Battle at the Palace

November 19, 2004

Being from Indiana, I would be remiss if I did not comment on the "Pacers/Pistons Brawl" just over a week ago. I know a lot of you are tired of reading about, hearing about, or seeing the incident...if so, skip this post. But if you want my two cents on it...in depth, read on.

I have done a little research in order to put myself in David Stern's shoes. How would I have handled the situation? After reviewing the tapes (numerous times), brushing up on past incidents, and waiting a week (to weed away any predjudice I may have), I have concluded the following:

Let's start at the beginning.

A little under a minute in the game, Artest fouls Ben Wallace.

Artest faces Wallace and starts to extend his right hand towards the Pistons Center, as if to say, "No hard feelings," and Wallace answers by giving Artest a two-handed-Elaine from Seinfeld-push to Artest's chest and face (one hand struck Artest in the nose.)

Artest makes a point, as he is retreating from the situation, to ask the ref if his foul was a "flagrant foul." The ref responded "no."

After this Artest laid on the scorer's table. Because Reggie Miller, Chauncey Billups, Derrick Coleman, and Elden Campbell left the bench after the initial shove, they are automatically suspended one game.

This is where things get hairy, and hard to sort out.

Both benches emptied...Stephen Jackson taunted the Pistons, looking as if he was ready to "throw down"...Wallace throws a towel at Artest...and then the "cup" is thrown from the crowd, hitting Artest in the chest/face.

Artest entered the stands, and made a bee line towards a shouting Piston fan. His left arm swooped down, grabbing the fan and throwing him to the ground. I never saw Artest "hit" this guy, just throw him to the ground. In fact, the fan even said after the game:

"He was on top of me," fan Mike Ryan of Clarkston said. "He asked me, 'Did you do it?' I said, 'No, man. No!'"



Of course, a joker who threw a drink in Artest's face next wasn't so lucky, as Stephen Jackson clocked him with a roundhouse right.

The fan who actually threw the "cup" igniting the brawl, is next seen grabbing Artest from behind and throwing a series of punches to the back of his head. Several players (Rasheed Wallace, etc.) enter the stands and pull the players out.

As Security is trying to help in the stands, several fans enter the court. One of them, a man in a Pistons jersey, approached Artest on the court, shouting at him. Artest punched him in the face, knocking the man to the floor before leaving the court. Artest was pulled away, and the fan charged back. Jermaine O'Neal stepped in and punched another man who joined the scrum.

More craziness ensues, a chair is thrown, and the Pacers are doused with coke, popcorn and other concessions as the exit they court.

The League hands down the following suspensions:

Ron Artest: Out for Season (73 games)
Jackson: 30 games
O'Neal: 25 games
Ben Wallace: 6 games

(Anthony Johnson - 5, Reggie Miller - 1, Chauncey Billups - 1, Derrick Coleman - 1, Elden Campbell -1).

Are these penalties fair?

Ben Wallace

At first, I was shocked he ONLY received a 6 game suspension. But, here's some additional information:

In last year's playoffs, Anthony Peeler connected with an elbow to Kevin Garnett's face: Suspended 1 game, plus $7,500.

In 1996, Dennis Rodman was suspended 6 games for head butting a ref.

Seems like 6 was excessive...HOWEVER, I believe hard fouls, like the one Artest gave Wallace, are a dime a dozen in the NBA, and the main cause of the "riot" was Wallace's actions.

The push, the throwing of the towel, and the irrational behavior after having been ejected from the game (which I think was the main contributor of the "riot"), in my opinion should have warranted a longer suspension.

Commissioner Gillespie hands down the following:

Ben Wallace - suspended for 10 games.
Reason: Instigating a "riot", shoving a player in the face/chest, not leaving the playing area immediately upon being ejected, throwing a towel.

Stephen Jackson

If any one player was LOOKING for a fight, it seemed to be Stephen Jackson. His conduct from the start was of the "non-peacekeeping" kind. Before Artest went into the stands, he was verbally confronting the Pistons...then he squared up like he was ready to fight and pulled his jersey out of his shorts. And, of course, he wailed on many a Piston fan in the stands.

30 games. There really is no president to go by for Jackson's actions. But, I'll try. Throwing a punch to a player (whether it lands or not) is an automatic one game suspension.

A few years back, Shaq was suspended 3 games and fined $15,000 when he threw two roundhouse punches at Brad Miller.

Marcus Camby of the Knicks received a 5 game suspension for sucker punching Danny Ferry.

