Episode #2278: Hammer and Nigel Full Show

Nigel (0:00)

Hammer and Nigel.

SPEAKER_2 (0:01)

Do you believe these characters?

Nigel (0:02)

They're weird of us.

SPEAKER_3 (0:03)

So let's rock!

Nigel (0:05)

My name is Nigel, Jason Hammer right over there. More WNBA drama with your Indiana Fever. Last night, who beat the Las Vegas Aces.

Jason Hammer (0:16)

You were there.

Nigel (0:16)

I think I was in the nosebleeds, so I did not have a good vantage point for the Asia Wilson controversy. You were watching it on TV, Hammer. Maybe you could explain a little bit better exactly what happened and why we're even talking about it.

Jason Hammer (0:33)

So the star player for the Las Vegas Aces is Asia Wilson, and she's on a Wheaties box. She's a multiple MVP of the WNBA.

Most people who really cover the sport would say pound for pound, she's the best player in the league.

Nigel (0:52)

Never heard of her before last night.

Allison (0:54)

Go ahead. I'm sorry.

Nigel (0:55)

I didn't mean to interrupt.

Jason Hammer (0:57)

So there was a play where she kind of bulldozed over Sophie Cunningham and knocked her down and was called for a foul.

Well, there was a fan that was sitting underneath the basket. I mean, this was a guy that had really good seats. Row two, it looked like, and that's important. Row two, and he gets up and he kind of does the world famous Sophie Point at Asia Wilson. Yeah, that's on you.

And you can read his lips. The video is all over social media. It's not hard to find.

Nigel (1:32)

I've seen it.

Jason Hammer (1:33)

He's simply saying, that's on you. And he's pointing at Asia Wilson. Well, she got upset and she ran over into the stands, screaming at him like a toddler having a tantrum and like was giving him the business.

And the fan was kicked out of the game for a little bit. Okay, so the fan, you know, got dragged into the principal's office at Gamebridge Fieldhouse and the fever and Gamebridge Fieldhouse. They talked to the fan. They looked at all the information and they realized, okay, you didn't do anything wrong. You were simply saying, that fouls on you. You were cheering for the fever. They let him come back to his seats. So, he was allowed to come back. Good.

Now, the fever statement that they put out, quote, Following a report of a comment directed toward a player, arena security spoke with the fan involved and a witness. Security determined there was no violation of the fan code of conduct. The fan was not removed from the arena. We consider the matter closed.

How many times has this happened at a fever game, Nigel?

Nigel (2:55)

Multiple times, multiples of times that opposing players are accusing the fans, the fever fans, the Caitlin Clark fans of inappropriate behavior and worse. Right.

Jason Hammer (3:09)

And when you say inappropriate, to me, that's fancy talk for racist, because that's how it comes across when it gets reported to the national media, whether it's the broadcast on television, whether it's social media, all those losers on blue sky. It comes across as these out-of-control racist redneck, hill jack, Indiana fever fans. They can't control themselves when they're protecting their white girls. That's how it comes across.

But every single time, the fans have been allowed to come back, and there's been an investigation, and nothing nefarious has happened. And what frustrates me as a resident of Indianapolis is that our fan base here in Indy, we get labeled as this group of big rednecks, but nobody ever covers the fact that after a review, nothing wrong ever happened.

Nigel (4:13)

And they let the fan back in.

Jason Hammer (4:14)

Right. So, Jussie Smollett, aka Asia Wilson, had tipped to her pal Dan Dockage, who dubbed her Asia Smollett.

She makes these claims, and then the media runs wild with it, and the fan gets to come back. All the fan did was stand up in his seat, like any basketball fan would do, point and say, that's on you, doing the world famous Sophie Cunningham point, because Sophie was the one that got knocked down.

Nigel (4:48)

The fan, I think he sat back down after he realized what was going on.

Jason Hammer (4:53)

Well, his wife kind of dragged him down. I saw that.

But Asia Wilson was arguing that he charged toward me. No, first of all, there was another row in front of this fan. He was in row two, not row one. OK, so he got out of his seat. And if he did make one step forward, he still wasn't anywhere near the court. Like her argument was he was coming near the court toward me.