Criminal Law and Sports

       In October 2002, less than six minutes into a pre-season game between the Sacramento Kings and the Los Angeles Lakers, a bench-clearing brawl erupted between the two teams. At the center of the melee were guard Doug Christie of the Kings and Lakers forward Rick Fox. Christie precipitated the fight by flinging the basketball at Fox. Fox responded by hitting Christie. The two players were ejected from the game. Upon leaving the court, Fox raced to the tunnel leading to the Kings' locker room. He encountered Christie in the tunnel and resumed the hostilities. As Christie and Fox were scuffling, Christie's wife, Jackie, arrived at the scene and began hitting Fox with her purse. Eventually, Fox and Christie were separated and order was restored. The NBA quickly announced that Fox, as the aggressor in the tunnel, would face a six-game suspension. Christie was suspended for two games. Sometime thereafter, before the Kings and Lakers were to play a regular season contest, a reporter asked Fox whether the bad blood between Christie and himself was likely to carry over into the regular season. Fox answered that he didn't think so, but added, "Just in case, I bought my wife an extra large purse for Christmas."

      At common law, there were two essential components of a crime: an act and a malicious intention. These two elements were reflected in the maxim "An act does not render one guilty unless the mind is guilty." When establishing guilt, the legal system had to prove the defendant possessed a guilty mind, often expressed as the Latin term, mens rea. When Rick Fox went Christmas shopping for his wife, there was only one reason why he might be looking for an extra large purse--mens rea.