And who could forget Kermit Washington's roundhouse right on Rudy Tomjanovich in 1977? It left Rudy T's face shattered, and his career over. The suspension? 26 games.

Of course, these are all attacks on other players. Jackson went into the stands, and hit fans.

Commissioner Gillespie hands down the following:

Stephen Jackson - suspended for 15 games.

Reason: taunting, entering the stands, punching fans, not keeping the peace.

Jermaine O'Neal

What, really, did Jermaine do? He didn't enter the stands. He didn't taunt any players. He didn't punch or try to punch and players. What he did do is come to the aid of Ron Artest when a fan started cracking wise out on the court. Ok, I agree, "coming to the aid" isn't exactly what he was doing, but still, I consider this 25 game suspension ridiculous. In football, if a fan enters the field of play, they are fair game. A lineman is welcome to run over them.

I also heard a story on the radio in the days after the "brawl" about wrestling. A caller who wrestles in a semi professional federation, said that if a fan comes from the audience and tries to interject into the match (be it in the ring, or in the area of the ring) the wrestlers have the right to dispense pain upon that fan. One time, a fan came out of the stands, and BOTH wrestlers in the match stopped wrestling, and began beating the guy silly. The caller went on to say: "I pulled the guys arms backwards until they snapped." Suspension? Fines? Nope.

The closest I could find was a 1997 suspension handed to Dennis Rodman for kicking a photographer. He was suspended for 11 games. (the photographer was NOT on the court, but close.)

Commissioner Gillespie hands down the following:

Jermaine O'Neal - 3 game suspension

Reason: It looks bad on the game if players are hitting fans.

Ron Artest

Hard foul...eh. He was trying to make peace with Wallace afterwards which resulted in his being pushed harder than the foul. Then, he backed away. Sure he was arrogant in laying down, but he was calm and level headed. He showed a little temper when the towel was thrown. Still, no problem. Then, the cup flew.

He entered the stands...that should gain a suspension. But how long?

Back before televised games, Jerry Sloan, now the Head coach of the Jazz, was hit with an aerosol can while in a huddle. He entered the stands and began screaming at the fan. Suspension? None.

In 1995, Vernon Maxwell of the Houston Rockets entered the stands and PUNCHED a fan that was heckling him. Suspension? 10 games.

10 GAMES!!

Artest didn't even hit that first guy. Watch the tape. He grabbed him with his left hand and threw him down. He didn't even make a fist. Even after the guy was down he didn't make a fist. He yelled at him "did you do it?" and then other fans grabbed him and began hitting hin. I didn't really see him hit any of those fans. Maybe he was swinging his arms to get away, maybe he was punching them...it's hard to tell. I would call that "self defense".

Of course, we can't argue he hit the fan on the floor. But again, on the floor, fair game.

Commissioner Gillespie hands down the following:

Ron Artest - suspened for 15 games.

Reason: 10 for going into the stands (ala Maxwell), and 5 for the fighting. Remember, there was no FLAGRANT FOUL.

All the one game suspensions stand (the rule of leaving the bench is the rule...even though every body eventually left the bench). Anthony Johnson's 5 games...I really don't know what he did, I didn't see him.

If you think my penalties are too lax, think about this:

A few years back, Latrell Spreewell "Physically Assaulted" his then coach, PJ Carlesimo. Spreewell grabbed his coach by the throat and proceeded to choke him. That's assault...that's battery...that's attempted murder...that's a 68 GAME SUSPENSION!!

And Artest gets 73?

The brawl was unpresidented in the NBA, and Stern wanted to set an example. But, I disagree with the severity. Commissoner Stern said:

“I did not strike from my mind the fact that Ron Artest had been suspended on previous conditions..."

Artest hadn't been suspended for over two seasons...and most of his other suspensions were for Flagrant fouls...not fighting. Let's make an example out of this "Bad Seed". That is the biggest injustice of them all. Artest had made HUGE strides in the past few seasons to shed his bad boy image.

You may say the brawl wouldn't have started if not for the Artest foul, or Artest going into the stands. You are wrong. Fouls, hard fouls happen on a regular basis. Pushing, like Wallace did, happens. People throwing things at players? When was the last time that happened?

I couldn't find a time.

It's the Detroit fans, and Ben Wallace who are to blame. Wallace could have handled himself better...he didn't need to push, but he did...ok. But then, he should have left, period. The fans would have booed, the clock would have clicked down, and the game would have been over.

Commissioner Gillespie has spoken.