I’m sure there are a number of people out there just like myself who are sick and tired of hearing about the brawl between the Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons Nov. 19 in Auburn Hills, Mich.

It seemed that for weeks we couldn’t turn the TV on without seeing footage of the incident on every news and sports outlet.

It appears as though that coverage affected more than just those in the stadium back in November. The very next day, those actions trickled down to the collegiate level as the Clemson and South Carolina football teams engaged in an ugly brawl during their game, ultimately causing both schools to forfeit their chances to play in a post-season bowl and earn their schools millions of dollars.

Clemson Coach Tommy Bowden even went as far as to blame the media’s extensive coverage of the Pacers-Pistons brawl for influencing the players’ actions.

Sadly, this behavior has made its way down to the high school level.

During winter break I attended the Big Dipper Holiday Tournament hosted by Rich South High School. Throughout the week I witnessed some of the best high school talent not only in the state of Illinois, but in the nation. The tournament’s champion, Thornton, is currently ranked No. 3 by USA Today.

However, that tournament won’t be remembered for the great basketball, but for the actions of one player.

Highly praised senior Nate Minnoy of Hales Franciscan, who has signed with Purdue, attempted to enter the bleachers to confront a fan that had been heckling him throughout the game.

Security quickly intervened, and Minnoy, along with the fan, were taken to the local police station where they were issued citations for disturbing the peace.

Minnoy was also suspended two games by Hales, and the IHSA is conducting a separate investigation.

Young athletes need to be educated on how to handle adverse situations such as the incident involving Minnoy. I’m sure Minnoy saw the coverage of the NBA incident over and over, and thought that if he were in that situation, he would react the same way by going after the fan.

These young athletes are not only trying to emulate the actions of their heroes on the court, but also what they do off the court. At some point coaches and parents need to sit down with these athletes and tell them right from wrong and how to conduct themselves in a respectful fashion.

These are skills they are not going to learn from their professional heroes, because the fines professional athletes receive for their actions don’t even begin to teach them a lesson. These values need to be instilled in them while they are young, so that when they get to the professional level things like this will not be an issue.

I hope that Minnoy has learned from his actions and that other high school athletes have learned from this as well. And, hopefully, professional athletes hear of this incident and learn that they are role models and that their actions affect far more people than they realize.

Marcus Jackson is a senior Communication Studies major. He can be reached at [email protected].