Reply With Quote
I agree. S. Jackson was floating like a butterfly and stinging like a bee.
The day Stephen Smith "gets something" is the day the earth standstill and I read him daily in the Philadelphia Rags. Remember that he first called for the fans backs on prime TV instead of the players openly and is now covering his own tail.
He is an absolute idiot both in print and on the air and an embarrassment to the "City of Brotherly Love"
MadDoc in Philly
I agree. S. Jackson was floating like a butterfly and stinging like a bee.
The Battle Royale
Monday, November 22, 2004 at 2:41pm
I wish it was clean cut. It would be nice to take one stance on the Ron Artest melee and feel confident about it. Here's mine.....
It's simple.
You know what's to blame for the Ron Artest-City of Detroit free for all? It's not one player, one fan, or one (very well arched) $8.75 Bud Light. It's a symbol.
The ever important $
David Stern could take the lesson learned from the horrible melee at Pistons game last week and really make implement changes to prevent such incidents in the future, but he won't. You know why?
The ever important $
David Stern is not a commissioner of a professional sports league. He is the CEO of a product that earns millions of dollars in income each year. There is no doubt that there are 2 factors that need to be addressed for this not to happen again in his league, but again, they won't. You know why?
The ever important $
First, you would be straight out lying to yourself if you did not believe that alcohol did not play a major role in the events that transpired on the NBA's Black Friday. If you don't believe that, you must be drunk already. Selling alcohol that late into a blow out rivalry game is the equivalent of inviting Michael Jackson to perform at a Chucky Cheese Pizza party.....you are just asking for trouble.
A commissioner of a league would recognize that fact, and correct it by banning alcohol sales after halftime. He would do so for the sake of the safety of both his fans and players. Yet, A CEO would brush away the idea and live by the motto...."The customer is always right". Futhermore, Sterns motto seems to be..."The Sponsors are never wrong". Stern will place the blame on the players before he bites that beer-soaked hand that feeds him. Because we all know what is more important than the well being of fans and players...
The ever important $
Let's also take a look a what the NBA has prided itself on marketing the past few years. What was once a league of teams, has quickly turned into a league with players and their storylines and THEN the teams they play on. Was their any doubt that the marquee Christmas matchup would be between the "alleged rapist Kobe Bryant-led" Lakers and the " -bent on payback Shaquille O'Neal-led" Heat.
What a pleasent doubleheaders of gems to sit around the Christmas tree and partake in. You just thought it was tough to explain the Terrell Owens, Monday Night Football skit, wait for Christmas Day.
The league likes to market steamy headlines. You know why?
The ever important $
If Stern wants to change the image of his league, he needs to first realize that no matter how many sponsors he fattens his wallet with, if you lose your fan base, you will not have a product to promote. In order to do that, Stern must make decisions that will benefit the players and the fans, and not be blinded by the symbol of.....
The ever important $
Send all comments to [email protected]
Nice read Pete. Well done.
dam republicans already trying to take away my god given right to drink at sporting events after halftime. If we let them take this away from us the next thing they'll want is to take away our god given right to drink during the first half. Then they'll go after our god given right to drink at home watching sporting events (both 1st and 2nd half naturally). Then the sports bars will be closed down. Eventually all drinking establishments and alcoholics beverages will be outlawed.
You laugh but its already happen before in this country.
I'm not against a suspension on beer sales for the Palace, they earned it. But any pre-empted attempt by the republicans to take away our god given right to comsume alcohol responsibly at sporting events must be fought against.
One fan's actions which may or may not have been influenced by alcohol consumption does not lead to an indictment of arena beer sales and beer company sponsorship of the NBA.
A more direct and obvious cause of the Motown Melee is the lack of self-control present in Ron Artest, Stephen Jackson, and Jermaine O'Neal. That makes a tad bit more sense. Perhaps it's not popular anymore to count on individuals to be responsible, be they professional athletes or spectators, but it's the first step towards reality.
I think this is right on target. Pardon me if this has already been posted.
