Detroit/Indy fight

[Reevesport]

What the hell was that?

I don't even know what to say, it's too soon after the event, I'll be back later to talk.

[SpursGM]

That was the best thing I've seen in basketball, since Jordan....

Man, I need to get that on video somehow. Those fucking fans deserved it.

Anyone see that Jermaine O'Neal knock-out punch to that fat fuck? LMAO!

[rommie]

That all started with a no call on Artest, I think.

Artest felt he was fouled by Ben Wallace on the previous possession so he decided to get him back. BW knew that and that set him off.

What dissappointed me was Stephpen Jackson not shuting his mouth.

I was glad Artest stayed out of the way when they were seperating players.

Now Artest was minding his own freaking business when that fan threw a beer and a cup or bottle at Artest and god damn it that fan should have had his legs and arms snapped in half.

And then fans started throwing crap at the Pacers. I am so pissed because I know the Pacers are going to get suspensions, big time. And what will these fans get? They should be banned from for games but that wont happen.

Anyone want to bet that Artest gets the most suspension and is going to be publisized by the media that he was the starter of the whole thing? When everyone knows Ben Wallace shoved him on a foul that wasn't even arguably hard.

[Nathanjyd]

I am a Detroiter and I personally think nothing woulda happened if Ron Artest woulda stayed on the court. Jon Barry got a technical for tieing his shoe on the table and Artest can take a cat nap on it? Artest did give a hard foul and Ben Wallace pushed him. That shoulda been the end of it and 1 tech for both and not even kicked out. Artest is the one who turns this into chaos. Artest got hit with a plastic cup that was 1/3 filled with beer. He charged the stands and started beating people along with Jackson like he could have been killed by the cup. Sure Ben Wallace over reacted, but if Artest never layed on the table or charged the fans nothing would have happened. A little fight would have broke out amoung players which happens relatively often. There is no reason Artest or Jackson should charge the croud. The thing that gets me is, the fans dont do anything physical to the players untill the players start hitting them. The fans did not attack the players, the players attacked the fans. I do admit those fans are idiots for throwing crap especially when they were going through the tunnel but that allows announcers to make generalizations about every person in Detroit? The thing that made me most mad was when Freddie Jones got hit for trying to break it up. Ron Artest n Steven Jackson are nuts. The fan on the floor said something, and Ron Artest pounds him then Jermaine O'neal goes in for the finish. I mean if the fan hit Oneal or Artest sure let them kill the fan but he didn't. If a word or getting hit by a plastic cup is enough to make someone go nuts and start beating people, they need to be in a physch ward. This should be the suspensions....

Ben Wallace- 4 games even though a normal push should warrant a technical or kicked out of the game not a suspension.
Ron Artest- 10 games, hey i guess he can't complain. He get's the month off to work on his rap album.
Steven Jackson- 10 games, he was assaulting tons of fans.
Jermaine Oneal-2 games, he drilled the fan.

I personally think Tinsley should get suspended also for getting a dust pan and threatening to hit a fan with it but i doubt he will. What do you guys think?

Link to the Fight
www.clickondetroit.com/video/3935750/detail.html
mfile.akamai.com/12916/wmv/vod.ibsys.com/2004/1120/3935750.200k.asx

Also, It hurt Ron Artest so much he didn't even know who threw it. So he starts attacking an innocent person... Nice move

First off the players should know better then to go into the stands. Its just a bad move. Secondly, alot of fans acted like complete morons. The guy that threw the beer at Artest thought it was the funniest thing until he had to deal of the consequences of going man to man with Artest. And the second fan that came onto the court and came up to Artest, walked right up to him, with a white bag in one hand, chest out. My immediate reaction woulda been self defense if Im Artest. This guy steps onto the court, where he is not allowed to be, with a white bag in his left hand, that could be used as a weapon. He obviously wanted an altercation with Artest, and he got it.

I do believe Artest, O'Neal, Wallace, Jackson all need suspensions, but I dont think we can forget the fans part in this. The fans pay to watch the game, to yell, to scream, not to throw stuff at the players. Last night Stephen A Smith said David Stern would need to be careful with how strict he was with the players involved, because if he was too strict it may send the message that fans can do what they want, and the players, if they retaliate, will get in trouble.

I think the suspensions Nate suggested would be fitting, but I really hope those fans that were trouble makes get what they deserve as well.

[Nathanjyd]

Pistons Prez already said that if that guy who threw it, if he has season tickets he will not be in any more games.

