How can you conclude how Marcus Smart should have reacted if you’ve never encountered what he faced?
In forming your opinions about the Oklahoma State star guard, it’s important to remember that being so quick to condemn him is what got us to the place now find ourselves. Smart alleges Texas Tech “super fan” Jeff Orr blatantly called him the N-word as he fell into the stands during the Red Raiders 65-61 upset win over OSU on Saturday, prompting the All-American guard to angrily shove him with both hands before being pulled away.
To a man, we can all agree that Smart was, well, not so smart in deciding to lay hands on Orr in such a potentially volatile environment. Indeed, it sullies the fabric of sportsmanship; one of the first unofficial oaths of membership every athlete inherently accepts by virtue of simply being of the fraternity.
But here’s saying, and just as unequivocally, that Orr’s behavior was just as foul and even more reckless. For Jeff Orr is a middle-aged man, presumably himself the father of a young adult the likes of 19-year-old Smart. If the OSU star should have known better, what possible defense can there be for Orr?
How ironic the Waco, Texas resident reportedly works as an air traffic controller, entrusted with responsibly steering thousands upon thousands of unsuspecting travelers from the land of would-be danger. Orr is also the same man who in 2010 again nearly sparked an arena fracas by directing an obscene gesture at Texas A&M player Bryan Davis that was captured on videotape.
Marcus Smart also has a reputation, one many OSU officials still marvel at in the wake of him walking away from the chance to be a top 5 NBA draft pick following his freshman season, all “because you can never come back to college and be a student-athlete.”
In Stillwater, he’s also revered as the kid who’s vowed that his first NBA riches purchase will be a kidney for his mother, now subjected to three days a week, four hours each day dialysis treatment. The No. 33 jersey he wears at Oklahoma State is an ode to older brother Todd, who died of cancer at that young age.
Granted, Smart has probably been under a bit more stress of late, what with OSU having lost four straight games and his once NBA lottery-fortified status perhaps wavering just a bit as criticisms about him being a “flopper” seem to rise.
But isn’t that all the more reason fans like Jeff Orr need to be a bit more conscious of some of the things they say and do to the players they come to love to hate without ever really knowing? Remember that they are human beings, with real feelings and sensibilities, before anything else.
In the wake of all the drama, Texas Tech athletic spokesman Blayne Beal seemed to try to make sense of it all by marginalizing its impact. “We have never had an issue with Orr crossing the line in the past,” Beal told ESPN, seemingly oblivious of the fact a picture, or in the case a videotape, is worth a thousand of his PR preserving words.
As for the Smart incident directly, even Orr seemed to acknowledge he was out of bounds, later tweeting to ESPN college hoops analyst Doug Gottlieb “I kinda let my mouth say something I shouldn’t have. I feel bad.”
Guarantee you Marcus Smart feels even worse.