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/colum...saraceno_x.htm
Athletes don't get to cross the line, no matter what
Ron Artest finally got the timeout he wanted. Not a 30-second one, NBA-style. He got the kind of timeout you give out-of-control little boys. He has been appropriately banished to the corner (no, not the neutral corner) for his role in Friday night at the fights.
Commissioner David Stern gave the budding rapper what he wanted all along — a long hiatus from the terribly draining rigors of pro basketball, where the Indiana Pacers forward was to be paid a pauper's purse of $6.2 million this season.
Stern's suspension of Artest for the season should have included mandatory psychiatric and anger-management counseling, plus community service in Detroit, like cleaning public latrines and serving Thanksgiving dinner to the indigent to understand how privileged he is.
Unduly harsh, you say? We're talking about a childish, erratic player who doesn't get it. Artest isn't a "problem player." He is a problem, period — to himself, teammates, the league, fans and his community.
Artest's vigilante form of justice transformed a relatively harmless on-court fracas into a dangerous, full-scale arena riot. He is the person most responsible for possibly the ugliest incident in league history, one where innocent (and not-so-innocent) people were injured and traumatized. The scene was so surreal that Detroit coach Larry Brown picked up a microphone to try and quell the violence and was speechless, and the Pistons' combustible Rasheed Wallace played the unaccustomed role of peacemaker.
Secondly, Artest also has a do ented list of temper-tantrum issues longer than Yao Ming's trousers. If Latrell Sprewell received a 68-game suspension for laying his hands on a coach, the commissioner was right in dropping the anvil on Artest's noggin. This is not Dennis Rodman kicking a cameraman or Kermit Washington sucker-punching Rudy Tomjanovich.
This was about assaulting your own customers' psyches, about the widening gulf between fan expectations and player at udes, about the fast-diminishing product that is pro basketball. In case you haven't noticed, the sport is in shambles and not because of beer sales and security issues.
I'm not saying those fans who acted irresponsibly, and we can assume they were in a minority, should be held blameless. They should be prosecuted and banned forever from the Palace. However, I can't go as far as some analysts and jock-apologists who, in essence, said fans got what they deserved.
ESPN's John Saunders offered a lame analogy after the episode: "If you're walking in Times Square, somebody throws a beer on you, what are you going to do? It's assault, clearly. I don't blame the players for going into the stands." Cohort Tim Legler, a former NBA player, chimed in, "There's not a player in the league (who) would've acted any differently than Ron Artest, especially under the cir stances."
Really? Well, maybe in today's NBA, Tim. But I don't think Oscar Robertson would've reacted that way. Or Jerry West and Walt Frazier. What about Julius Erving? Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson wouldn't have lowered themselves, or the game, by launching into the stands. And I'm sure Tim Duncan, John Stockton and Grant Hill would've found a better solution.
Sorry, but I hold professional athletes, particularly nowadays because of the exorbitant salaries, to a much higher standard. For decades, players have had objects thrown at them and been taunted unmercifully. You don't think Wilt Chamberlain ever had anything fired his way? It didn't appear to me that Artest was hit in the face with that flying cup; it looked as if it struck near his collarbone. No, he flew off the scorer's table an enraged reactionary because he was still simmering over Ben Wallace's shove, not because he was offended, much less hurt, by a cup.
Besides, Artest was prone on a table when the cup hit him. How could he have possibly known who threw it, so how can you justify him going into the stands? What, to attack just anyone? Did you see the fear on those fans' faces? Sure enough, Artest picked the wrong guy because there was no way he could pick the right one.
The Pacers' other big-time cheap-shot artists, Stephen Jackson and Jermaine O'Neal, also punched fans in the face and are fortunate that Stern was restrained.
There remains a serious civil obligation under the umbrella of pro sports. It is not an unalienable right to play in the NBA, live the life and damn-the-public, as some young, pampered pituitary cases believe. They are not bigger than the league; in this instance, they appear utterly infinitesimal.
