Jah's troubles

[SilkyJ]

Video of the incident. Not a good look for Jah, though I also blame the sixers for their utter incompetence, which has to frustrate him, and the idiots who decide its OK to heckle and threaten other people, just b/c they are celebrities. Still, people are dumb and Jah needs to be smart and rise above this non-sense. He has a lot to lose.

I do agree with Pablo Torre's tweet here.

[gurufrisbee]

I'm certainly never going to support violence and I wish for Okafor's sake he would/could have just walked away from what will no doubt result in negative publicity and probably punishments, HOWEVER - if you're a dumb boston fan (and lord knows after Deflategate we've seen there are plenty of them) and you think the smart idea is to go up to a 6'11" professional athlete coming off a sixteenth straight loss and get in their face and talk crap to them, then you really do deserve the beating you're about to receive.

[moonpie23]

not good...will prolly result in a suspension and a lawsuit...

[Pghdukie]

Very unfortunate. Sad to say, much worse to come for Jah. Okafor is young, but very likeable person.

[Henderson]

HOWEVER

Ain't no however. If the events went down even close to as reported, this was plain bad.

But it may all be misreported. Maybe Jah was finishing a latte after his late night yoga class and a guy slipped into him, saying "Fix those trucks." Jah politely asked how he could help, but the sidewalk was slippery due to the oil from the trucks, and people got tangled. Happens a lot.

It's gotta be something like that. Because the 19 year olds I know who go out clubbing out of town tend not to be orange soda kind of guys. And they still don't end up in street fights. Big misunderstanding is my read.

It'd be different if Jah looked drunk in the video of course.

[cspan37421]

hard to tell what is going on in that video. At the end it looks like he's being grabbed - is he being attacked by a baiting Bostonian, or held back by friends? One of each? Can't tell what precipitated this either. If he's saying he's got money, had he been kept out of a club on the assumption that he had no money to spend? Well whatever. If the NBA has a rookie symposium in which they go over how to handle hecklers in public, he may need to revisit his notes on that.

[SilkyJ]

Ain't no however. If the events went down even close to as reported, this was plain bad.

But it may all be misreported. Maybe Jah was finishing a latte after his late night yoga class and a guy slipped into him, saying "Fix those trucks." Jah politely asked how he could help, but the sidewalk was slippery due to the oil from the trucks, and people got tangled. Happens a lot.

It's gotta be something like that. Because the 19 year olds I know who go out clubbing out of town tend not to be orange soda kind of guys. And they still don't end up in street fights. Big misunderstanding is my read.

It'd be different if Jah looked drunk in the video of course.

I posted the video. You can check it out and decide for yourself. No notable signs of inebriation.

hard to tell what is going on in that video. At the end it looks like he's being grabbed - is he being attacked by a baiting Bostonian, or held back by friends? One of each? Can't tell what precipitated this either. If he's saying he's got money, had he been kept out of a club on the assumption that he had no money to spend? Well whatever. If the NBA has a rookie symposium in which they go over how to handle hecklers in public, he may need to revisit his notes on that.

He's being held by a Bostonian, who right at the end of the video is trying to clock him in the head.

[DBFAN]

Just not sure what being an NBA player has to do with this. It was outside of a game. Wasn't in the arena. It was in public, where the 19 year old kid should be allowed to have rights just like all of us do. I am more than sure Jah understands he can't do that in a game to a fan. I would also have to think that it took a lot more than saying the Sixers suck to get him that upset. Don't know all the details yet, but I am willing to bet there was more going on there

[Troublemaker]

Very unfortunate. Sad to say, much worse to come for Jah. Okafor is young, but very likeable person.

Don't jump to conclusions. The video was cut together, so it's impossible to tell what was left out and therefore what really happened.

In the article, Jahlil's representative apparently is claiming a self-defense situation, i.e. Jah and teammate VERSUS a bunch of Bostonians.

If a bunch of Bostonians really DID start a street fight against two professional athletes, then the obvious outcome -- Jahlil destroys Bostonians -- will not necessarily lead to major legal trouble for Jahlil.

It all depends on what the investigation reveals.

[uh_no]

Don't jump to conclusions. The video was cut together, so it's impossible to tell what was left out and therefore what really happened.

In the article, Jahlil's representative apparently is claiming a self-defense situation, i.e. Jah and teammate VERSUS a bunch of Bostonians.

If a bunch of Bostonians really DID start a street fight against two professional athletes, then the obvious outcome -- Jahlil destroys Bostonians -- will not necessarily lead to major legal trouble for Jahlil.

It all depends on what the investigation reveals.

whatever the outcome, he's learned rather quickly not to put himself in those situations.

Unfortunately, as a celebrity, espeicially a sports celebrity, you have to be careful where you go, when and with whom.

