Crowd abuse or barracking refers to the widespread practice of crowds following various

sport Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

s to criticise or abuse opponents, by shouting, chanting, singing or through the use of banners in the

stadium A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...

. Motivation for crowd abuse includes gaining a

psychological Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betw ...

advantage over an opponent, either individually or as a team. Examples of the effectiveness of such techniques can be found in any major sport, including some dangerous outcomes such as the Malice in the palace (Pacers-Pistons Brawl). Malice at the Palace featured both physical and verbal crowd abuse, and contributed to many player's careers changing in the blink of an eye. Ron Artest was suspended for the rest of the season, stagnated on his basketball improvements, and was traded 16 games into the next season, ending the era of his Pacers team/dynasty. On December 8, 2004, five Pacers players and five fans were charged with assault and battery. All of the fans involved were banned from the

Palace of Auburn Hills The Palace of Auburn Hills, commonly referred to as the Palace, was a multi-purpose arena built in 1988 and located in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It was the home of the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Detroit Shoc ...

. Security at professional sports games changed drastically after the incident as well, with comments from players such as Jermaine O'Neal stating that "There was no security. You’re talking about one of the largest arenas in the NBA and you’re talking about...a large group in there that was literally trying to hurt us." Sekou Smith (NBA Writer, ''

Indianapolis Star Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mario ...

'') stated ''"''There was no security to keep people from jumping over that little rail and getting down to the floor." Due to the influence alcohol had on the situation, the NBA banned alcohol sales after the third quarter of any basketball game.

References

Sports fandom Crowd psychology {{social-psych-stub

See also

References