I still cant believe the jackass players have not apologized to the innocent fans they have hurt mentally and physically
I hope that they pay through the nose for their idiotic bahavior
I also hope they get the guy in the white ball cap for ensiting a riot
ESPN's John Saunders offered a lame analogy after the episode: "If you're walking in Times Square, somebody throws a beer on you, what are you going to do? It's assault, clearly. I don't blame the players for going into the stands." Cohort Tim Legler, a former NBA player, chimed in, "There's not a player in the league (who) would've acted any differently than Ron Artest, especially under the cir stances."
I hate that analogy as well..just like if I was working and my co-worker decided to throw a beverage in my direction and smack in my face. Is it assualt, a lack of respect, but I'm fricken working and the code of ethics clearlly applies. Now if it was on the streets, then I guess anything goes. The problem for the Pacer Goons was this was at work, none of this self-defense or streets BS.
I assume everybody here respects Steve and his opinion.
link
Crossing the line
by Steve Kerr, Yahoo! Sports
November 20, 2004
Until the cup was thrown, it was business as usual in Auburn Hills.
An intense, physical basketball game; a hard foul by Ron Artest – in retaliation for a hard Ben Wallace foul a minute earlier; an angry response from Wallace; a pushing match, followed by the usual grabbing, holding and yelling as coaches and officials attempted to gain control of the situation. NBA fans have witnessed scenes like this a thousand times before.
It should have stopped there, and it would have – if a stupid fan hadn't thrown a cup at Artest, hitting him in the face.
Players are forced to endure verbal taunting all the time in sports. I once warmed up for a game at Arizona State University while two inebriated fans taunted me about the death of my father. I've had teammates endure all kinds of ugly insults, threats and barbs.
But there always has been an uneasy understanding between these idiotic fans and players that a so-called line wouldn't be crossed. Verbal assaults, ugly as they may be, were to be tolerated.Any physical acts, however, were off limits.
So when Artest was hit in the face by the cup, all bets were off. The line had been crossed, and Artest's response was understandable, if regrettable.
Imagine what any of us would do if a person showed up to our workplace, taunted us and then threw a beer in our face? How many of us would show any restraint at all?
Yes, Artest snapped, and he faces a major suspension from the NBA. So do Stephen Jackson and Jermaine O'Neal, who threw multiple punches at fans. Ben Wallace will be penalized for initiating the altercation. David Stern has to send a message to NBA players that under no cir stances will they be allowed to enter the stands to confront taunting fans, even in ugly environments like the one in Detroit on Friday night. I expect suspensions of up to 15 games for each of the three Pacers involved.
That said, I hope that each and every fan involved with the fight will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. The fans provoked the fight, not the players. They deserve major punishment. Law enforcement officials have plenty of footage that will implicate dozens of fans guilty of instigating the brawl.
Perhaps the most disturbing shot was seeing dozens of fans showering Pacer players and coaches with popcorn, beer, cups – anything they could get their hands on as the team exited the floor. The mob mentality at that point was incredibly ugly. Fortunately, nobody was seriously injured.
Alcohol almost certainly played a role in this brawl, so I expect the league to enact rules that prohibit its sale, perhaps in the second half of games. But the bottom line is that civil behavior must prevail the next time this sort of thing becomes a possibility. Fans and players alike must show restraint, even as emotions run high and the intensity of a big game boils over.
Fans cannot under any cir stances throw anything on the floor. And players, in turn, can't respond. Innocent people (and small children) are at risk when a player enters the stands.
I expect that both the NBA and Auburn Hills police will come down hard on the participants to make sure an ugly incident like this doesn't happen again.
Last edited by jcrod; 11-22-2004 at 04:42 PM.
I think the reason they haven't apologized yet (aside from them being pretty ty human beings) is that if they apologize they are admitting responsibility to some extent. For now I think they're hiding under a rock and seeing if the public is going to swallow their "I was being disrespected"/"I was backing my teammate"/"It was self defense" line of horse manure. The second the law suits start flying you can bet that public apologies are going to be part of the out of court settlements.
That raises a good question-if you were in the fans positions what would you sue for besides money?