[Furniture]

Being a Duke player I expect him to turn the other cheek. Simple as that...

[JPtheGame]

Being a Duke player I expect him to turn the other cheek. Simple as that...

Being that he is 19, I expect him to have a lot to learn.

[g-money]

Being that he is 19, I expect him to have a lot to learn.

Yes, and being a human being, I expect that Jah has limits just like everyone else. In classic TMZ style, the video reveals very little of what actually caused the fight to occur.

Boston sports fans are pretty harsh in my experience. My inclination is to cut Jah plenty of slack until the truth comes out.

[Edouble]

Many moons ago, another NBA player was heckled late night outside a Boston club and he ended up getting stabbed.

The player was Paul Pierce, who was a Boston Celtic!

I understand that every man has his limits, and I give Jah the benefit of the doubt, but I think that a history lesson would do Jah some good. Be careful. You are a large and powerful young man to be sure, but not more powerful than a knife or a gun.

[Skitzle]

Many moons ago, another NBA player was heckled late night outside a Boston club and he ended up getting stabbed.

The player was Paul Pierce, who was a Boston Celtic!

I understand that every man has his limits, and I give Jah the benefit of the doubt, but I think that a history lesson would do Jah some good. Be careful. You are a large and powerful young man to be sure, but not more powerful than a knife or a gun.

We've seen Jahlil Walk and Talk. I'm pretty sure he is not of clear mind at the moment that video was taken and he's 19. Expect a not insignificant suspension 3-5 games and potential lawsuit.

He'll learn and move on, as will we.

Unfortunate incident.

[SilkyJ]

We've seen Jahlil Walk and Talk. I'm pretty sure he is not of clear mind at the moment that video was taken and he's 19. Expect a not insignificant suspension 3-5 games and potential lawsuit.

He'll learn and move on, as will we.

Unfortunate incident.

Lots of people have mentioned a lawsuit. I can see why one would think that, Jah is an easy target given his now oversized wallet, but there have been no charges filed so far and from what I can tell he was being struck in that video as well. I doubt we see a lawsuit.

Not a peep from the league yet, though I suspect we'll hear at least a comment/statement today.

[NancyCarol]

Makes me very sad for about a thousand reasons.

[Dukehky]

I hope that dude was a Carolina grad (reasonable since most people from Boston can't read eithahhhhhhhhh) and a huge Pats fan.

Jahlil needs to get the f out of philly. Retire, then go play in Europe for 3 years, they'd pay him infinity dollars, then come back.

I'm just glad none of those clowns pulled a knife on my boy. He also didn't beat the hell out of anyone. He shoved a guy and threw a punch after he was getting punched in the back of the head. Also, arguably in defense of one of his teammates (according to some of the reports), so maybe Jah is just a hero!

This does not embarrass me as a Duke fan or a Duke grad. He did not make Duke look bad, he did not make Coach K look bad. Was it stupid? Yeah, probably, not so much for the fact that it hurts his professional reputation, but because he could have gotten stabbed or shot.

I guarantee we won't hear anything else like this about Jah again, unless he decides he's going to strangle Sam Hinkie. Understandable. He is so much better than Towns and Russell, this could have all been avoided. Jerry Buss and Mitch Kupchack, go screw yourselves.

Love you Jah.

[flyingdutchdevil]

I live in Boston. Love my Celtics. Love New Englanders. And yes - they can read (that may be the dumbest comment I've read on DBR).

Sports fans will always heckle. Pro players should have restraint. If Jah fought back because of a heckler's words, he needs to learn 'sticks and stones'. If Bostonians were being physical (a certain possibility), Jah is in the clear.

Go Duke. Go Celtics. All you haters are just jealous of 9 pro championships in 12 years. Yeah, we're that good.

[Dukehky]

I live in Boston. Love my Celtics. Love New Englanders. And yes - they can read (that may be the dumbest comment I've read on DBR).

Sports fans will always heckle. Pro players should have restraint. If Jah fought back because of a heckler's words, he needs to learn 'sticks and stones'. If Bostonians were being physical (a certain possibility), Jah is in the clear.

Go Duke. Go Celtics. All you haters are just jealous of 9 pro championships in 12 years. Yeah, we're that good.

Live in and from have two entirely different meanings. Just go eat yah clam chowdah and hate on Nooyawk sports.

Any other city in the country and I would be more disappointed. I'd freak out too if I heard some chump yell "Hey Okafah! You and the sixahs ahnt evah gonna win a game. Yah Loosah." Like, I get it.

FDD, nothing personal, I just loath all Boston sports, the accents, and the peasant people that comprise their fan bases (not that everyone falls into the category who supports said sports teams).

Also, Bob Cousy in his prime couldn't score a point in today's NBA, Belichick and Brady cheat (just like the guys 8 miles down the road), and Larry Bird... Well okay, he's cool.