis
Johnson at center court and discussed the possibility of suspending the game.

Play resumed after the delay and the Celtics won, 83-72.

The investigation is being handled by Area A1 detectives and FleetCenter
security personnel, who are reviewing a tape. NBA security representative Paul
Johnson said there were ''four unidentified males sitting in that particular
area who proceeded to leave rather abruptly just before the complaints
started.'' But as far as security officials could tell, the incident was just
a prank.

''Ownership takes security [concerns] at the highest level, and so does the
FleetCenter,'' said Celtics co-owner Steve Pagliuca. ''The FleetCenter has had
increased procedures in place and I think they responded very well to this
incident. But we are looking at every possible way we can make sure there are
no issues of any kind in the future.''

FleetCenter president Rich Krezwick called it a ''benign situation,'' citing
the release of a mace-like substance. ''It dissipated quickly. ,'' said
Krezwick. ''If If it was anything of a serious nature, it would have
lingered.'' He said a hazardous materials officer was first to respond ''and
he was not alarmed.''

It was clear, however, that O'Brien was concerned. The coach's comments to
referee Hue Hollins were caught on tape by ESPN. O'Brien said, ''It's a hell
of a thing to be put into a situation like you're put into right now. When
people on the bench start to gag, you start to gag, and you're going to tell
us to continue to play basketball . . .? This is a big mistake and I don't
care whether it's nothing or something.'' Hollins replied, ''I understand what
you're saying, but I'll have to live with it. Let's go.''

''It was an unfortunate incident that remains under investigation by NBA
security,'' said Stu Jackson, senior vice president of basketball operations.
''However, we were pleased with the way the officials on the floor coordinated
with NBA security to arrive at the decision to resume the game.

''Hue Hollins . . . was acting on information that was relayed to him by the
NBA security representative in Boston. After inspecting the area around the
bench, [the police] determined that it would be safe to resume the game . . .
We remain open to [security revisions]. But before we make any definite
decisions, this investigation has to be complete and we need to fully
understand exactly what happened and how it happened.''


Nancy Marrapese-Burrell and Ray Henry of the Globe staff contributed to this
report.

Thanks,

Steve
sb@maine.rr.com

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