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp..._pistons_brawl
Fans, Players May Face Charges Over Fight
38 minutes ago
PONTIAC, Mich. - Fans, players and other team personnel could face criminal charges for their roles in a brawl that broke out at the end of an Indiana Pacers (news)-Detroit Pistons (news) game at The Palace of Auburn Hills, a prosecutor said on Monday.
Oakland County Prosecutor David Gorcyca said he repeatedly viewed a videotape of the melee at Friday night's game. He said authorities have identified and questioned a fan who they say threw a cup that hit Indiana's Ron Artest and started the brawl.
A resident of West Bloomfield Township confirmed in a telephone conversation with Auburn Hills police that he is that fan, Gorcyca said Monday. However, he failed to show up for a scheduled in-person interview, and authorities have lost contact with him.
"Once he has an attorney, we anticipate being able to interview him again," Auburn Hills police Lt. James Manning said Monday.
Gorcyca said the man most likely would face charges.
"He, I think, precipitated the whole event that transpired in the spectator section," Gorcyca told WXYZ-TV on Sunday. "I think he's going to be facing some criminal charges."
Asked if players would be charged, the prosecutor said: "I don't want to pinpoint players, but I would say yes. Based upon what I've seen, I believe there will be some charges levied against certain players."
Personnel for both teams also are among the circle of people who might face charges, Gorcyca said.
Gorcyca said police have received some witness statements, but he said he doubted any of the players would help the investigation.
"Auburn Hills has made contact with the NBA about player interviews, but I suspect very strongly that they will on advice of counsel probably not cooperate with the investigation," he said.
As Gorcyca spoke Monday, he was on his way to a meeting with Auburn Hills police about the case. He said he doubted any charges would be brought Monday.
The basketball players union is expected to appeal the suspensions.
On Sunday, the NBA suspended Artest for the rest of the season. The league suspended Indiana's Stephen Jackson for 30 games and teammate Jermaine O'Neal for 25. Detroit's Ben Wallace — whose shove of Artest after a foul led to the five-minute fracas — drew a six-game ban, while Pacers guard Anthony Johnson got five games.
Four players — Indiana's Reggie Miller, and Detroit's Chauncey Billups, Elden Campbell and Derrick Coleman — were suspended one game apiece for leaving the bench during the initial incident.
"I'm sick about that for Indiana. I'm devastated for them," Pistons coach Larry Brown said. "And we lost our heart and soul."
"We have to make the point that there are boundaries in our games," said NBA commissioner David Stern. "One of our boundaries, that have always been immutable, is the boundary that separate the fans from the court. Players cannot lose control and move into the stands."
All of the suspensions are without pay. Artest will lose approximately $5 million in salary, while O'Neal's suspension will cost him nearly 25 percent of his $14.8 million salary for the current season.
Artest, O'Neal and Jackson began serving their suspensions Saturday.
"I respect David Stern, but I don't think that he has been fair with me in his situation," Artest said in a statement released by the players' union in which he also expressed his regrets.
Artest's penalty was the most severe because of his checkered history. Artest being provoked into running into the stands by a fan who threw a drink did not appear to be a mitigating factor in Stern's decision.
"It was unanimous, one to nothing," Stern said. "I did not strike from my mind the fact that Ron Artest had been suspended on previous conditions for loss of self-control."
The Pacers will be able to place Artest, O'Neal and Jackson on the suspended list and sign players to take their place. Limited to just six players Saturday, Indiana dropped an 86-83 decision to Orlando.
Billups, Coleman and Campbell served their suspensions Sunday. Wallace will be eligible to return Dec. 3 against San Antonio.
Stern took the unusual step of calling a news conference at Madison Square Garden prior to the Knicks-Cavaliers game to announce the suspensions, commenting that Friday night's fracas represented "the worst" of the 20,000 to 25,000 games he has presided over in his more than two decades as commissioner.
"To watch the out-of-control fans in the stands was disgusting, but it doesn't excuse our players going into the stands," Stern said, promising a wide-ranging review that will encompass everything from security procedures to alcohol sales at arenas.
