Even Here, Garbage in, Garbage Out

Bottles sailed. Trash rained. Danger flew.

Angered by an official who made a call against their team, fans littered the playing surface with debris, causing a delay of the game.

Cleveland Stadium in December?

No, Staples Center on Saturday afternoon.

The unsophisticated, unruly fan behavior we find so reprehensible in distant towns occurred right down the street, when angry King fans cluttered the ice and caused a 10-minute delay in the final moments of a 4-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche.

Two dumpsters and one wheelbarrow worth of trash. Clutter that could have stuck into the ice and injured a player. Junk that could have wounded another fan.

It was just as awful as that nationally celebrated December disturbance by Brown fans, with one exception.

The Browns and their fans were vilified.

The Kings and their fans have been all but applauded.

The reaction has been as if while one group was soiling the stately image of professional football, the other was simply following the natural rhythms of hockey.

Particularly during a week when the NHL’s most skilled players will be gathering at Staples Center, it is an expectation that is unfair to the sport and this city.

Look at the differences.

The Cleveland incident resulted in 14 arrests.

The Kings reported no arrests.

Brown officials were so badly ripped for not immediately criticizing their fans, one day later they retraced their steps and issued heaping condemnations.

King officials didn’t criticize their fans either, yet nobody cared.

In fact, if I hadn’t called them Monday, two days after the incident, they might never have criticized their fans.

Immediately after the game, Coach Andy Murray said, “I thought the fans were great tonight. I think they were just like us. They were frustrated.”

Granted, he had been ejected from the game just before the debris incident and was in the locker room at the time, but surely some one must have told him.

A day later, given another chance to talk about the fans with a cooler head, Murray said, “They thought we were getting hosed, and that was their reaction. For me to criticize the fans for being supportive, I don’t think I can do that.”

One of Murray’s most admirable traits--and there are many--is that he rarely disowns any of his controversial or critical statements.

But come on. Insisting that breaking the law and endangering players and fans is “supportive”? Who does he think he is, Al Davis?

Before Murray could say something else that would make parents afraid to take their children to a hockey game, I called his boss.

Not surprisingly, Tim Leiweke, King president, condemned the incident.

Surprisingly, though, it took him three days to do it.

“We have a reputation here of our fans not getting that worked up, so I loved it that we were so emotional,” he said. “But I hated that they showed it in that way.”

He added, “Throwing things on the ice is wrong.... This is not going to happen again.... This is not a trend.... We will not let it happen.”

So what if his coach doesn’t necessarily agree?

“I know Andy agrees,” Leiweke said. “He is just saying it in different words.”

So I called Murray and gave him a chance to use those words.

“After the game, I wasn’t sure what happened,” Murray said from Denver. “I can’t condemn the support of the fans, but throwing stuff on the ice is wrong. It’s never right. You can’t do that.”

It was good to hear. But after three days, it was a little stale.

I was not at Staples Center on Saturday. But watching it on television was close enough. It was the worst behavior by any of our fans since Aug. 10, 1995, and you remember that.

Tom Lasorda was ejected from a Dodger game in the ninth inning, then souvenir baseballs came flying from the Dodger Stadium stands.

The situation became so dangerous, the umpires declared a forfeit and gave the St. Louis Cardinals, leading 2-1 at the time, a victory.

Said Lasorda afterward: “I’m disappointed in the ones who threw the balls.”

Said General Manager Fred Claire one day later: “It’s a feeling of sadness for everyone involved.”

Is it too much to expect all of our sports leaders feel the same way under the same circumstances?

Shouldn’t these people understand that, at times, they aren’t only leading the players, but also the fans?

Granted, the Kings have the most passionate, persevering fans in town. They have endured bad owners, bad trades, more than three decades with only one appearance past the second round of the playoffs.

It is understandable that, when so blatantly jobbed by officials Saturday, they would want to vent.

But they are this town’s most knowledgeable fans. And here’s guessing that most of them understood that venting with that water bottle would only make things worse.

Here’s guessing most of them are like Andrew Jamner, a Los Angeles businessman who has held season tickets for 14 years.

He loves the game. He knows the game. But on Saturday afternoon, for the first time, he was frightened at a game.

“When stuff started coming out of the stands it was bizarre, it was scary,” he said.

To make it worse, Jamner and wife Elizabeth had brought their two-month old daughter to the game. Elizabeth clutched Isabella to her chest while the trash landed on the ice beyond them.

“We were watching our backs,” Jamner said. “Andy was right, the Kings got hosed. But there’s no excuse for throwing things.”

Perhaps down deep, the Kings are afraid to condemn the behavior of a fan base they have worked so hard to cultivate.

But they should understand that to even implicitly condone that behavior is not a tribute to those many thousands who weren’t breaking the law.

It is an insult.

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Bill Plaschke can be reached at bill.plaschke@latimes.com.