The fight between members of the Knicks and the Nuggets Friday night was a bad thing for this simple reason: people (note I didn't write kids) look up to and emulate NBA players. Charles Barkley may be right that he shouldn't be a role model, yet he's wrong that he isn't one.

But I read this quote from Jermaine O'Neal, the Malice in the Palace veteran, with interest: "Listen, the NHL lets them fight. Fights happen in baseball. Fights happen in football. Why are we under scrutiny about our game?" His not so subtle message is that it's a bigger deal because the participants are young black men who look like they're from a hip hop culture.

O'Neal said something similar when the NBA implemented a minimum age requirement for the draft: "as a black guy, you kind of think that's the reason why it's coming up. You don't hear about it in baseball or hockey."

Now, I think there is one obvious reason why fights are different in basketball -- the crowd gets in harm's way. If you look back, fights in baseball that have involved fans have been treated more seriously than even bench clearing brawls that stay between players.

But O'Neal's point is worth thinking about.

Similarly, the NBA has over 1200 games a year. If you went to 1200 rec league games, do you really think you'd see zero fights? What about intramural games at top 25 universities? I'm not an apologist for the fight, and the public significance of the NBA mandates a high level of behavior. But it's important to keep in mind exactly what we're asking from the NBA players, and what we think of them.