Although our beloved Wisconsin Badgers had a less than terrific football team in the 1980s, our boys still managed to make it into the newspapers on occasion. Some of those good young people so sure-footed at sports stumbled, and ran afoul of the law.

A few campus football stars thus drew headlines not so much for spectacular touchdowns or interceptions on the field, but for assorted antics in local taverns. The local populace took the situation in its stride. As for me, I thought: Well, you know how it is. Everybody needs a little seasoning before we can expect very much of them, right? Like Rip Van Winkle when frustrated by his dear Dame Van Winkle: “I shook my head, shrugged my shoulders, and rolled my eyes.”

That is almost my reaction to the news story this week here in Taipei that focuses on several local basketball stars. Dmedia Numen, of the Super Basketball League, suspended the salaries of three of its players over allegations of criminal misconduct. Police say that following a drink or two at a local watering hole, the athletes incited a crowd on or near the premises to violent behavior, and themselves engaged in fisticuffs. A report I read said one of the players was upset about a certain amount of attention a male on the scene was paying to a young woman in whom he was also interested.

Now, that’s a turbulent mix: Big burly basketball brawler looks askance on an ordinary mortal trying to cut in on his territory. That is a scenario meant for trouble.

Coach Wu Chien-kuo said, “Their conduct has tarnished the team’s image.” The team’s Web page apologized for the incident, for “setting a bad example for its fans and the nation’s teenagers.”

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