"We have to do everything possible to redefine the covenant between players and fans, and between fans and fans, and make sure we can play our games in very welcoming and peaceful settings," he said.
The NBA also has to "redefine the bounds of acceptable conduct for fans attending our games and resolve to permanently exclude those who overstep those bounds," Stern said.
For Sunday night's home game against the Charlotte Bobcats (news) — Detroit's first outing since the melee — the Pistons doubled the number of armed police to about 20 in the arena and increased other arena security personnel by about 25 percent.
When some spectators lined up to take pictures with Pistons guard Lindsey Hunter on the court before the game, two police officers stood just a few feet away.
Friday night's brawl was particularly violent, with Artest and Jackson bolting into the stands near center court and throwing punches at fans after debris was tossed at the players.
Later, fans who came onto the court were punched in the face by Artest and O'Neal. Players who entered the stands and tried to act as peacemakers were not penalized.
Nine people were treated for injuries, and police are investigating possible criminal charges.
Wallace began the fracas by delivering a hard, two-handed shove to Artest after Wallace was fouled on a drive to the basket with 45.9 seconds remaining. After the fight ended, the referees called off the rest of the game.
The initial skirmish wasn't all that bad, with Artest retreating to the scorer's table and lying atop it after Wallace sent him reeling backward. But when a fan tossed a cup at Artest, he stormed into the stands, throwing punches as he climbed over seats.
Jackson joined Artest and threw punches at fans, who punched back. At one point, a chair was tossed into the fray.
"Mr. Jackson was well into the stands, and certainly anyone who watched any television this weekend understood he wasn't going in as a peacemaker," Stern said. "Jermaine, I think it's fair to say, exceeded any bounds of peacemaking with the altercation with the fan in which he was involved.
"His penalty actually would have been harsher if he had succeeded in getting into his stands, which he tried to do but was restrained from."
The most recent example of an NBA player going into the stands and punching a fan came in February 1995, when Vernon Maxwell of the Houston Rockets (news) pummeled a spectator in Portland. The league suspended him for 10 games and fined him $20,000.
Among the harshest non-drug-related penalties in NBA history was a one-year suspension of Latrell Sprewell — later reduced to 68 games — for choking Golden State Warriors (news) coach P.J. Carlesimo at practice.
Kermit Washington of the Los Angeles Lakers (news) drew a 60-day (26-game) suspension in 1977 for a punch that broke the jaw of the Houston Rockets' Rudy Tomjanovich during a game, while Dennis Rodman was suspended 11 games for kicking a courtside cameraman in the groin and six games for head-butting a referee.
Artest was benched for two games earlier this month for asking Pacers coach Rick Carlisle for time off because of a busy schedule that included promoting a rap album.
Artest was suspended twice by the NBA last season, once for leaving the bench during a fracas at a Pacers-Celtics playoff game; the other for elbowing Portland's Derek Anderson. During the 2002-03 season, Artest was suspended five times by the NBA and once by the Pacers for a total of 12 games.
Artest also once grabbed a television camera and smashed it to the ground after a loss to the Knicks two years ago.
ofcourse addias11 will think the nba is doing nothing against piston fans
When you do something wrong, it is wrong. It doesn't matter who did what first. Wrong is wrong.
For sure, you need to hold people accountable. Freaking S-Jax deserves to be out for longer than Artest.
And for those who know me, I would be double-fisting beers at halftime to make sure I had some for the second half.
But, it's the same issue with the BCS.
There is so much money involved that common sense is thrown out the window.
Stern shouldn't sit all high and mighty, without accepting that the culture that he has designed is part of the problem
'Big money' has always been a part of the equation for pro sports. 'Big money' didn't cause that fan to throw that beer and it didn't cause Jack and Artest to bum rush the seats. "Common sense" is that all of those individuals are responsible, not some nethereal 'big money' concept.
The root of the problem is that Artest has been coddled by the teams he has played for. It's hard to say that Stern hasn't been stern with Artest throughout his career. It's been made clear to Artest again and again and again by the league that he needed to control his behavior. He was unable to do so and now he faces the consequences. The Pacers are also paying for their lack of discipline with regards to Artest.
