Editing Kermit Washington (section)

===The Rudy Tomjanovich incident===
On December 9, 1977, during an NBA game between the Lakers and the [[Houston Rockets]], a scuffle broke out among several players at midcourt.<ref name="flak" />

The events that precipitated the fight have been frequently debated, and variously interpreted.<ref name="flak" /> Two months earlier, on opening night of the season, the Lakers played the [[Milwaukee Bucks]]. Bucks center [[Kent Benson]] elbowed Abdul-Jabbar in the stomach, and Abdul-Jabbar appeared to be in intense pain. Abdul-Jabbar then punched Benson from behind, breaking Benson's jaw and his own hand.<ref name="BS89" /> Washington got into a brawl with several [[Buffalo Braves]] players a few games later.<ref>Lazenby. pgs. 171–2</ref> In the December game, at the beginning of the game's second half, Lakers guard [[Norm Nixon]] missed a shot. Houston's [[Kevin Kunnert]] and Washington both contended for the rebound, which Kunnert eventually got and passed out to teammate [[John Lucas II|John Lucas]]. Their battle for the rebound was more physical than usual, however. Abdul-Jabbar became involved and wrestled with Kunnert. As a result, Kermit Washington stayed behind in the backcourt in order to watch over and make sure nothing happened. After the two disengaged, Washington grabbed Kunnert's shorts in order to prevent him from getting back over on offense quickly. Kunnert threw an elbow that hit Washington on the upper arm and this move spun him around so that he was facing Washington. What happened next is disputed: Washington, several Lakers, and Rocket forward [[Robert Reid (basketball)|Robert Reid]] insisted that Kunnert punched him, Kunnert said Washington swung first after he attempted to free himself from Washington's grasp. The referee who saw the action saw merely a "scuffle" between Kunnert and Abdul-Jabbar followed by the one between Kunnert and Washington then Washington's punch.<ref>Feinstein. pgs. 78, 266</ref><ref name="halb273" /> Both Washington and Abdul-Jabbar reject this account.<ref name="flak" />

Abdul-Jabbar then ran up behind Kunnert and grabbed his arms to try to pull him away from the scuffle.<ref>Associated Press. [https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=OpAzAAAAIBAJ&sjid=HeEFAAAAIBAJ&pg=973,5148642&dq=kermit-washington&hl=en Washington Down and Out] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210131042905/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=OpAzAAAAIBAJ&sjid=HeEFAAAAIBAJ&pg=973%2C5148642&dq=kermit-washington&hl=en |date=January 31, 2021}}, ''[[Kentucky New Era]]'', December 10, 1977, accessed November 19, 2010.</ref> But this only left him defenseless for Washington's first punch, which hit Kunnert in the head and brought him down on one knee.<ref name="BS89" />

Washington saw Tomjanovich running toward the altercation. Not knowing that he intended to break up the fight, Washington hit Tomjanovich with a short right-hand punch. The blow, which took Tomjanovich by surprise, fractured his face about {{convert|1/3|in|mm|adj=pre|of a|spell=in}} away from his skull and left Tomjanovich unconscious in a pool of blood in the middle of the arena. Abdul-Jabbar likened the sound of the punch to a melon being dropped onto concrete.<ref name="halb273">Halberstam. pg 273</ref> Tomjanovich had a reputation around the league as a peacemaker.<ref>[http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1093182/index.htm A Roundup Of The Week Dec. 5-11] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103174225/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1093182/index.htm |date=November 3, 2012}}, ''Sports Illustrated'', December 17, 1977, accessed December 16, 2010.</ref> Players involved say that right after Tomjanovich collapsed, the absence of sound at the arena, which was filled with shocked fans, was "the loudest silence you have ever heard."<ref>Moore, David Leon. [https://www.usatoday.com/sports/ccovtue.htm New start from old wounds] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204120513/http://www.usatoday.com/sports/ccovtue.htm |date=February 4, 2012}}, November 26, 2002, usatoday.com, accessed October 9, 2010.</ref> Reporters heard the sound of the punch all the way in the second floor [[press box]], and some rushed to the playing floor in disbelief.<ref>Feinstein. pgs. 6–7</ref>