[Reevesport]

First off, don't rip on Artest for walking away from Wallace, the situation is a bit different from Jon Barry's.

Yes, Artest should know better than to go up into the stands, but like the ESPN guys said, what would you do if a random guy threw something at you on the street? Not to mention Artest had his adrenaline going full blast, in all likelyhood, at that point.

If Wallace doesn't overreact, this doesn't happen, I'm not even referring to the push after the foul, I am referring to the throwing of whatever it was B. Wallace threw at Artest, it was only after he threw that object that the fan threw the cup.

The fan who threw the original cup is too blame for this whole thing, wether you agree with Artest's response or not, if he doesn't throw that cup, Artest doesn't go into the stands, as he was laying on the scorers table to stay away from the fight.

[rommie]

One more thing, the other Pacers who were in the stands were attempting to break up the fight until they had beer and a chair and whatever else thrown at them.

I think the fans are to blame for most of this situation. It escalates because of the things they do. Artest didnt do as much wrong in this situation as he usually does, but he shouldnt have gone into the stands, no matter how stupid the fans are acting. I might have done the same thing he did, but I woulda been wrong too. As far as Pacers going into the stands as peacemakers, Jackson was the stupidest individual of all, as he went in throwing hay makers. He should get punished the most severly.

[SpursGM]

Well, Artest is apparently done for the season. J O'neal gets 30 games, and Stephen jackson 25. Ben Wallace gets 5.

It's fair to say that, if the player's union does not appeal, which they most likely will, the Pacers season is pretty much over.

I don't hold Artest accountable for going into the stands. Like Tim Legler of ESPN said, if you're walking down Times Square and someone throws beer at you, what are you going to do, keep walking?

Artest just finished getting nailed by Wallace, and you think he's going to allow someone throw beer at him?
The guy who artest thought had thrown the beer, all Artest did to him was grab him and knock him down, he didn't throw any punches on the guy with glasses or anyone, until the guy with the white baseball cap, who was the guy who acutally did throw the beer grabbed Artest from behind and began sucker punching him from behind.

I would've done the same thing, "professionals or not", they're still human, like all of us.

I really feel Artests suspension is not just. I feel like its more of a lifetime award, ie this is to show him that he cant fuck off like this anymore. He was singled out when like I said before Stephen Jackson was probably the most idiotic person in the incedent.

All the suspensions were too harsh, and I feel as though this makes it ok for fans to throw whatever they want, and really allows no protection for the players.

[rommie]

Building off of what Spencer said, this doesn't solve the real problem, the fans.

I think that Artest was punished for his past. And JO and Stephen Jackson and Anthony Johnson were punished for being on his team.

Its great that Stern only cares about sending a message to the other players. This was about player relations more than anything. Which pisses me off. God damn it Stern the Pacers crushed the Pistons and were the favorites to win the tittle, and you go and piss over the players, the coaches, the managment, the city, the whole fan base. Just to send a mesage.

It really is a slap in the face to me as a Pacer fan. Stern ain't gonna do shit about the fans, atleast not immedatly. He did what hes been waiting to do and wanting to do, suspend the hell out of players.

I really feel Artest couldve gotten a 30 game suspension, and I woulda thought it was harsh, but I wouldnt have argued it. Jacksons suspension seems fair, JO too me shouldve been gone for about 15 or 20, and as much as the hard line from the league is, you cant go in the stands, it still doesnt solve the problem of fans doing whatever they want. Id be surprised if this didnt become a bigger problem. Why doesnt this keep teams from taunting and throwing things and star players so they get suspended for 30 games? Do you think those Pistons fans are a little happy their main competition is done this year? I just think this leaves open a lot of very bad possibilities.

[Reevesport]

I would like to see the NBA do something like what UEFA (European Soccer's governing board ) did to Roma, a very big Italian soccer team. That was, the Roma fans threw objects that injured people, the ref most notably at halftime. UEFA decided that the team (Roma) would have to forfit the game and then added too that, they would have to play 4 home games without any fans in the stadium.

The forfit part would obviously not have mattered in the basketball game, however the 4 games without a home crowd would send a message that the NBA can do something about fan interference. The message would also say, if you interfere you will hurt your team, as they will lose all ticket sales, parking prices, concession sales, and on and on for 4 games. It will also effect how your team plays, as not having a crowd can have a profound effect on how a game is played.

Just a thought.