I think they should stop serving beers after the 3rd Qtr. That seems reasonable enough.
At Spurs games the concessions and vendors are stopped around the 7 min mark of the 4th quarter. however, alcohol can be purchased all the way up to after the game is over at Headlines bar. Not sure about the other bars in the SBC
"3rd Qtr"? Too late. That 3/4 of 2.5 hours for drinking time.
No beer for sale in the aisles. Beer bought at the concessions stands cannot be carried to the seats. You wanna watch basketball, watch it. You wanna drink, stay out of the audience, or stay home.
This is crap. One fan couldn't hold his liquor (literally) and now everyone who's capable of enjoying a cold one without throwing it is to pay? It hasn't been established if the fan was even drunk at the time.
I personally think that its the right way to go. The big problem that has been bouncing around is how to punish the fans who were the problem without punishing innocent fans. The idea of making the pistons play an empty arena game would unfairly punish everyone, including a number of people who probably weren't even at the brawl. And while you certainly can't prove that any of the fans were necessarily drunk when all of this happened its hard to not notice how many of the things whizzing around the stadium look an awful lot like the blue cup that hit Artest.
If nothing else this will provide a good thing to apply leverage on the people who run the buildings and their security. Beer sales are extremely lucrative and they could hold these organizations feet to the fire in order to make them agree to tougher security guidelines.
Before I get a lot of "blah blah" how can you defend...I'm not defending, I'm merely posting an article here that has something else to say. While I'm down with the suspensions, the league is getting off way too lightly for me.
One other observation along the way: civility has largely gone out of our daily discourse with each other (for proof, just look at half the "discussions" in the threads lately). Bombastic BS and insult seem to be integral parts of discussion these days. That being the case, who can act surprised when our kids, sports heroes, and politicians act out in shameful ways?
I'm not at all surprised by what happened in Detroit...what I *am* surprised about is how the league can pretend to be.
[font=Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]Pacers were justified in going after fans[/font]
NBA encourages rowdy fans butdoes nothing when it goes too far
COMMENTARY
By Michael Ventre
NBCSports.com contributor
Updated: 1:19 p.m. ET Nov. 22, 2004
O.K., so he’s a knucklehead whose actions are almost impossible to defend.
But I’m going to give it a try anyway.
A Native American proverb states, “Don’t judge a man unless you’ve walked a mile in his shoes.” Doing so in Artest’s case may result in severe damage to one’s psychological well-being, but it’s necessary in order to explain why the Indiana Pacers’ nutbag had some justification for his offenses in the now-historic melee that earned him a suspension for the rest of the season — which, including time served (Saturday’s loss against Orlando) amounts to 73 games, plus playoffs — from an image-obsessed NBA.
If you noticed anything amid the flying beer cups and overweight Pistons fans attempting to fight world-class athletes, you should admit that Artest did not start the ruckus, and in fact, sought to remove himself from it.
Artest fouled Ben Wallace hard in the final minute of the Pacers’ win over the Pistons Friday night, but it was nothing out of the ordinary. Yet Wallace completely overreacted, shoving Artest hard and thereby instigating the drunken dullards in the seats. Wallace admitted he was wrong and even attempted to contact Artest afterward to apologize.
After the benches emptied and players milled around with typical but harmless post-incident posturing, Artest tried to remove himself from conflict and controversy by lying on the scorer’s table. Everything would have been fine if not for the actions of a few beer-guzzling louts who couldn’t leave well enough alone.
One of the aforementioned cretins hurled a cup of beer at Artest, causing him to jump off the table and rush into the seats, fists flailing.
I would have done the exact same thing.
I’m not proud of it. I don’t think violence is the answer. But again, walking a mile in Artest’s shoes? When all I did was foul someone hard, and Wallace blew his cool, instigating a brouhaha? When I’m trying to stay out of trouble, and someone from the stands assaults me? When the league is doing almost nothing to protect players from unruly fans?
