Pacers/Pistons Brawl
Posted by: Bradley McDonald
The NBA will reportedly hand out over 140 games worth of suspensions today for players involved in the Pistons/Pacers brawl Friday night. The whole thing started when Ron Artest fouled Ben Wallace hard with 45 seconds left in the game. Wallace retaliated by shoving Artest in the face. After a small scuffle, things started to settle down when a fan hit Artest with a cup of beer. Artest then charged into the stands shoving fans and swinging wildly. He was joined by teammate Stephen Jackson, who was also throwing punches. After Artest and Jackson were pulled out of the stands, some fans charged the court and were met with punches from Artest and teammate Jermaine O'Neal.
This was one of the worst incidents in NBA history and I think the NBA handled it appropriately for the most part. Artest was suspended for the rest of the season; Jackson got 30 games and O'Neal got 25 games. The players just cannot go into the stands. The NBA should have a rule that states if a player goes into the stands he is automatically suspended for the rest of the season without pay. That will make them think twice about going after fans, no matter what they did. I heard some announcers taking up for the players saying that the abuse and heckling they go through is unreal. I think their salaries are well worth the abuse, though. I would take all the verbal abuse in the world if I got paid $10 million a year.
The fans are not without blame, though. The fans that threw stuff on the court have to be punished somehow. This is more difficult to regulate but these fans should be charged with attempted battery or something of the like. Their season tickets should also be taken away if they have them.
The only suspension I don't agree with is the one given to Jermaine O'Neal. O'Neal did pummel a fan that was on the court, but he didn't go into the stands. I think if a fan is dumb enough to charge onto the court then he is fair game. O'Neal still didn't have the right to punch him, but 25 games seems a little steep to me.
Losing three key players for this long will really hurt Indiana's basketball team, but the NBA is sending a message that the players have to be responsible for their actions.
The NBA will reportedly hand out over 140 games worth of suspensions today for players involved in the Pistons/Pacers brawl Friday night. The whole thing started when Ron Artest fouled Ben Wallace hard with 45 seconds left in the game. Wallace retaliated by shoving Artest in the face. After a small scuffle, things started to settle down when a fan hit Artest with a cup of beer. Artest then charged into the stands shoving fans and swinging wildly. He was joined by teammate Stephen Jackson, who was also throwing punches. After Artest and Jackson were pulled out of the stands, some fans charged the court and were met with punches from Artest and teammate Jermaine O'Neal.
This was one of the worst incidents in NBA history and I think the NBA handled it appropriately for the most part. Artest was suspended for the rest of the season; Jackson got 30 games and O'Neal got 25 games. The players just cannot go into the stands. The NBA should have a rule that states if a player goes into the stands he is automatically suspended for the rest of the season without pay. That will make them think twice about going after fans, no matter what they did. I heard some announcers taking up for the players saying that the abuse and heckling they go through is unreal. I think their salaries are well worth the abuse, though. I would take all the verbal abuse in the world if I got paid $10 million a year.
The fans are not without blame, though. The fans that threw stuff on the court have to be punished somehow. This is more difficult to regulate but these fans should be charged with attempted battery or something of the like. Their season tickets should also be taken away if they have them.
The only suspension I don't agree with is the one given to Jermaine O'Neal. O'Neal did pummel a fan that was on the court, but he didn't go into the stands. I think if a fan is dumb enough to charge onto the court then he is fair game. O'Neal still didn't have the right to punch him, but 25 games seems a little steep to me.
Losing three key players for this long will really hurt Indiana's basketball team, but the NBA is sending a message that the players have to be responsible for their actions.
