Maybe is Hodge hadn't incited the crowd, he wdnt have to have feared for his safety. The guy's the biggest tool I have known to play ball in Australia. And to think he would say to "never drink the poison...."

yeah Hodge is stupid he said he wanted the crowd to boo him, so they do that then he complains the fans gave him a rough time. i think the best way to look at it is, what are Hodge's career accomplishments compared to Maher. The most famous thing Hodge is known for is being shot lol

"A lack of class displayed by them."

Uh huh.

Cos disrespecting a legend and a ball club is totally classy.

He deserved everything he got last night.

Gee, he makes himself look like a real victim, doesn't he? It is a complete lack of class to spit on anyone or make racist comments, and that certainly can't be condoned by the club. However, who was the guy blowing kisses to the crowd? Who was the guy mouthing off in the media all week building the game up? Who was the guy wrestling with Holmes? Who was the guy crying to the refs about how he was being played? Who was the guy fist pumping and arm waving whenever anything went right for him? And who was the guy that did the most disrespectful thing the Dome has ever seen by stomping on our most respected player ever? Maybe he has to look at his own actions before labelling others as 'classless'. Provoking a reaction much? What did he expect to happen?

I don't agree with beer throwing etc if that did happen and I wasn't there so I don't know.
But as someone else said on another thread it was funny during the week to see him take the ribbing with good humour, but what took place on game night sounds bad on both sides.

For Hodge to say he was just celebrating is avoiding admittance that he twice did it on two particular places of the court that was disrespectful- if even his teammates had to apologise for him then what does that tell you- and that's even for a team who loves dirty standards by nature.

I don't care what other drivel he comes out with now- I don't really care because it doesn't change or justify anything and Fitz probably had every right to do what he did- somebody had to show that guy how much of an ass he was making of himself.
He no longer even exists for me but I suppose an attention seeker like him wouldn't be happy with people leaving him alone to his stupid antics either.

Hodge knew exactly what stomping on the signature would do, by his actions he could not serious expect not to cop it from the crowd. If he felt at risk he should be accountable for stirring the whole thing up. Celebrating.....give me a break, thats why Worthington apoligised for Hodge's actions.
Luckily one of the NBL board members was in the crowd and saw the whole thing.
It will be interesting to see how the NBL handles this on

People like him never think twice about anything as mentioned above anytime something he does or says backfires or has consequences he's suddenly the victim and he can do no wrong.
I feel sorry for him really, he's just a juvenile.

Under what rule or regulation would it come under to even do something about it at League level and issue a fine etc?
I'd say they'd just put it down to an unfortunate event that should not be repeated and re-iterate to him that although they can't punish him, it was in exceptionally bad taste.

Nine news just said it all

Yep...

Not much more to say, except that stomping on someone else's name is the only way someone will remember his.

Well, I'm sure after his career is over, the US welfare offices will remember his name.

I was there last night and I did not see any beer throwing, racist comments or anything else -doesn't mean it didn't happen but I didn't hear or see it. I did see Hodge disrespect both Brett Maher and the 36ers.He played dirty and was a bad sportsman. His own captain apoligised for him so what more is there to say.

I finally saw the footage too just now in Brisbane and wow- unbelievable.

The beer was thrown - the guys who did it were talking about it near where I sit after the game.

There probably were people yelling racist stuff but hey, when you act like that you bring it on yourself.

"There probably were people yelling racist stuff but hey, when you act like that you bring it on yourself."


Intelligent comment..... Idiot.

yeah there's no room for racism, that's going too far! But the beer throwing he brought that on himself, i mean he did look thirsty lol

"There probably were people yelling racist stuff but hey, when you act like that you bring it on yourself."

What a load of shit. If that's what you think is fair, then you are just as much of an idiot as Hodge is.

A poor choice if that was the case, I mean he didn't have to think too hard about it did he?

If you go to a beehive and poke it with a stick, you better expect a beesting!

If the 36ers had been mentally tough, had run their offences properly, had hammered the cutter(like the're taught in under 12's) then this would not have happened!
We all knew that Hodge would perform if we allowed him to, and he was allowed to do it on the back of excellent games by Worthington and Crosswell and average work by us, not his own brilliance.
Next time if we play HARD Hodge won't cope, because, as we've seen in the past, he's not noted for doing hard stuff and taking hard hits.

As per channel nine news this is what Hodge said in relation to the stomping incident:

"If I could do it again, I would continue to stomp on it and stomp on it..."

