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

sport Sport is a physical activity or game, often Competition, competitive and organization, organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The numbe ...

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 completely or partially surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit ...

. Motivation for crowd abuse includes gaining a

psychological Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

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 ''Malice in the Palace'' is a 1949 short film, short subject directed by Jules White starring the American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Shemp Howard). It is the 117th entry in the series released by Columb ...

(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. 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'') 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 The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

banned alcohol sales after the third quarter of any basketball game.

References

Sports fandom Crowd psychology {{social-psych-stub

See also

References