UNLV student section toes fine line with taunts

The line barely is visible, but it exists.

Or at least it should.

We have seen the best of college basketball student sections over the years, of the passion and creativity young minds can exhibit when supporting their team and doing their best to distract an opponent.

We have laughed at the Fatheads and copies of police mug shots, the white dress shirts and ties and bicycle helmets for when Brigham Young visits certain arenas.

We have seen those at Utah State perfect the, "I Believe!" chant and a whole bunch of others copy it.

We have seen the worst, of students at Pittsburgh pelting Connecticut players and coaches with coins, gum and plastic Coke bottles.

We have seen utterly disgraceful, when in 1988, those at Arizona State chanted "PLO, PLO," "Where's your dad?" and "Your father's history" at Arizona guard Steve Kerr, whose father had been assassinated by terrorists in Beirut four years earlier.

"That one was ugly," UNLV athletic director Jim Livengood said. "It was unbelievable, beyond ugly. That was the worst one."

He was speaking before the No. 24 Rebels hosted and beat UC Irvine 85-57 at the Thomas & Mack Center on Wednesday night, his week having included time helping to avoid a sidebar story becoming something much bigger.

Daman Starring is a senior guard for UCI and its leading scorer, a former Sierra Vista High guard who in June 2006 was found delinquent on one charge of open and gross lewdness and one charge of battery in relation to a hazing incident against a younger teammate.

Starring was found not guilty of sexual assault, spent his senior year at El Toro (Calif.) High and played a season at Centenary College (La.) before transferring to UCI.

His legal issues were well known by the UNLV student section, whose organization and participation has become more impressive since Dave Rice was named head coach and the Rebels find themselves included in weekly national chatter about the country's best teams.

"We're not going to do anything to discourage 'The Rebellion,' but what might have happened became an issue the last few days, and I just wanted to make sure everyone was on the same page," Livengood said about talks he had with UNLV students and UCI officials. "One of the great things about college sports is your student section. But there is a fine line there, and you want to make sure, for as many things as possible, you do it in a classy way."

In the big picture, UNLV students were tame toward Starring. One sign referred - via a picture - to the sexual assault charge, and the chant "Wash your finger!" serenaded the player after he committed a foul in the second half.

There was another, milder chant of "Vegas reject!"

It could have been much worse.

Some might argue that it should have been.

I don't believe in school officials micromanaging student sections unless the line is crossed certain ways, which would include things like throwing objects at opponents or, in the case of Kerr many years ago, chanting cruel reminders about such a personal matter as one's father being murdered.

But the case against Starring was very much part of the public record in Las Vegas, and the fact he was found by a judge to have participated in the worst parts of the hazing incident, far worse than merely being part of a dogpile that jumped on the victim and held him down, opens the door for opposing students to think of creative ways of bringing it up.

Thing is, Starring didn't seem to notice much of anything that students directed at him Wednesday, scoring a team-high 18 points in 31 minutes.

"I was happy to be home, and it was nice to play in front of family and friends," he said. "(UNLV) is a great team. The stuff from (opposing students) is all part of our sport. It happens. It's not going to affect me. You take it and leave it for what it's worth. I wasn't really paying attention, because once the game begins, your adrenaline takes over, and you're only worried about performing and making the next play.

"I came here expecting to play a tough opponent and in a tough environment, and that's what we got. UNLV has a good student section. With college kids, anything is possible in terms of what they (might do)."

Las Vegas Review-Journal sports columnist Ed Graney can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618. He can be heard from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday on "Gridlock," ESPN 1100 and 98.9 FM. Follow him on Twitter: @edgraney.