And

"Everytime I play there I will make it my personal effort to go out there and destroy them."

So much for an apology. I honestly thought that upon reflection, and in the cold hard light of day when the highly charged emotional atmosphere of the game ceased to exist, Hodge would consider his actions inappropriate and disrespectful and apologise to Maher.

I was wrong.

Sigh.

Yet again I mistake an internet forum for somewhere with people who can comprehend a point.

What I meant by that was, after a certain point you can not guarantee how people are going to react. Julius Hodge went way too far; so am I surprised that people were allegedly yelling racist comments? no, not at all. Neither should he be.

Yeah, racism is going too far, I agree with that. I didn't say otherwise. What I'm saying though is, once you step over the line with your actions as Hodge did last night, you simply cannot just assume that people in their angry and frustrated state are going to act with the same decorum that they would regularly conduct themselves.

When I said "There probably were people yelling racist stuff but hey, when you act like that you bring it on yourself.", what I mean was you open the floodgates to a whole bunch of stuff that is possibly going to be offensive.

And anyway, I was standing with everyone outside when the Tigers left, I heard what was being yelled. It wasn't racist but it was still extremely hate filled and angry, my point is THAT is what you open yourself up to if you act like a completely disrespectful wanker. If some people take it too far with racially charged comments you can't be surprised at it.

Well put in the previous post.
Kids to die?
Um... I'm not even gonna go there... ^^

Crowd went too far... but a very large part of me is screaming Hodge has everything coming to him.

Had Jacob nailed him properly, I would have stood and applauded.

yeah i wanna eat his children, Mike Tyson styles lol and do i know you Black Dracula?

and in the heat of the moment i wanted to murder him but im a lot calmer now and i realize my actions that night were a lil over the top, this is my official and only apology :-D

Christ guys, I give you time to relax and calm down and still had to go through deleting posts. In no context is racism or violent threats OK. Take the high road.

HAHA, the NBL have requested footage of the post-game incident and will review it.

I noticed that one of Yvonne's photos shows the Tigers leaving the court and that was where drinks were thrown. Nothing incriminating, but if she had more there could be something used to have fans banned for their behaviour.

I left the stadium some time after the game (lights were starting to be gradually turned off) and there were still a fair few people outside waiting for the Melbourne bus to depart (blowing horns, booing, etc).

yeah i was outside as that was happening, but it was nothing just people yelling out how much we love him lol

Checkout his youtube channel. Hilarious footage of him practicing jumpshots from inside the free throw line.

I wouldn't get out of bed to watch his stupid footage- he wants more attention and he's not getting it from me at least.
Reminds me a bit about the Heal/ Cesar fiasco- as infuriating as the Maher incident was, fans also have to take responsibility for their behaviour and what it does to the game.
I'm always crapping on about how players have to look after the game that looks after them so it goes both ways.

The funny thing is, for so long the Tigers and some fans at the Cagehave consistently been the perpetrators of such behaviour- it's interesting to see the shoe on the other foot and them on the receiving end with this behaviour, as well as seeing them bottom of the table for a change.
Karma perhaps?
Hopefully we'll see a slightly classier Tigers brand next season.

In my opinion it has nothing to do with the Tigers and is purely that assclown !

Never seen behaviour like that from who- the fans who were baited or the player who should've used a bit of restraint and control?
Hopefully, we'll never see something like this again regardless of the venue.

I think it might be wise for management to ask Brett Maher to publicly request sixer fans to temper their anger and move on from last night's events. For the reputations of the sixer's organisation and its fans to remain in tact this situation calls for level heads not emotion.

I'm disappointed by the behaviour of number 24 for the Tigers however he made no direct personal offence to me as a person. If anyone should be offended it is Brett Maher. The behaviour of some people in the crowd was a disgrace and I hope they feel embarrassed for being so easily provoked.

For the past 3 weeks the hype around last night's game has been increasing. It is fair to say it was the most anticipated game since Brett's last game. Many people around Australia would have been curious how we the fans conducted ourselves. If there was ever a time in which the behaviour of sixer fans was under the spotlight it was last night. We let ourselves down and can no longer pass judgement on the behaviour of other team's fans.

The character of two parties was in question last night; number 24 for Melbourne and the sixer fans. Both failed the test. It is up to sixer fans now to change how the rest of the country might percieve us.

