I don’t think there’s enough accountability on the part of fans at sporting events.  Just because someone bought a ticket to a game, he doesn’t have to right to say whatever he wants to a player and expect no sort of retaliation.  A good rule of thumb is to not say anything from your seat that you wouldn’t say to a player’s face.  Personally, I think Ron Artest is a hero for trying to find the coward that chucked a beer at him and making him pay for his actions.  How can someone throw an object or scream at a player all night long and not expect anything to happen to them?

So when I read that Glen Davis was fined $25,000 for yelling at a heckler, it annoys me a little bit since I’m pretty sure the heckler was out of line.  The fan should have been escorted out of the arena (or put into a windowless room with Big Baby), but instead it’s Davis who is punished, to the tune of $25,000.

But then it gets confusing.

An apology was posted late Wednesday night to the “GlenDavisNBA” Twitter account. While the account is not verified as Davis’, representatives of Book Hill Partners, a Washington, D.C.-based consulting firm, say they set up the account on Davis’ behalf and are handling his social networking efforts, including a fan page on Facebook.

“I’m a tough competitor and I’m proud of the work I’ve done to get in shape and be at the top of my game,” the apology read. “That said, I shouldn’t have said what I did. My apologies to the fans and my teammates.”

David probably shouldn’t have to apologize at all, but what the fuck is this?  A message sent through a consulting firm on a Twitter account doesn’t count as an apology.  It doesn’t count as anything but a bunch of empty words.  Why even bother “apologizing” if the statement itself is totally artificial and the source of the statement isn’t even the “offender” himself?

That’s like me setting up a Twitter account called “MikeVickNFL” and tweeting, “Sorry about all those dogs.  My apologies to my fans,” and then claiming that Michael Vick issued an apology.  It’s insane, and it’s pretty much exactly what’s going on here.

How about just not apologizing next time?

[ESPN.com]