After the Los Angeles Lakers won the 2020 NBA Championship on Oct. 12, fans acted irresponsibly
by gathering at the Staples Center in mobs to celebrate the victory.
However, what should have been a joyous celebration turned into a turbulent evening that left Los Angeles in an embarrassing state of chaos.
According to an Oct. 12 ESPN article, about 1,000 fans took to the streets that night to celebrate, completely disregarding the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines and warnings from Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti.
Garcetti tweeted after the Laker’s victory over the Miami Heat that he felt grateful toward fans celebrating from home and that gathering in large crowds is still unsafe amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The Lakers Twitter page posted an announcement saying an official championship celebration can’t happen until the Los Angeles County officials deem it safe.
“We cannot wait to celebrate our NBA title with our fans,” the Lakers Twitter page tweeted on Oct. 12. “After consulting with the City and the County, we all agree that a joyful and inclusive public celebration will take place as soon as it is safe to do so. In the meantime, thank you again, Lakers Nation, for your support!”
Instead of abiding by the warning, fans still celebrated in large groups. In some instances, the festivities became so rambunctious and violent that several arrests were made.
According to the Oct. 12 ESPN article, the Los Angeles Police Department made 76 arrests throughout the night after fans threw glass bottles, rocks and other projectiles at officers.
During the rowdy celebrations, ABC7 News reporters live-tweeted various incidents. These included a city bus that was destroyed and lit on fire, multiple cars doing donuts in the middle of unrestrained crowds and a man being transported to the hospital after his hands were severely burned from handling fireworks.
The level of unnecessary chaos was so thoughtless and irresponsible that it went beyond just being a championship celebration.
While some fans generally wanted to express their love for the Lakers, others simply used the championship win as an excuse to wreak havoc on the city.
The LAPD tweeted on Oct. 12 that more than 30 buildings were damaged.The department also stated that eight police officers were injured and two fans were taken to the hospital after being injured by non-lethal weapons fired by police officers.
This NBA title was particularly emotionally charged for some fans because it was the first championship since former Lakers star, Kobe Bryant, died Jan. 26 in a helicopter crash along with his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and seven others.
The loss of Bryant would normally be a unifying factor for fans, but on that evening it became a point of conflict. A video surfaced on Twitter that night of a man being brutally beaten by several others after he allegedly made derogatory comments about Bryant.
On top of the chaos, a lot of fans also entirely disregarded CDC guidelines to avoid large gatherings to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
According to the Los Angeles Times COVID-19 tracker, Los Angeles County averaged 1,069 new cases and 15 new deaths per day over the past week. The number of confirmed infections is doubling every 264 days as of yesterday.
The current public health order from the Los Angeles County public health department asserts that private gatherings consisting of people from more than three households are prohibited. It also highly discourages singing, chanting or shouting at gatherings because they increase the release of respiratory droplets in the air, escalating the risk of spreading COVID-19.
The Lakers fans’ celebration was a direct contradiction of this protocol because it definitely had a significant amount of singing, shouting and chanting in packed crowds.
During a pandemic, Lakers fans dangerously gathered in the streets to celebrate the championship victory and put the Los Angeles community at risk. Although the celebration began peacefully, it spiraled into a riot that left fans and police officers injured and businesses damaged.
