Apparently, Clinton Portis’ mom knows how to defend herself. From the Washington Post article…
In the fourth quarter, Portis’s mother, Rhonnel Hearn, was sitting in the end zone at Lincoln Financial Field with Portis’s stepfather and some friends when an Eagles fan apparently tossed a beer on the group. Portis’s mother responded by punching the woman in the face, Portis said.
The altercation explained why Hearn watched part of the game from the Redskins sideline.
“She busted some lady in the nose, but that’ll just teach you about messing with her,” Portis said. “I think fans take that too serious. People come to the game to have a good time, that’s what you should do. If you decide your team is losing and you want to cause trouble, then you’re going to get what you’re looking for. And yesterday, whoever that fan was, they got what they were looking for.”
That’s why Philadelphia is a cancerous tumor that should be removed with nuclear weapons.
I have to recuse myself on the topic of Philadelphians — my ex-girlfriend’s family is from Philly.
But basically they are saying 2 wrongs makes a right. Maybe the mother could have just called security. Perhaps nose punching in the stands is not the best lesson to be teaching the kids. Why didn’t the mother get kicked out for doing that?
Teresa, when you wrote: Perhaps nose punching in the stands is not the best lesson to be teaching the kids.
…were you aware that this Mom is the mother of the Redskins’ running back? And that he’s not really a “little kid”?
Yes I’m aware, Flip! But I’m sure there were kids at the game, kids watching on TV and kids who heard about it afterward.
I’m not sure all actions taken by adults are good for kids, or should even be construed as actions that set an example Case in point, if we lived every moment of our public lives worrying about setting an example for kids, I’m sure we’d all be much better human beings — but who among us could possibly maintain that level of perfection and not go completely nuts?
It was an action in a public forum. I think the rationalizations and defense are weak and immature. Just say it was wrong and move on. Perhaps the beer thrower deserved it, but it wasn’t the mom’s job to be the enforcer. She only got off because she’s well connected. I think another person would have been thrown out and/or or prosecuted for battery.
Teresa, I suspect you haven’t been in a fight in a public place before.
First of all, the police (or security) are not usually around when people are acting foolish. In fact, if they were always around, and highly visible, it would deter many of the buttsmacks who instigate incidents like this from picking fights.
Secondly, if someone throws a beer on you, and you allow them to get away with it, there is a chance they’ll be emboldened by your (lack of) response and escalate things further. Who is to say that not responding would not have led to an even worse outcome? And how do you tell someone NOT to defend themselves?
Also, I think you missed one interesting point: she didn’t start the fight. Someone threw a beer at her. She responded by punching them. How can you possibly punish her for defending herself? And yes, I do consider someone throwing beer to be an aggressive act, equal to throwing a punch.
That’s just aggression breeding more aggression. Someone has to be the bigger person and not react when instigated. I don’t consider throwing a punch a reasonable defense. She was not in danger. She was wet, sticky, and upset, but not danger.
People do this all the time at bars. Someone will accidentally spill a beer on the dance floor and then the punches will start flying. I was with a group when one of the guys got hit and left the dance floor with a bloody face and shirt. The police arrived shortly afterward. I know another guy who got a dislocated jaw after a beer spill at a different bar. Drunks just aren’t very rational.
Ahhh, the infamous accidental spill. The inception of many a conflict in drinking establishments, ever since the days of the Wild, Wild, West…
Anyways, point by point… I think the throwing of the beer is still dangerous. It’s a projectile. And anything hitting the face (specifically the eyes) is extremely dicey. I grew up with a guy who had discoloration in his eyes for life from getting hit in the face with a snowball. If someone is feeling aggressive enough to act against my person, I think it’s still justifiable to respond forcibly, even if the odds of me sustaining major injury are small.
As to the clubbing scenarios you describe, I have two takes on that:
First of all, I don’t think that escalating an accidentally spilled drink to violence is the right solution. But you know what I notice? Someone spills a drink and doesn’t apologize. And that takes something that was harmless (an accidental spill) and turns it into a testoserone-charged clash of egos. Perhaps the “victims” who got punched did not do enough to apologize to the folks they clumsily spilled a drink on.
Second, as you said, drunks aren’t very rational. As a result, I think that people should be conscious of the fact that if you go clubbing, you do run the risk that, say, your fine Italian leather shoes are going to get something spilled on them. Or that some drunk girl will puke on you. A person in a club, to some degree, puts themselves at risk for this sort of thing…
but…
…just because you are knowingly at-risk does not make it okay for someone to try to bully you. Or for someone who accidentallly spilled a drink on you and then forget common courtesy.
Sometimes you don’t get a chance to apologize in a club. It’s loud and people react quickly (by throwing a punch) rather than waiting for an explanation.
Again, there’s two sides to that scenario…
One is, if a person enters a crowded dance floor holding a drink, they may be irresponsible, much like someone who is trying to, say, juggle a cell phone while driving. Obviously, the consequences aren’t as like to be as severe, but… given the environment, perhaps the smarter move would be to not dance while holding a drink, thus eliminating the possibility that you could spill your drink and wind up in a fight.
The other side is… if it is loud and someone overreacts by throwing a punch before the offending (spilling) party can apologize and offer to make amends, obviously, the “puncher” is using excessive force and going far beyond normal protocol.
I guess this situation “fixes itself” over time. Folks who get punched for spilling drinks on people either learn to stop being so clumsy or never drink and dance after that. And punchy people who react violently eventually wind up getting sued or eventually learn to manage their anger.
I don’t think the situation fixes itself over time because this repeats with each new bar going generation.