Basket-Brawl in Detroit Last Friday

[amol]

I, for one, believe that Ron Artest deserved a big suspension, but not for the entire season. Isn't it the NBA's responsibility to protect the players while they're on the court? I mean, Artest showed good self-restraint with Ben Wallace, but it was ENITRELY WRONG for that fan to throw a beer cup at him. And no one should have to be embarassed like that. I think 40 games would have been a good suspension, but not 73.

And especially in a game where there were high emotions. Last year, Detroit defeated Indiana in the Conference Finals. Security was really bad. It's like having the Lakers in Sacramento, with nothing cutting off the court and the stands. (I was going to do it vice-versa, but then I realized that if a Los Angelino was right in front of a Sacramento player and had the opportunity to punch him, we'd let our butler do it 😛)

JK JK JK

 

[conjur]

Jackson should be the one suspended for a season. At least Artest had some semblence of justification for going after a fan after having been hit in the face by a beer.

 

[Gaard]

I agree with the suspensions. I might have thought about giving Artest a lesser punishment if he had gone after the right guy. 😉

 

[Vic]

I think there should have been expulsions and lifetime bans.

 

[raildogg]

The suspensions were fair in my opinion. It sends a message to everyone that if you do this, you will get a big punishment.

But I think O'Neal and Jackson should have gotten more games, did you see the right hand O'Neal delivered to that guy?? wow

 

[ATIuser]

Ron Artest gets suspended by the NBA constantly.
He has anger management problems and has even been ordered to undergo therapy by Courts. The guy is a friggin nutjob and they should just kick his neanderthal butt right out of the league. If this was an isolated incident Im sure his punishment would have been less. Because he is constantly being suspended for losing his temper heis punishment is very lenient.
http://www.cracksmoker.com/NBA/NBA%20ArtestR.htm
This is funny. The guy was suspended 6 times just last year.

 

[Riprorin]

Originally posted by: conjur
Jackson should be the one suspended for a season. At least Artest had some semblence of justification for going after a fan after having been hit in the face by a beer.

Hw was hit by a dixie cup. That certainly justifies him pummeling a fan (the wrong one by the way). :disgust:

Are you suggesting that players are justified are going into the stands? Let the authorities take care of unruly fans. That's their job.

 

[b0mbrman]

Originally posted by: Amol
I mean, Artest showed good self-restraint with Ben Wallace, but it was ENITRELY WRONG for that fan to throw a beer cup at him. And no one should have to be embarassed like that. I think 40 games would have been a good suspension, but not 73.

Unless you can make an argument that Ron Artest went into the stands in self-defense, I don't think the punishment was too harsh

 

[her209]

Do you believe in the 3 Strikes Law?

 

[raildogg]

Originally posted by: b0mbrman

Originally posted by: Amol
I mean, Artest showed good self-restraint with Ben Wallace, but it was ENITRELY WRONG for that fan to throw a beer cup at him. And no one should have to be embarassed like that. I think 40 games would have been a good suspension, but not 73.

Unless you can make an argument that Ron Artest went into the stands in self-defense, I don't think the punishment was too harsh

he is a drunk fan, Artest is a 6' 6 player, no comparison.

 

[b0mbrman]

Originally posted by: raildogg

Originally posted by: b0mbrman

Originally posted by: Amol
I mean, Artest showed good self-restraint with Ben Wallace, but it was ENITRELY WRONG for that fan to throw a beer cup at him. And no one should have to be embarassed like that. I think 40 games would have been a good suspension, but not 73.

Unless you can make an argument that Ron Artest went into the stands in self-defense, I don't think the punishment was too harsh

he is a drunk fan, Artest is a 6' 6 player, no comparison.

That's exactly what I'm saying. Artest wasn't in any sort of danger.

 

[ciba]

Personally, I think tossing a beer at someone is asking for a fight. I really don't think Artest was 73 games out of line for it. Hell, if someone tossed a bear at my head, I would beat him silly too.

I think the punishments will be justified if the NBA goes after the fans. By this I mean a lifetime trespass order and criminal charges pursued. Every fan who went on the court should go to jail, as well as the one who threw the cup. *IF* the NBA pursues this, then I will think that the punishments are proportionate.

 

[Tylanner]

The guy who threw the beer (He was the big guy in the blue shirt who first grabs Artest, NOT the guy Artest went after), was a palace season ticket holder and has a few DUI's on his record. He has been banned for life and may face charges for punching Artest in the head.

 

[dahunan]

IF the guy who threw the plastic beer bottle faces charges shouldn't Artest also face charges for attacking the skinny whiteboy.. and Shouldn't J O'neal also face criminal charges for cold cocking the fat kid who was already down on one knee?

Stephen Jackson should face charges too

Or.. are they above the law 😉

 

[Tylanner]

Oh I'm positive those fans involved will milk it for all its worth.

But why were the fans on the court? To get an autograph? They will no doubt be fined for "trespassing", much like a streaker, minus the nudity 😛

When they find the person who threw the chair, they will be charged with assault with intent to harm as well.