You’re damn right I go into the stands, regardless of how much it may eventually cost me.
And if I’m in the shoes of Stephen Jackson, or Jermaine O’Neal, and I see one of my teammates being beaten up? I go up and help.
Now here’s a key point that should not be ignored.
The NBA takes a strident and unflinching stance on the issue of players going into the stands. No ifs, ands or buts. It is absolutely inexcusable, it says.
But David Stern and his minions make it sound as though there is a massive divide between the players on the court and the fans in the seats. In actuality, fans are only a few feet away. And that’s by design.
The league has a major selling point for the fans’ access to the action, as opposed to the arms-length arrangements in baseball, football and hockey. The clubs sell tickets at exorbitant rates just so beer-swilling jerks can sit close to the players and, at the very least, make vile comments. And at the very worst, inject themselves into the fray.
I don’t know if concession stands at the Palace of Auburn Hills shut off beer sales after the third quarter, like some venues. But it seems to me that there was no shortage of giant cups of brew in that game's final minute, judging by how much was thrown at players and team personnel.
The NBA condones the heavy drinking. It requires a skeleton crew of security men at its events. It invites fans to get as close to the action as possible. And then it breaks out the soapbox when the powderkeg goes off.
Artest and the other players certainly deserve suspensions. But the NBA’s hypocrisy is laughable. Stern and the league are as culpable as anyone.
Stern has an easy target in Artest, who recently caused an uproar when he cluelessly asked for time off from basketball so he could promote his R&B album. Stern views him as the Latrell Sprewell of the 21st century, someone he can demonize as ‘The Player Who Doesn’t Get It’.
But Sprewell was different. He attacked then-Warriors coach P.J. Carlesimo after verbal provocation. And after he did, he had plenty of time to calm down. Yet he attacked a second time.
Artest was physically assaulted. His response was self-defense, even though it may not fit the classic definition.
To me, self-defense is this: If you attack me, I’m going to attack you back.
I bring up the Sprewell example because Artest’s suspension is Sprewell-esque. That ban was originally 82 games, but was later pared down to 68 by an arbitrator. So is the league suggesting that what Artest did is worse than what Sprewell did? Or is this just a case of the NBA covering its behind in the interests of polishing an image and keeping the revenue stream flowing?
The league professes a zero-tolerance policy on players going after fans in the stands. With these penalties — Jackson got 30 games and O’Neal 20 games, among others — it pretends to be doing the right thing.
Wrong.
What the league is doing is protecting the cash cow. It’s siding with the buying public against the players. It’s protecting itself against litigation by making believe that the problem is the players, and the problem is being dealt with. Yet by taking that approach, it is giving tacit approval to boorish actions by its customers in the future.
I’m not saying the NBA is condoning violence by the fans. I’m not suggesting it doesn’t want to see certain fans prosecuted for their actions in that brawl.
But the unusually heavy suspensions will serve as a smokescreen to obscure the league’s own responsibility here. What do you think are the chances that fans will be seated farther away from the action now on, which would discourage any such future incidents? How likely do you think it is that the league will insist beer sales be severely limited at its arenas, or discontinued altogether? What is the likelihood that security forces will be doubled from now on at all NBA games?
I have the answer for you: The status quo will remain in effect, because it’s easier to blame a small handful of wealthy, high-profile NBA players who can afford the fines and suspensions than it is to tackle the root causes of the problem.
This whole situation is embarrassing and appalling. The brawl was ugly, too.
This is pretty much the Charles Barkley position he gave on CNN this morning. He said basicallly a player has the right to retaliate against the fan's touching or throwing at the player.
Never said it did.
What I did say, is that it is a perfect time for Stern to make some changes in the way that he handles his league.
Common Sense rarely shows itself with Millionaire athletes in today sports environment, that is what makes the Spurs that much more of a special team to follow.
There is no "wow" marketing plan for team that do things the right way, but there is the fact that we are able to keep our heads up and say we support a franchise that does.
AbsoluletlyYou’re damn right I go into the stands, regardless of how much it may eventually cost me.
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