Tomjanovich was able to get up and walk around, however, and on the way into the locker room he saw Washington. Tomjanovich says that he became aggressive and asked Washington why he punched him. Washington yelled something inaudible about Kunnert, and they were broken up by two security personnel.<ref>Feinstein. pgs 53–54</ref> Tomjanovich was in no condition to fight despite his aggression; besides having the bone structure of his face detached from his skull and suffering a [[cerebral concussion]] and broken jaw and nose, he was leaking blood and [[spinal fluid]] into his skull capsule. His skull was fractured in such a way that Tomjanovich could taste the spinal fluid leaking into his mouth.<ref>Feinstein. pg. 13</ref><ref name="SIpunch" /> He later recalled that at the time of the incident, he believed the scoreboard had fallen on him.<ref>Feinstein. pg. 5</ref> The doctor who worked on Tomjanovich said "I have seen many people with far less serious injuries not make it," and likened the surgery to [[Scotch Tape|Scotch-taping]] together a badly shattered eggshell.<ref name="halb273" />

====Aftermath====
Worsening matters for Washington, the only available replay of the incident showed just his punch, not the scuffle that preceded it. This made the attack appear unprovoked,<ref name="BS90">Simmons. pg. 90</ref> and ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'', then watched by an average of 30 to 35 million people, replayed the punch countless times as a gag, having cast member [[Garrett Morris]] comically defend the punch.<ref>Simmons. pgs. 90, 107</ref><ref>Feinstein. pgs. 91–2</ref> It was also the subject of a ''[[New York Times]]'' editorial and investigated on [[CBS News]] by [[Walter Cronkite]].<ref name="SIpunch">Kirkpatrick, Patrick. [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1093209/index.htm Shattered and Shaken] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100119030727/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1093209/index.htm |date=January 19, 2010 }}, ''Sports Illustrated'', January 2, 1978, accessed December 16, 2010.</ref> Washington was fined $10,000,<ref name="Daily">[[United Press International]]. [https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1842&dat=19771213&id=gxIsAAAAIBAJ&sjid=BscEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3185,2769930 Kermit Washington Draws Stiff Penalty] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210131042844/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1842&dat=19771213&id=gxIsAAAAIBAJ&sjid=BscEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3185%2C2769930 |date=January 31, 2021 }}, ''Times Daily'', December 13, 1977, accessed October 9, 2010.</ref> and suspended for 60 days, missing 26 games; then the [[List of players banned or suspended by the NBA|longest suspension for an on-court incident in NBA history]].<ref>[http://www.everything2.com/title/The+Punch%253A+Kermit+Washington+vs.+Rudy+Tomjanovich The Punch: Kermit Washington vs. Rudy Tomjanovich] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100518121530/http://everything2.com/title/The+Punch:+Kermit+Washington+vs.+Rudy+Tomjanovich |date=May 18, 2010 }}, everything2.com, accessed October 9, 2010.</ref> Tomjanovich missed the rest of the season, and the Rockets felt Washington should have been suspended for the same period of time.<ref>Feinstein. pgs. 219–20</ref>

On-court fights had been all too common in the 1970s, often including [[bench-clearing brawl]]s.<ref>Simmons. pgs. 89–90</ref> In the season opener, when Abdul-Jabbar punched Benson, no suspension had been levied.<ref name="SIpunch" /> However, Washington's punch resulted in the league enacting strict penalties for on-court fights. Former NBA commissioner [[David Stern]], then the NBA's chief counsel, later said that the incident made NBA officials realize that "you couldn't allow men that big and that strong to go around throwing punches at each other."<ref name="Kahn" /> Currently, any player who throws a punch at another player—even if he misses—is automatically ejected from the game, and suspended for at least his team's next game.<ref name="Kahn">Kahn, Mike. [http://cbs.sportsline.com/nba/story/5822258 Ripples still felt from infamous punch 25 years later] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021212122534/http://www.cbs.sportsline.com/nba/story/5822258 |date=December 12, 2002 }}, [[CBSSports.com]] October 22, 2001, accessed October 9, 2010.</ref> The league added a third referee to its game crew after the season; this referee would have trailed the play and could have called a foul when Washington grabbed Kunnert's shorts, thereby potentially stopping the play and preventing the melee that succeeded it.<ref>Feinstein. pgs. 20, 22</ref>

