The Buck Stops With NBA for This Unsafe Bus Stop

SACRAMENTO — It's not a big deal.

That's what most of the Golden State Warriors said. Just a little bit of temper, just a little posturing, just a little punching and shoving and taunting.

Just a little bit of Chris Mills with a car full of buddies pulling in front of the Portland team bus.

Just a little bit of shouting threats and punching on bus windows in the parking lot of a public arena in Oakland, where some fans were still leaving after the Friday night game between Golden State and Portland.

Just a police escort needed so that the Trail Blazer team bus could leave for the airport.

Just what the NBA needs.

Friday Night Fights.

Portland's Bonzi Wells received a two-game suspension and Golden State's Mills three games for their parts in the fight that started in the arena and ended in the parking lot.

What happened Friday at the Arena in Oakland is what happens on city streets in places like Oakland and Los Angeles all too often.

Street violence that starts with insults and maybe punches and ends in serious violence.

Everybody was lucky Friday. The police escorted the bus away. But Portland Coach Maurice Cheeks called the situation "scary" and "frightening."

Maybe this is a moment where an athlete could make a difference.

Besides his fine, it would be nice if the NBA would counsel and encourage Mills, a native of Los Angeles, to speak to kids at high schools in L.A. and Oakland about the dangers of violence.

Oakland had the highest per-capita murder rate in the state last year. Last month, in a three-week period, 20 people were killed in South Central Los Angeles, including a 14-year-old Crenshaw High basketball player.

This episode wasn't so serious. It started at the end of a close game. Wells punched Mills. Players left both benches. There was brawling and then there was Mills trying to get into the Trail Blazers' locker room and being stopped by security.

But what does it say about Mills that he couldn't end it, couldn't go back to his own locker room and cool off?

Why could he not let go? By some accounts it was Wells who threw the first punch but by some accounts it was Mills who started the fight. Plenty of blame for both players. There is no arguing that Wells wasn't an out-of-control hothead who deserved his punishment, the suspension meted out Saturday.