“We’re All Men So Things Happen”: Jalen Duren Speaks on the Brawl, the Win, and Moving Forward
“As a group, we’ve done an OK job of handling that energy and intensity, but at the end of the day, emotions got high, everybody being competitive. We’re all men so things happen.”
In his first public comments since Monday night’s explosive brawl with the Charlotte Hornets, Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren offered a measured, almost philosophical take on the chaos that resulted in four ejections and threatened to overshadow his team’s 110-104 victory.
His words, delivered postgame with the calm of a player who has already shifted his focus to the next challenge, attempted to contextualize the violence without excusing it .
The Win: A Statement of Purpose
The Pistons entered Charlotte and did what few teams have done during the Hornets’ nine-game winning streak: they imposed their will on both ends of the floor.
Duren himself contributed 12 points and 11 rebounds before his ejection, continuing his breakout season as one of the league’s most improved young big men .
“Emotions were flaring,” he acknowledged. “At the end of the day, we would love to keep it basketball, but things happen.”
“We’re all men so things happen,” he stated, offering neither full apology nor full justification. It was a statement of fact, not absolution. In Duren’s view,
This perspective is not unique to Duren. It echoes the unspoken code that has governed basketball’s physicality for generations. Players understand that pushing, shoving, and jawing are part of the job.
Duren was the instigator of the physical escalation. His “mush” was the spark. Yet his postgame tone carried no defensiveness, no deflection.
The Reckoning: Suspensions Loom
While Duren has turned his attention to the next game, the NBA front office has not. Executive Vice President Joe Dumars is expected to issue suspensions within 48 hours.
Duren’s own discipline is less certain. His “mush” was not a punch, and he did not throw any closed-fist strikes. However, his action was the clear catalyst for the brawl.
When asked about potential league discipline, Duren offered no comment. His focus, publicly at least, remained on the victory his team secured and the larger mission ahead.
The Bigger Picture: A Team Transformed
Duren’s composed demeanor in the face of controversy reflects the broader evolution of the Pistons themselves. This is not the same Detroit team that spent years in the lottery, cycling through young talent without a coherent identity.
“Everybody was just playing hard,” Duren said.
That’s not spin. That’s the truth of a team that has transformed its culture and now faces the challenge of maintaining it under the bright lights of contention.