It had been an unfortunate ending to a painful loss. Stephon Marbury, the Beijing Ducks star point guard and arguably the most celebrated marquee player in the Chinese Basketball Association's (CBA) 17-year history, was already dismayed at his team's narrow two-point defeat in Game 4 of the league's semifinals against rivals the Shanxi Brave Dragons on March 11. To add insult to injury, an angry crowd of Shanxi fans outside Binhe Stadium in Taiyuan hurled rocks and other projectiles at the Beijing team's bus. Marbury and his teammates were emotionally drained and physically exhausted, but the tense atmosphere outside kept them alert. Marbury was in the middle of the turmoil. Shanxi fans alleged that Marbury had intentionally punched a 21-year-old spectator surnamed Cao on the team's way out of the stadium, a claim Marbury later vehemently denied. After learning of the incident from microblogging website Weibo, I was assigned the story. It was the point in the evening when most stories had already been written, edited and laid into the newspaper's design. We had no reporter at the scene, but I had a reliable list of contacts of insiders from the CBA and, luckily enough, Marbury himself. He answered my call, but was disconnected before he could speak. Noises of the rampage in the background were clearly audible. "We will not answer any questions at the moment," Ducks captain Cheng Lei told me in a follow-up phone call. "But we will keep our Weibo updated." At 11:10 pm, I spoke on the phone with Bai Xilin, the CBA official in charge of tournament affairs. He told me Beijing players had returned safely to their hotel, and the police were investigating fans' unruly behavior. The CBA's reaction On Tuesday, March 13, the CBA held a press conference at its headquarters on Xingfu Dajie, Dongcheng district. Reporters in attendance all seem to have one question on their mind: what would be the punishment for Shanxi fans' behavior? The small conference room was packed with dozens of reporters, many of them anticipating what the penalty would be for the Brave Dragons. The CBA wasted no time, announcing it would fine the Shanxi club 60,000 yuan ($9,490) - a figure well below what journalists had predicted. As Bai, who refused to answer questions from the media, attempted to leave the room at the end of the press conference, he was besieged by dozens of angry reporters. "Be clam," he urged them. "We are not going to fight here." It was the first time I'd seen basketball reporters, normally cheerful and hospitable at press conferences, turn so aggressive. "Who will be responsible for our personal safety?" asked one journalist, who had reported from Taiyuan and was assaulted during the post-game fracas. "You should report your assault and provide evidence. The CBA and public security bureau will conduct an investigation," Bai answered. "All of us were punched! We're all witnesses," a group of reporters shouted. In regards to claims of Marbury allegedly attacking a fan, Beijing reporters' accounts differed from their counterparts in Shanxi. http://www.globaltimes.cn/NEWS/tabid/99/ID/701041/Basketbrawl-in-Taiyuan.aspx How about a Felton for Marbury trade?