If Fitz gets fined a hat should be passed around next home game as he showed the passion we all want from people within the organisation. I'd happily chip in to help pay the fine because he did what most of us wanted to do anyway! We want to see passion and a care factor from our club and it's people and that incident warranted action as I would think it was a premeditated act by a childish, dillusional, immature athlete who thinks he is alot more special then he really is.

Worthington and Crosswell pulled that game from the brink for the Tigers with a fair help from the Sixers, Hodge had nothing to do with it! 7/19 Free Throws from any proffessional athlete is disgraceful and actually embarrassing! He talks about being first in the gym and last to leave so I'd like to know WTF is he doing while he is there! His shooting is worse than when he was a Sixer and I didn't think that was possible!

Big Ads, I'd adjust that to say "some Sixers fans" (and probably one GM!) as it was obviously a minority that crossed the line, but otherwise, a great post. It's really disappointing to see what some people have posted on here. "He brought it on himself" is little different to Sheik Taj Din al-Hilali's comments about cats, meat and rape.

Hey Big Ads.. umm yeah ok.. Why should Brett Maher even bother to get involved in this, he has chosen to make no comment today and that for me shows he has class and does not want to get involved or inflame it more..

that would be embarrassing and quite ridiculous for him to make a statement to the fans and would back up ulius's comments today that he is some kind of victim from those nasty sixers fans

I guess you were there like me, all I saw was a rowdy crowd and a guy who could give it and not take it and then carried on like a drunken teenager after his first night out!!

And I am a basketball, soccer and afl fan and have been all around the world watching sport and geez that was nothing really and I tell you if a player had done something similar at so many other venues around the country or world then there really would of been trouble!!

I saw two guys run down to abuse him and a drink got thrown, which is totally not on. Did not here anything racist but if there was then that those people need to be caught if possible. Same goes for anywhere in society, but I would like some other witnesses to come forward on that before making sweeping generalizations about sixers fans

And don't give me this failed the character test rubbish.. first what is this test you talk of?? and show me how we as sixers fans have failed it?? I think the crowd was pretty much to be expected until ulius coupe de grace and even then I think the palpable anger among the crowd was well controlled

Are these character traits the standards you expect of in society? If so line them out for me.. Not aloud to shout abuse at a player? Maybe even swear? Well professional sport is hence forth doomed as I am yet to go to one without these. And if "we" failed because of the guy who chucked a beer and allegedly spat (I did not see this and a lot of heat last night on here from both sides) then don't place your character test on me or the other thousands who did not do anything other than boo or jeer Hodge.

It was rowdy and noisy and it was professional sport under a very unique circumstance.. but if no way a character failure or the crowd, that is just silly and an unnecessary distraction to the real failure last night of a professional athlete to play the game in a professional manner.

And if you are also making character judgments on sixers fans because of this site then really don't bother. People troll on the internet and Isaac cleaned them up well but the numbers of those are just so low as to once again make judgments on sixers fans.

And also if I was an opposition fan I would think that given the circumstances the crowd reaction was to be expected.. and anywhere you get the idiot who goes to far and those will be dealt with by the club/law.

Anyway I'm tired but that post really annoyed me as nothing annoys me more than people making sweeping generalizations about character as if that is to be decided by you and you alone.

just to clarify I think swearing at stadiums is not on, but meant that it happens at sporting events everywhere ( I only heard the big chant personally last night) so unless we are to judge the character of all crowds lets reframe from doing this to the Sixers fans over this just yet.. But I would be ashamed if it was true that race was used and these individuals need to be punished.

Were racial taunts even made and heard or is this just another excuse by Hodge to deflect focus on HIS behaviour which started the whole fiasco?

By all accounts, Hodge incited the crowd in the first instance with his actions. And with the loss, this just fuelled the crowd even more.

Heat of the moment stuff more likely.

""He brought it on himself" is little different to Sheik Taj Din al-Hilali's comments about cats, meat and rape."

...right.

Isaac for all your informative posts and balanced opinions, that seems like a pretty naive comment to make.

Did I condone racist behaviour? no. I don't condone the beer throwing or the spitting either. However, my point was you can't deliberately antagonise passionate people and not expect a reaction that you don't like. If some of those reactions cross the line, you can't whinge and moan about the nature of them, because YOU antagonised the people in the first place. The keywords there are "deliberately antagonise".

Your statement about "comments about cats, meat and rape" is not an apt analogy at all. I'm talking about his actions inciting an angry and passionate group of people deliberately, whereas your analogy was in reference to women merely dressing provocatively, which unlike Hodge's actions is a passive thing.

