More on 1994 Scuffle

In a phone interview I did on Thursday with Denver Nuggets fan Bob Tapper, he had both nice things to say about Larry H. Miller and not-so-nice things to say about pro basketball.
Tapper was involved in the infamous incident in 1994, in which Miller scuffled with several Nuggets’ fans at the Delta Center. Tapper wasn’t involved in the incident other than a peripheral member of the group with which Miller was arguing.
“Larry wasn’t’ a bad guy, he had a Toyota dealership in Denver. He was a parts guy,” said Tapper.
Tapper went on to call Miller “a man of the earth, a regular guy who came up through the ranks.”
Tapper said he was in the sales end of the auto business and understood Miller.
“Just a regular guy. He had this team and he loved his team and he just overstepped. We all make mistakes, but this was a little extreme.”
Rich Babich, a friend of Tapper’s who made most of the national news in 1994, talked widely with the media back then, while Tapper stayed in the background. Tapper said a media friend advised him to “shut up and don’t talk to anybody; you don’t need this.” So Tapper stayed quiet.
Tapper went on to say he has “very fond memories of that era in the NBA.” He knew many of the players and socialized with them. But he said now he doesn’t know many players well “though I do go hang out with Birdman once in awhile.”
He said selfishness among players and poor officiating have turned him off to the pro game. He doesn’t have season tickets anymore.
Meanwhile, Babich told me on Thursday that the scuffle in ’94 was made out to be bigger than it was.
“We both wanted good results, wanted our teams to play well, and the emotion of the moment got a little too intense. But I didn’t think any thing bad about what took place. It was just that the national media made a huge deal about it, but it just wasn’t.”