 

[b0mbrman]

Originally posted by: dahunan
IF the guy who threw the plastic beer bottle faces charges shouldn't Artest also face charges for attacking the skinny whiteboy.. and Shouldn't J O'neal also face criminal charges for cold cocking the fat kid who was already down on one knee?

Stephen Jackson should face charges too

I don't see why not...but I assume the laws are different for "brawls" than they would be if Artest were just walking down the street and punched another guy in the face.

 

[dahunan]

The laws are different because these are coddled atheletes who are taught to believe that they should be on pedestals. 🙂

I really didn't see any punches thrown in self defense..

 

[miketheidiot]

Originally posted by: Riprorin

Originally posted by: conjur
Jackson should be the one suspended for a season. At least Artest had some semblence of justification for going after a fan after having been hit in the face by a beer.

Hw was hit by a dixie cup. That certainly justifies him pummeling a fan (the wrong one by the way). :disgust:

Are you suggesting that players are justified are going into the stands? Let the authorities take care of unruly fans. That's their job.

He preempted the fan from attacking him with more beer. I mean all the eviednce pointed to that fan at the time, and even if it was the wrong fan at the wrong time in the wrong place, its ok because the fan has been liberated. No harm no foul.

And the authoristies are pushover flipfloper appeasers who would just let the fans through more beer because in reality they are all anti-Pacer.

 

[slurmsmackenzie]

Originally posted by: Amol
I mean, Artest showed good self-restraint with Ben Wallace,

JK JK JK

that's cuz he's a pussy. ben wallace is a 6'10", 250+ black man.. whereas the man he attacked in the stands was a skinny white dude, with glasses, and a buck fifty soaking wet. self retraint....HA!

all i know is that if i started throwing blows at people while i was on the job, REGARDLESS of the reasoning behind it, i'd be pretty damn lucky if it was still there after i got out of jail. ron artest said he's a grown man, so he should be able to do what he wants (in regards to his request for time off). that statement alone tells me that he couldn't be farther from the truth.

jermaine o'neal is gonna be paying some fat lil pistons fan half his salary for a couple years. man did that guy get his jaw rocked!

 

[CycloWizard]

Being from Indiana, I've been a Pacers fan for a while and I thought Artest finally had it together, though I've never been a fan of his due to his antics previously. He's been orders of magnitude better last half of last season/so far this season. Before that, he was hell on wheels. I'm guessing that had something to do with the decision. Myself, I would allow for the extenuating circumstances to alleviate some of the suspension at least. I guess the best thing is players vs players can be handled by the NBA, but players vs fans should be a police matter.

 

[NeoV]

Cyclo, the guy just asked the team for time off since he was worn down working on his Crap album - but you thought he had it together?

Suspensions were quite just - Agreed that O'Neal is going to be paying out some hefty cash from all of this...

 

[GimpyOne]

Well, let's start with the obvious. As an athelete you never, ever, ever EVER communicate in ANY way with the oposing teams fans. Period. If you can't handle it you don't belong playing the sport. Yes I have been an athelete and I do understand having to deal with little shits sitting right next to the field talking about everything from your mother to your sexual preference and everything in between. It's not fun, but grow up and deal with it.

That said, all those who threw punches at fans should be gone from the NBA for LIFE. Period. Obviously they are not adult enough to deal with the responsibilities of their position.

Additionally, all fans involved should also be banned for life from ALL NBA games. Heckling and taunting has become part of the game, but throwing something or entering the field of contest has never and should never be allowed.

To give you an idea of how well this works. How often have you ever seen someone throwing something or running onto the field at Lambeau?(for those who don't know it the home of the Green Bay Packers) I personally can't remember when. Do you know why? Becuase there are security cameras everywhere and the person responsible is banned for life from the stadium. One strike and you are out. This from the drunkest place I have yet to see or experience in all of sports.(And yes I've seen college and pro locals across the country with nothing close to it) So obviously even with alcohol it can work.

 

[daveshel]

We still have basketball. The punishment was not severe enough.

 

[b0mbrman]

Originally posted by: dahunan
The laws are different because these are coddled atheletes who are taught to believe that they should be on pedestals. 🙂

I really didn't see any punches thrown in self defense..

Exactly

Remember guys, having been provoked =! acting in self defense

 

[piasabird]

Police should have moved in with Tear Gas and billy Clubs.

First of all there is some responsiblity and blame to be placed on the owners of this facility. They are responsible for designing a facility that has some separation of fans and players. Where was security when all of this was going on? If a facility owner allows fans to act unruly and throw items all the time then they are setting the stage for an eventual riot to occur.

Some of these fan have this wierd attitude that the Statdium is "Their House!"

Where is the self respect and discipline?

The stadium owners should have a pro-active plan to remove unruly people immediately when they throw items. Maybe the basketball commissioner needs to write some rules requiring owners to provide better security based on the number of fans to keep them in-line. Also there may be good reason to stop selling people all the alcohol they can drink.