INDIANAPOLIS -- Former Indiana Pacers star Reggie Miller said Tuesday he doesn't understand why Stephen Jackson's teammates are standing by him following a violent incident outside an Indianapolis strip club.
Police said Jackson fired a gun in the air in apparent self-defense early Friday after he was slugged in the mouth and struck by a car that sent him tumbling onto the hood.
Miller, who played 18 years for the Pacers and is the NBA's career leader in 3-pointers, spoke out about the incident Tuesday on Dan Patrick's ESPN Radio show.
"That's ridiculous," Miller said. "That is a black cloud. That is a punch in the gut for [team CEO] Donnie Walsh and [team president] Larry Bird.''
The Pacers have an aggressive preseason publicity campaign, with television ads and billboards featuring players and the "It's up to us" slogan.
Even Jackson, who was suspended 30 games for his role in the brawl with Detroit Pistons fans two seasons ago and often was at odds with coach Rick Carlisle last season, talked about spending a summer "soul-searching" and returning with a positive at ude.
The Pacers didn't even make it to their preseason opener before their latest public relations mess. The Pacers have rallied around Jackson, and Miller disagreed with that on Patrick's show.
"You shouldn't stand behind a player that is someone slapping you guys in the face during the middle of training camp being out at a strip club at 3 o'clock in the morning shooting it up like it's the Wild, Wild West," he said.
Miller, now a TNT basketball analyst, ended his career following the 2004-05 season. He was a five-time All-Star, led the NBA in free throw percentage five times and is No. 12 on the league's career scoring list.
It's amazing what's happened to the Pacers since Reggie's retirement. I think it just went to show exactly how much of an impact/franchise player he truly was. It's a shame that this is what it's come to. Problem is Pacers now lack leadership. Jermaine Oneal is in no way a leader, and SJ is a loose canon.
How the mighty have fallen...
Even when they reached the finals they weren't mighty.
Ok so the "mighty" was a slight exaggeration...but you get the point. They were easily one of the top 3 teams in the East...always at least a contender for the championship or to come out of the East. Now they're a team barely struggling to make the playoffs, despite some pretty ok talent and a good coach.
The Pacers are the new Jailblazers.
What happened to all of the "Let's Bring Jax Back" people that were running around a few months ago?? I know I saw a ton of them.
Please ... it wasn't Reggie that kept that franchise respectable.
Guaranteed that Pacers players went to strip clubs late at night when Reggie was there.
Difference is this time they got caught doing other stupid .
I don't buy a notion that Reggie being there would have prevented this.
Well, yeah...before he tried to raise his shooting percentage last week. It's been the claim of a lot of people that Jax could have gone down a different path had he remained in the organization.
Some people were really down when Jax didn't stick around, but some of them even changed their tune after "Detroit Rock City."
I didn't like him all that much when he was in SA, but I never could have predicted the stupidity he's sunken to in the last few years. With that said, I can understand why his teammates are sticking by him. The reality is that if the Pacers are going to get anything done this year they need Jax to have a very good year, and with his fragile brain that's not going to happen if he feels persecuted by his own team before the season even starts. I'm not saying it's right, I'm just saying what I think they're reasoning is.
Four Pacers were involved in the mayhem at Club Rio early Friday. Police said Jackson fired a gun in the air in apparent self-defense and was struck by a car that sent him tumbling onto the hood.
Coach Rick Carlisle said Saturday that Jackson and teammates Jamaal Tinsley, Marquis Daniels and Jimmie Hunter committed an "error in judgment" by staying out late during training camp but he was relieved no one was seriously injured.
Police said they found a small amount of marijuana in the passenger-side door of point guard Tinsley's car. But no arrests were made because there were three others in Tinsley's car and police could not determine who had the marijuana, authorities said.
Jackson was expected at Pacers practice Tuesday for the first time since the fight.
Good to hear they're keeping their bodies healthy during training camp.Four Pacers were involved in the mayhem at Club Rio early Friday. Police said Jackson fired a gun in the air in apparent self-defense and was struck by a car that sent him tumbling onto the hood.
Coach Rick Carlisle said Saturday that Jackson and teammates Jamaal Tinsley, Marquis Daniels and Jimmie Hunter committed an "error in judgment" by staying out late during training camp but he was relieved no one was seriously injured.
Police said they found a small amount of marijuana in the passenger-side door of point guard Tinsley's car. But no arrests were made because there were three others in Tinsley's car and police could not determine who had the marijuana, authorities said.
Jackson was expected at Pacers practice Tuesday for the first time since the fight.
That is ing gold.
I'm not saying that Reggie would have prevented that from happening or that the Pacers were a model franchise before. I'm just saying that with Reggie they had an on court leader, a respectable franchise, and some work ethic.
Where DID the bullets land anyway?!??!?!?
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