How can anyone say the suspensions were to harsh. Can you say that with a straigh face?
If I were to get into a fight like that at MY work? I dare say I would be "suspended" more than a year - maybe forever? Along with a nice little stint behind bars. Any other person in this world acting even 1/10th as bad in their workplace would be fired permanently. I hope David Stern doesn't buckle to the pressure from the players union.
Agreed.
Also, JO got a harsh punishment IMO. He didn't jump in the stands, swinging punches like "Crazy" Stephen did. He wacked a fan that had no business whatsoever being on the floor.
Five game differential between JO and SJax does not seem to be fair.
Ron Artest just lost (at least) a minimum of five million dollars because he couldn't control himself after someone threw a plastic cup of beer at him. Think about that for a minute.
JO'Neal hit a much smaller fan that wasn't a threat to anyone. His actions were excessive, to say the least. All he had to do was walk away. He also was trying to get into the stands.
What all of those guys had to do was walk away and the people getting the harshest punishment would have been Ben Wallace and the fans throwing the . But see, that makes sense. Sense has no place in professional sports, apparently.
And for those of you saying the kid WAS a threat, how many people hadn't restrained him already?
Jermaine Oneal SUCKER punched that guy on the floor... came running across the court and sucker punched him... they all deserve permanent ejections from the NBA. They should never be allowed to play again.
You are nuts.
They got what they deserved. Come to think about it, even JO's punishment, in isolation, seems fair. I would have given SJax the same punishment and Artest: The entire season.
I'm sure Artest will be able to pick up some extra cash this summer....somehow.
@ SW!
Why am I nuts? These players physically assaulted the fans, the ones that pay the salaries and keep the league in business. They have assaulted the integrity of the game and should be gone for good - at least artest and jackson should.
No place in the game for hood thug ballas
No beer after halftime should help. People should not be drinking an hour before they get behind the wheel anyway.
All I can say is this, thank God this happened because I was down to $161 in vBookie money and now I have 1300 dollars.
One thing I haven't seen addressed in this thread is the responsibility of David Stern and the NBA. They have been pushing the "bad boy" image for years and have allowed this crap to keep escalating. People were joking about Artest having the record for most technicals.
Being a Spurs fan, I think this is a little ironic. Other teams and fans have belittled the Spurs for being sissies or soft and the NBA markets the thugs instead of the good guys. The NBA must take some responsibility for this fiasco!
Also, maybe they need to rethink the policy of selling alcohol - like stop selling all alcohol right after half-time. That would give time for the drunks to sober up before the end of the game and driving home.
BTW - I think it was pretty cool that Rasheed was trying to break things up and keep everybody apart - not too long ago he would have been right in the middle of the fight!
Well, if you want to ban Artest, Jackson and O'Neal for life, you should ban the fans that had any involvement at all, for life too (i.e. they can never attend an NBA game in their life, which is probably impractible).
Tha fans behaviour was unacceptable. It does not justify the players behaviour, but just because they pay the tickets thay are en led to through beer, popcorn, chairs and walk on the floor looking for a fight?
A single fan threw a plastic cup of beer at Artest. If he had managed to find the same composure which he displayed when he walked away from Ben Wallace then the fans would not have reacted as they did. It's not surprising the fans were pissed after they saw Artest and Jack rushing into the stands and beating up fans.Tha fans behaviour was unacceptable. It does not justify the players behaviour, but just because they pay the tickets thay are en led to through beer, popcorn, chairs and walk on the floor looking for a fight?
I find that acceptable. If they can find a way to keep them from ever attending an NBA game again, sounds good tome.Well, if you want to ban Artest, Jackson and O'Neal for life, you should ban the fans that had any involvement at all, for life too (i.e. they can never attend an NBA game in their life, which is probably impractible).
Mr. Bryant: The fan that threw the cup was not as big as Mr. Wallace; this is why artest went after him and not Ben.
What is next? Do we need those plexi-glass barriers like they have in Hockey?
Perhaps move the fans back so they are not right on the courts edge...including Jack Nicholson?
This is all overblown...we do not need to push the fans back or set up barriers. Cut out the beer at halftime, and make it a minimum 30 game suspension for going into the stands, no exceptions and you will not have any more problems.
Also throw any fan out that yells racial epithets to the players.
"What is next? Do we need those plexi-glass barriers like they have in Hockey?"
The plastic "bus stops" or cages (as Stern called them, referring to the term "cagers" used for, originally, NYC players who played on rooftops surrounded by wire cage to keep the ball, and the players, on the roof) are a proven physical protection for the team and staff, and maybe some sonic protection from nearby hecklers.
"Perhaps move the fans back so they are not right on the courts edge...including Jack Nicholson?"
That would be very expensive real-estate/seats to lose. I remember a suggestion discussed not too long ago of widening the court by 4 feet or so, but the main objection, IIRC, would have been loss of high-revenue court-side seats.
So it's all about the benjamins.
Just because a fan could pay money to sit courtside or whatever does not give them the right to throw stuff at the players and treat them anything less than human. Artest and Jackson have the right to defend their manhood. Your telling me you wouldn't do anything if someone threw a cup of beer at you?These players physically assaulted the fans, the ones that pay the salaries and keep the league in business. They have assaulted the integrity of the game and should be gone for good - at least artest and jackson should.
He was walking away like a man. The fans didn't let him walk away, so they decided to test his limits. I'm sure if big ben threw the beer, he would have not backed down. Size wasn't an issue here. And besides, artest is not that small.The fan that threw the cup was not as big as Mr. Wallace; this is why artest went after him and not Ben.
I think this unfortunate event taking place is what everyone needed to realize how out of hand some of the players and Fans have become. I do think that in some way the fans involved should be punished but at the same time the players do need to be held to a higher standard. They are professionals and they should act that way. I know if that would have been Tim Duncan or Ginobli they would have waited for security to deal with the Fans. I think going to games has become to much about getting drunk and heckling the players instead of having a good time and watching some good basketball. The unfortunate thing is that Indiana was a very good team and fun to watch. Because of this incident their season is gone, their all stars are benched. That right there is not only punishment for the players suspended but for the fans that paid a lot of money to watch them play the WHOLE season.
That's a lot of money to lose over some ice water.
Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.Artest and Jackson have the right to defend their manhood. Your telling me you wouldn't do anything if someone threw a cup of beer at you?
Running into the stands and pounding someone for throwing a cup of beer at you is not a test of your manhood, nor is it a right.
They have no right to go into the stands, period. The fans were 100% wrong and deserve to be banned from the arena and deserve criminal prosecution.
I prove my manhood by getting up every morning, going to work, and providing for my family.
If someone throws a beer on me in a club in on the street, I go after him, but if I am being paid millions to play by the rules laid down, then I would not jeopardize my team's chances to win by going into the stands. Artest and Jackson have ruined the team's chances at a championship because they are thugs with no self control and exhibited no regard for their team.
They deserved to be suspended and Jackson deserves to be suspended for the year too..he got off to lightly.
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