A Philadephia 76ers Player Knocked out an Eagles Fan, Here’s Why
The return of the NFL season always gets football fans excited. There are passionate fans in every city, though some would argue that no fans are more passionate than the ones from Philadelphia.
While fans tailgated prior to the Eagles week one 32-27 victory over the Washington Redskins, a fight broke out. What made this especially noteworthy was that one of the participants was Philadelphia 76ers player Mike Scott. Mike Scott even knocked out an Eagles fan during the fight.
So who is Scott, why did he knock out a fan, and what was the aftermath?
Who is Mike Scott?
Mike Scott joined the 76ers for the 2018-2019 season. The Atlanta Hawks drafted the 6’8″ power forward in the second round of the 2012 NBA Draft. He’s played eight seasons for Atlanta (2012-2016), Washington (2017), the Clippers (2018), and he’s in Philadelphia. Below are his career totals:
- 436 games played
- 7.1 points per game
- 0.9 assists per game
- 46.4% on field goals
- 3.1 rebounds per game
- 75.5% from the free-throw line
- A career Player Efficiency Rating (PER) of 13.2
- 13.3 win shares
Here’s a fun fact: because he shoots well from beyond the arc and shares a name with Steve Carell’s character from The Office, Scott’s nickname is “The Three-gional Manager” (Carell’s character was the regional manager of the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company branch in Scranton).
What happened at the tailgate?
Mike Scott is a Virginia native and a Washington Redskins fan. He planned to attend an Eagles’ fan tailgate before the game. Walking through the parking lot with a member of 76ers’ security in tow, Scott heard plenty of boos from the Eagles’ fans he encountered.
This was no surprise, as Eagles fans are a vocal group. He encountered one tailgate that had a coffin with a shirt that read, “Party like it’s 1991” on it, mocking the Redskins for the last time they won a Super Bowl.
According to multiple eyewitnesses interviewed by PhillyVoice, the trash talk escalated to racial slurs. A scuffle soon erupted, with Mike Scott taking on multiple fans during the fight. After bystanders assisted in defusing the fight, eyewitnesses reported hearing more “racially insensitive language” spoken in Scott’s general direction.
No major injuries were reported, and Scott watched the rest of the game without any additional incidents.
The aftermath of the Mike Scott fight
PhillyVoice reported that at this time, Scott isn’t facing any kind of repercussions for his role in the skirmish:
“A team spokesman told PhillyVoice that based on their review of the available evidence, the Sixers are not treating this matter as a disciplinary incident at this time, and they will not punish Scott for his involvement absent a new development.”
Prior to this, Mike Scott had nothing but positive interactions with the Philly faithful. While fighting is certainly not a great activity for a professional athlete – or any person, for that matter – to be taking part in, it’s hard to blame Scott for his role as the personal and racist nature of the taunting was beyond the usual good-natured ribbing between fans of opposing teams.
It isn’t hard to blame the fans in the parking lot that day, however. Shouting racial slurs at any human being, no matter what team’s jersey they’re wearing, it’s heinous and to be condemned.
The Sixers are hoping that Scott and the city can move past this, releasing a statement on the matter:
“This was an unfortunate and isolated incident, and it is no way representative of the Philadelphia fan base as a whole. This city has incredible fans and we appreciate their passion and support.”
While the Mike Scott fight incident was an ugly one, hopefully, it won’t impact his relationship with the city in a negative way. Also, hopefully the NFL will beef up security where fans are tailgating to avoid further incidents like this one.
