Heave-ho'd Celtics fan files complaint vs. 'Toine

[Tammo29@xxxxxxx]

Heave-ho'd Celtics fan files complaint vs. 'Toine 

by Tom Mashberg 
Boston Herald
Sunday, May 11, 2003


The FleetCenter heckler whose insults prompted Celts star Antoine Walker to 
confront him Friday night has filed a report accusing Walker of ``poking him 
in the face several times,'' police say.

But it is unclear whether the mouthy fan, Stewart D. Berg, 42, of Newton is 
accusing Walker of actually touching him, which could constitute assault and 
battery, or just threatening him, which would be the lesser crime of assault. 
``All we have so far is an incident report,'' a police official said.

Berg refused to comment yesterday, and friends said he has hired a lawyer. 
The episode, one in a long string of recent fan-athlete set-tos around the 
nation, led to a melee in the stands behind the Celtics' bench among Berg, 
Celtics security personnel and Walker's friends.

But speaking late Friday on 1510 The Zone, the sports radio station that 
carries Celtics games, Berg defended his behavior, which led to his ejection 
and has the Celtics contemplating revoking his tickets.

``He told us he said something that triggered Antoine to get agitated,'' said 
Andre Stark, a producer on ``Celtics Rewind'' who received Berg's postgame 
call. ``He feels he didn't say anything disrespectful.''

Jimmy Myers, the veteran basketball analyst who spoke to Berg on the air, 
said he pointedly asked Berg, ``Did you curse?'' and that Berg denied hurling 
profanities.

``But no matter what was said, Antoine Walker has no business leaving the 
bench,'' Myers said. ``That should not have occurred.''

Walker soon after expressed regret for leaving the bench area. ``This was out 
of character for me,'' he said. ``This guy is a guy who always has something 
to say to me. I just got tired of it tonight.''

According to his Boston police incident report, Berg said that at 10:10 
Friday night, he shouted ``Jefferson ate you for lunch!'' to Walker, who had 
been benched. It was a reference to New Jersey Nets player Richard Jefferson, 
who scored 20 points in the Celtics' 94-76 thrashing at the hands of the 
Nets.

``At that time, (Walker) questioned whether the (complainant) was talking to 
him,'' the report says. Berg ``repeated himself, and the player left the 
bench area and came toward'' him, the report said.

``The (complainant) reports the player was poking him in the face several 
times,'' the report said. Berg said he ``backed up and raised his hands, at 
which time Fleet security came over and escorted the player to the bench.''

Fleet officials would not comment yesterday, saying only they would make a 
statement tomorrow on revoking Berg's season tickets. Sources say Berg was 
admonished a few years ago for loudly heckling the Celtics' previous coach, 
Rick Pitino. He apparently also knows Walker and other players from Hub 
community events.

Friday's incident was not Berg's first public altercation. In 1998, he told 
police he accidentally cut off a bike messenger. When the messenger and his 
pals confronted Berg, a scuffle ensued and a messenger was accused of hurling 
a bike lock at Berg.
                                                      ****************

Also, this blurb from the Globe:

Report filed  
In the wake of the confrontation between Antoine Walker and spectator Stewart 
Berg in the late stages of Friday night's game at the FleetCenter, Boston 
Police confirmed that an incident report was filed at Area A1 in Government 
Center.Berg, a season ticket-holder who since has had his tickets revoked, 
heckled Walker throughout the game. When Walker was taken out of the contest 
in the fourth quarter, he went after Berg. In a conversation with the Globe, 
Berg said he was ''attacked'' and hit ''in the face.'' The incident is under 
investigation by the police, who will make a determination whether charges 
will be issued.According to NBA spokesman Tim Frank, the NBA is also 
investigating the incident. ''We're going to try and see exactly what 
happened.''Any decision by the league could be known as early as today. The 
severity of the punishment, which could include a suspension, would be 
determined by whether Walker made physical contact with the fan.