I realise you have to remain impartial as moderator of these forums but I'd appreciate if you not infer that I share the same controversial opinions as notoriuous religious figures. If you don't share my view, fine. But don't try to imply something about me when you know absolutely nothing about me.

Or, to put it more succinctly:

Most, if not all people know that racism is the WRONG reaction. However, we're all human, and we're not perfect; if your actions are sufficiently provocative it is possible to provoke this reaction, if only in a small subset of people.

Julius Hodge, in my opinion, should realise his actions were sufficiently antagonistic such as to illicit an extreme reaction from people, which spilled over into something inappropriate. It's not approved or condoned, but it happened and he shouldn't be surprised that that's what he caused.

I'm gonna stick to lurking from now on as very few people here seem to be able to comprehend a considered and thought out point.

It's been fun.

I don't think you need to do that- I quite enjoy reading yours and some others' posts.
I think you've made your point pretty well that things wouldn't have got so ugly if a certain other person hadn't incited it.

Spitting and throwing drinks is not on, nor is racism. Jeering and Booing and generally mocking the hell out of Hodge is. If he behaved like tha at NSEC we would react the same, minus the spitting and throwing drinks I would hope.
This incident has not changed my opinion of Sixers fans being passionate loyal supporters eager for another championship, Hodge however is supposed to be a pro athlete not a pro idiot

Dracula, the comparison was more so about putting the responsibility on someone else. If someone is making racist or violent remarks, the responsibility is with that person. Yes, Hodge's comments about the GM "inciting a riot" are a bit rich given the stomping that without doubt escalated the situation from boos/jeers to some taking it too far, but the choice to react lies with others. The vast majority at the venue on the night were able to recognise the disrespect shown but not react inappropriately.

I sit right near Tigers race and yes someone in corporate area as they head to the race did throw a drink but he did go over towards them yelling and gesturing.
As there is sometimes peolpe near race yelling there was no racist taunts that I heard but a guy who sits near us and never says Boo during game did spit towards him and within seconds was taken away by security. There were 2 on top of race both sides and start of race.
This safety rubbish is called a deflection away from the facts and followers of SA politics have seen it done well also.
Really truly believe Ben Fitz actions were to avoid trouble not create it

Sorry Afro-American Dracula, I did misinterpret your comment. I'm hearing you now.

I was saying the same thing after last weeks incident, where Harvey was acting like he was the victim in the post-match abuse. If you want to incite a crowd then don't complain when you get a reaction.

hahahahahahahahahahahah!

Wow! I haven't had a good laugh like that in years. Hodge would make for a great satire writer!

Love the bit where it was Ben Fitz that incited the crowd. It couldn't have been the prick stomping all over Brett Maher's signature could it Julius? No? Oh, ok. It must have been Ben Fitz then!

While clearly I don't condone the actions of the people that spit, threw beer & yelled racial taunts at Julius, I'm pretty confident that NONE of that would have happened but for Julius' post-game antics. That equals inciting the crowd, which surely equals bringing the game into disrepute, from which a suspension must surely follow.

Black Dracula - I must admit i misconstrued what you said earlier (about the racist remarks), but i understand what you mean now, my bad! Good write up by the way...

I'd like to know what Hodge was celebrating anyway? He played like crap and had very little to do with Melbourne winning the game. He's lucky Crosswell played so well, Wortho stepped up to get them to OT and the Sixers had a brain fart in the last minute of regular time!

Of course people shouldn't have shown they're as classless as he is by spitting and throwing out racist comments, but the guy is a nob to stomp on Maher's signature after a game like that. He incited the crowd and deserved to cop it sweet!

As someone said earlier, the only thing Julius is famous for is getting shot! Maybe when he's won three titles and a couple of finals MVP's he can come back and we can have a serious conversation?

Holy shit! Being away I missed this thread/quote. I almost need video footage to believe this pile of dog shit came out of his mouth, then again look who we're talking about.

"disgrace to the NBL", "classless". Hoooooly shiiit.

But the best bit came from that retard of a Journo:

"as he tried to escape with team-mates off the court."

Really??? I mean... seriously? Because to me it kinda look like he was acting tough, talking shit and trying to jump into the stands while his teammates held him back... hmm... but hey, that's just my (and 6000) other people's recollection. Lets just ignore that and say the poor little man was fleeing to the changerooms while those nasty fans were being meanies.