Washington received no support from the Lakers front office, aside from a single call the day after the fight from Cooke,<ref>Feinstein. pgs. 82, 92</ref> and was sent torrents of [[hate mail]] filled with racial epithets.<ref name="cady">Cady, Steve. [https://archive.today/20130124171334/http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=1ZEzAAAAIBAJ&sjid=qOsFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1254,4343693&dq=kermit-washington&hl=en Kermit Washington explains his version of 'the punch'], ''The New York Times'', reprinted in ''[[The Miami News]]'', December 31, 1977, accessed November 19, 2010.</ref> He was advised by police not to order room service when he played again, as it was feared he would be poisoned.<ref name="BS90" /> Larry Fleisher, head of the Players' Association, wanted Washington to appeal his suspension, an idea which he originally considered,<ref name="Daily" /> but ultimately rejected.<ref name="halb274">Halberstam. pg. 274</ref> Although many players around the league sympathized with Washington and said that he had a good reputation off the court,<ref name="SIpunch" /> he and his wife became ostracized.<ref name="halb275" /> They had a two-year-old daughter, and Washington's wife was eight months pregnant with the couple's first son at the time of the punch.<ref>Feinstein. pgs. 62, 104</ref> His wife recalls she and her children were treated like pariahs after the incident. Her obstetrician refused her service because she was Washington's wife,<ref>Feinstein. pgs. 90–1</ref> and her friends asked her what kind of person Washington was that he could commit such an act.<ref name="halb275" /> The only person who contacted them was Newell. Later in the year Washington went to Newell's home with a big-screen television which he insisted Newell accept.<ref name="halb275">Halberstam. pg. 275</ref>
[[File:Bob Ryan.JPG|thumb|Bob Ryan wrote a column on Washington in 1978. Ryan later said, "You couldn't not like the guy when you sat down and talked with him. ... He never wanted to hurt Rudy the way he did. ... I felt bad for him."<ref name="Fn2256" /> The article endeared Washington to Celtics fans.<ref name="Fn2256" /> The relationship was short-lived, however; he was traded after playing just 32 games for the team.<ref name="bref" />]]

On December 27, 1977, just two weeks after the incident, Washington was traded to the Boston Celtics.<ref name="bref" /> [[Red Auerbach]], Boston's general manager, lived in the Washington, D.C. area, and had been a longtime fan of Washington's.<ref name="halb276">Halberstam pg. 276</ref> His wife, Pat, stayed behind as the couple had two young children, and Washington would be staying in a hotel.<ref>Feinstein. pgs. 222–3</ref> While he waited for his reinstatement, which he thought would not occur until the next season, he became depressed and fell out of shape.<ref>Feinstein. pg. 220</ref> He pulled himself together, and began running up and down the flights of stairs of the 29-story hotel.<ref>Feinstein. pg. 223</ref>

Years later, [[Jerry West]], who was the Lakers coach at the time, told [[John Feinstein]] he still wanted Washington on the roster. Then-general manager [[Bill Sharman]] said he was "on the fence."<ref>Feinstein. pgs. 92–93</ref> Cooke, however, decided to move on.<ref>Feinstein. pgs. 100–101</ref>

Washington started alongside Hall of Fame center [[Dave Cowens]], who enjoyed playing with Washington, remarking, "It's great fun, you can always hear him grunt when he's rebounding."<ref name="halb276" /> Auerbach said, "Kermit was fighting a battle he couldn't win. Nothing he could say or do was going to change the way people perceived him because of that moment. I wanted him to feel at home with us, to feel wanted."<ref>Feinstein. pg. 225</ref> Washington won Boston fans over immediately.<ref name="BS90" /><ref>Feinstein. pg. 226</ref> His acceptance was aided by a glowing article [[Bob Ryan]] of ''[[The Boston Globe]]'' wrote on the player after researching his life and spending some time with him.<ref name="Fn2256">Feinstein. pgs. 225–226</ref> After the season, Washington took less money to re-sign with the Celtics over the [[Denver Nuggets]].<ref>Feinstein. pg. 229–230</ref>