Mike Scott spoke to Sixers media today, the first time he’s been in front of a microphone since the altercation that took place with Eagles fans at Lincoln Financial Field back on September 8th. The fracas in the parking lot resulted in the dissolution of the ‘F Lot Crew,’ the group of tailgaters who traded punches with Scott after a verbal argument turned physical.

Dan Gelston from the Associated Press broached the subject with Scott at media day, which resulted in this response and two follow-up questions:

Gelston: You embraced your role as sort of a man about town with the fans this year. What exactly happened in the Eagles parking lot and will that affect –

Mike Scott: Straight to it.

<everybody laughs>

Gelston: Will that affect the way you conduct yourself with the fans moving forward?

Scott: I don’t know; looking back on it, I always play devil’s advocate with myself. I definitely should have walked away before it got to that point. I’m the professional, be a bigger person and walk away. But once you keep going, and he was popping hella shit, you know what I’m saying? He was going off. I don’t know; maybe it was the microphone. I walked up in there and once you take it to that next level, once you start throwing other slurs out there, now I gotta see if you match that energy. So that’s what happened. I definitely have to be the bigger person and it should have never got to that point. Definitely should have walked away. But I didn’t; he was talking crazy and took it to the next level so I had to see if he’d match that energy. Y’all saw what happened with the rest of it. But yeah, gotta be the bigger person, gotta be that, but as far as sympathy for them, I don’t feel any for those individuals. What a day (laughs).

Gelston: Will that affect how you interact with fans?

Scott: Nah, nah. I don’t feel no way towards any fan, any Eagles fans. Those guys don’t represent –  I’m not stupid – that doesn’t represent everyone. I still had a ball. I still had fun, took pictures with fans, throwing balls in the parking lot and enjoyed the game. The Redskins go up 20-7 and I’m looking around like ‘aw shit come on Eagles, help me out now, can’t fight the whole stadium.’ Shit, they would have been out there waiting for me with pitchforks. I still had fun and you have to let social media have their fun with it. It definitely doesn’t look good on my behalf, embarrassing the organization and my family, but once you take it past that point, god damn, I mean what are going to do, you know? But no I don’t feel any type of way towards Eagles fans. It’s Philly, we had a brawl before noon and then went and enjoyed a football game. What a day.

<unrelated question in between>

Crossing Broad: Mike, have to ask one more question about the F Lot situation; the microphone guy went on the radio and said he reached out to the Sixers, that they wanted to apologize to you, to talk to you –

Scott: Yeah that’s cool.

Crossing Broad: – did you have any contact with them?

Scott: Nah, nah, I had brought a guest with me that day and I told her ‘if I was to see those same people that same day, I would have dapped them up, gave them a handshake, signed something for their kids, took a picture. I’m not tripping on that. We had our little differences then went to go watch a football game. I feel like they shouldn’t have taken it to that point but I don’t have no beef towards them. If you want to apologize and we kick it, take pictures, do the pose, I’m all for that. I’m not really trippin’ on that. I had fun that day. It didn’t really hit me until that night when I went, ‘man I fucked up maybe I should have just walked away’ when I saw it all over social media. Then I’m going back and forth like ‘hell naw, he was talking too crazy, I gotta go see about it.’ But I don’t feel no type of way, if I ever see them again and they want to apologize, and they don’t have to apologize, just dap it up, I’m all for that.

I thought it was a great response from Scott, who took responsibility for his part in the altercation while reiterating that the F Lot crew did indeed cross the line. But for him to harbor no ill will towards microphone guy and his friends while leaving the door open for some sort of reconciliation seemed like a mature way to approach the aftermath of the situation.

Mic guy did go on Missanelli’s show and admit that somebody used a racial slur, so it’s very clear that they were in the wrong. That aside, Mike Scott, in my mind, just had more to lose as an under-contract professional athlete who is held to a higher standard than a couple of random blokes in the parking lot.

Time’s yours.