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CNN Live At Daybreak

Dave Johnson Discusses Growing Violence at Sports Games

Aired September 20, 2002 - 05:37   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to talk sports now, because there are so many questions in the world of sports. Like why did two shirtless guys attack a first base coach and will Patrick Ewing actually play for the Washington Wizards?
Dave Johnson joins us live from Washington.

Dave is the sports director for WTOP and the play by play guy for the Washington Wizards.

Hi, Dave.

DAVE JOHNSON, WTOP RADIO HOST: Good morning.

Yes, indeed, a lot of questions, but maybe few answers. It was bizarre meeting ugly last night in Chicago.

COSTELLO: You're not kidding. I hope we have that video readily available because it was quite a fight. This kind of stuff is happening more and more at sporting events.

JOHNSON: Yes, you know, and it's a shame, especially for baseball, when you've got great races like the Giants and Dodgers and the wild card and the As and Angels in the West. But last night in Chicago a game against the Royals, a game that really means nothing and you think it would be a nice, quiet evening at the ball park. Instead, these two shirtless hooligans run onto the field and attack Royals first base coach Tom Gamboa.

The Royals team, of course, rescued him, coming out of the dugout. And he was OK. And that's the important thing. But they actually found a pocket knife on the scene. A wonderful sidebar, the two shirtless fans were a father and son combination and the positive is they will be prosecuted according to the Chicago police.

COSTELLO: Just unbelievable. And, you know, on the heels of that story, you know I have to ask you about the pepper spray incident in the stands during the game between the Washington Redskins and the Philadelphia Eagles last week.

JOHNSON: Well, that was my first reaction, not again. Because, of course, on Monday night the Redskins-Eagles game gained national attention for all the wrong reasons. There was a fight in the stands at FedEx Field and a local police officer released some pepper spray. And because of the cooling fans on the sideline it actually sucked the pepper spray down to the sideline. The game had to be delayed about eight minutes and, of course, there's been a lot of questioning and Monday morning quarterbacking, if you will, in Washington about how that was handled and also how the information was related to the fans.

COSTELLO: Yes, and I understand the Prince Georges County police there in Maryland are not going to change their policy at all.

Quickly, I want to ask you about Patrick Ewing. We know he's going to be like sort of an assistant coach for the Washington Wizards. But there is talk he's actually going to play by December for the Wizards.

JOHNSON: Finally, something fun to talk about. Well, you know, it was brought up at his introductory press conference. He, of course, retiring after 17 years, most of them with the New York Knicks, now an assistant coach with the Wizards. And they said now, wait a minute. You know, if there are some injuries, would you think about coming back? And he said well, maybe.

And the head coach, Doug Collins, said well, maybe. So if they have some injury problems, maybe Patrick Ewing will suit up. But his first job is assistant coach and that's the one he's supposed to pay attention to.

COSTELLO: All right, Dave Johnson, thank you very much.

We'll check back with you next Friday. It's always fun to talk to you, from WTOP in Washington, D.C.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired September 20, 2002 - 05:37   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to talk sports now, because there are so many questions in the world of sports. Like why did two shirtless guys attack a first base coach and will Patrick Ewing actually play for the Washington Wizards?
Dave Johnson joins us live from Washington.

Dave is the sports director for WTOP and the play by play guy for the Washington Wizards.

Hi, Dave.

DAVE JOHNSON, WTOP RADIO HOST: Good morning.

Yes, indeed, a lot of questions, but maybe few answers. It was bizarre meeting ugly last night in Chicago.

COSTELLO: You're not kidding. I hope we have that video readily available because it was quite a fight. This kind of stuff is happening more and more at sporting events.

JOHNSON: Yes, you know, and it's a shame, especially for baseball, when you've got great races like the Giants and Dodgers and the wild card and the As and Angels in the West. But last night in Chicago a game against the Royals, a game that really means nothing and you think it would be a nice, quiet evening at the ball park. Instead, these two shirtless hooligans run onto the field and attack Royals first base coach Tom Gamboa.

The Royals team, of course, rescued him, coming out of the dugout. And he was OK. And that's the important thing. But they actually found a pocket knife on the scene. A wonderful sidebar, the two shirtless fans were a father and son combination and the positive is they will be prosecuted according to the Chicago police.

COSTELLO: Just unbelievable. And, you know, on the heels of that story, you know I have to ask you about the pepper spray incident in the stands during the game between the Washington Redskins and the Philadelphia Eagles last week.

JOHNSON: Well, that was my first reaction, not again. Because, of course, on Monday night the Redskins-Eagles game gained national attention for all the wrong reasons. There was a fight in the stands at FedEx Field and a local police officer released some pepper spray. And because of the cooling fans on the sideline it actually sucked the pepper spray down to the sideline. The game had to be delayed about eight minutes and, of course, there's been a lot of questioning and Monday morning quarterbacking, if you will, in Washington about how that was handled and also how the information was related to the fans.

COSTELLO: Yes, and I understand the Prince Georges County police there in Maryland are not going to change their policy at all.

Quickly, I want to ask you about Patrick Ewing. We know he's going to be like sort of an assistant coach for the Washington Wizards. But there is talk he's actually going to play by December for the Wizards.

JOHNSON: Finally, something fun to talk about. Well, you know, it was brought up at his introductory press conference. He, of course, retiring after 17 years, most of them with the New York Knicks, now an assistant coach with the Wizards. And they said now, wait a minute. You know, if there are some injuries, would you think about coming back? And he said well, maybe.

And the head coach, Doug Collins, said well, maybe. So if they have some injury problems, maybe Patrick Ewing will suit up. But his first job is assistant coach and that's the one he's supposed to pay attention to.

COSTELLO: All right, Dave Johnson, thank you very much.

We'll check back with you next Friday. It's always fun to talk to you, from WTOP in Washington, D.C.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com