Jason Smith, Blake Griffin Flagrant Foul: Fans Cheer Violence (VIDEO)
Jason Smith's flagrant foul of Blake Griffin in the NBA Clippers-Hornets game Thursday night had fans stand to their feet, clapping vibrantly for sending Griffin sprawling to the floor.
Jason Smith, center for the New Orleans Hornets, tackled the Los Angeles Clippers' power forward Blake Griffin when the superstar attempted to take a pass from teammate Chris Paul. With only four minutes left in the fourth quarter, Smith hip checked Griffin fiercely, and later said it "looked a lot worse than it was."
"I think it looked a lot worse than what it was, but that's still not a play that you ever want to do to another player like that," Smith told reporters immediately following the game. "I apologize to Blake Griffin. I didn't want to hurt him at all."
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Immediately after Smith threw Griffin's 6-foot-10, 250-pound body to the court floor, he threw his hands up to convince the referee he did no wrong. The ploy failed, though— the center was ejected from the game for his efforts.
While Griffin laid still on the floor, what was more surprising was the instant effect Hornet's fans had: nearly all of them were on their feet, giving a standing ovation for the rough play.
Despite the unsportsmanlike behavior, which Smith still says was "to try to cut off [Griffin's] lane to the basket," the Clippers star still performed decently. Blake Griffin scored 21 points and had 11 rebounds, although he did seem a bit rattled with only 7 of 19 shots scoring.
The New Orleans Hornets did end up clinching the win after Smith's play though, narrowly squeezing out a win over the Los Angeles Clippers by seven points, winning 97-90.
Though the play is seemingly small when compared to other sports scandals— like the recent news about New Orleans Saints paying football players to tackle and injure others— some critics, like those at CBS Sports, believe Smith should be suspended.
"[Smith] received a Flagrant 2 foul, which is an automatic ejection. And I'd expect him to serve a suspension for that one," wrote Royce Younng for CBS.
UPDATE: Jason Smith was suspended for two games following the incident, according to ESPN SportsCenter.
See Smith tackle Blake Griffin to the ground during the Hornets-Clippers game below:
