Anyone seen the brawl?

[jditty47]

That s**t was NUTS!!!!! that had to be the craziest s**t ive ever seen.

Did u see Stephen Jackson bow at that fool?

Jermaine O'neal, my god he had that bitch squared up and collapsed that fool.

Ron Artest. Need i say more? That fat dude got his ass f**ked up. He hit him 3 times and he dropped. That beer was f'd up.

Fans in detroit are classless. Tossing beer? NBA players had the right to defend themselves. Im sure there will be suspensions, but ben wallace deserves the longest for starting that garbage over that ticky tack foul.

I would NEVER f**k with a nba player again. That was awesome. Shaq said he woulda done the same thing so did a ton of other players.

CRAZY.

[WhoDey93285]

Did you actually catch the game? I did, I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

[richmond_mat]

Fans in detroit are classless. Tossing beer? NBA players had the right to defend themselves. Im sure there will be suspensions, but ben wallace deserves the longest for starting that garbage over that ticky tack foul.

I would NEVER f**k with a nba player again. That was awesome. Shaq said he woulda done the same thing so did a ton of other players.

Defend himself from beer????? It wasn't even a bottle. That boy is a wussy chump.

As you might have guessed, I completely disagree with you ditty. Under no circumstances should a player confront fans with physical contact. :player: Where's the league with no fans?

I do not fault the fans for being just that: fanatics. I do not condone throwing things onto the court or any other imbicile behavior.

The NBA might be to blame for bringing all of the immature punks into the league. They cannot control their emotions in front of some rowdy fans because they haven't had the opportunity to develop control of themselves. This is one thing everyone ignores about an extended college experience.

Ron Artest should be suspended indefinitely.

I'm sure his wealth will be cut significantly.

Shaq's an ass too. :player:

Why would you ever eff with an nba player to begin with?

[bengalboomer7]

COme on richmond mat. I would have whooped some ass too. That was more than disrespectful. I was half waiting for Sam Wyche to come out of the stands and tell everyone "This isn't Cleveland" That was complete and utter disrespect for a human being and pouring beer on someone is one step above spitting on someone in my book. If anyone disrespected me like that I would have been running after his ass too. I will agree that NBA players are complete morons but you have to defend yourself.

[Tiger Stripes]

i agree with the players... what would you do if someone threw something at you? i know what id do!

[Bobcat Bengal]

That s**t was NUTS!!!!! that had to be the craziest s**t ive ever seen.

Did u see Stephen Jackson bow at that fool?

Jermaine O'neal, my god he had that bitch squared up and collapsed that fool.

Ron Artest. Need i say more? That fat dude got his ass f**ked up. He hit him 3 times and he dropped. That beer was f'd up.

Fans in detroit are classless. Tossing beer? NBA players had the right to defend themselves. Im sure there will be suspensions, but ben wallace deserves the longest for starting that garbage over that ticky tack foul.

I would NEVER f**k with a nba player again. That was awesome. Shaq said he woulda done the same thing so did a ton of other players.

CRAZY.

From what I heard, it was cleanup time in the game anyway, and here comes Ron hacking at Ben Wallace. I HEARD ben shoved him, and then he goes over and lays down on the announcers table? Sure I guess...

But that Jermaine o neal shot was cheap, I got hit with a shot like that in a similar situation, and had to get my lip stitched up....I got a small scar on my lip to this day from a cheap shot someone landed....Stephen Jackson was up there with his co-defendant in the stands having at it with some fans....

s**t was like f**king Arch Rivals out there...

ANd no, Ben doesn't deserve that longest suspension, chalk that one up to either Ron, Jermaine, or Stephen...f**k all that

And Shaq wouldn't have done a damn thing....I hope no one's STUPID enough to throw beer on him....and he knows if he'd landed a shot on anyone, he'd be outta the league....that niggas too big to put hands on anyone without having them sip outta straw.

Dave Chapelle:

"Niggas is Wylin'!!"

First young buck, and then ron artest.....s**t, he DID say he wanted time off to work on his rap album....

[ackley1]

It was a sad sight. Really classless behavior from both sides. The saddest thing about this will be the outcome. These stupid fans have ruined it for the for the rest of us. Before you know it they won't be selling alcohol at sports venues anymore. We won't be able to get up and take a piss at a game because security will think that we're a threat.

[jditty47]

cheap shot? his fat ass got a cheap shot on ron artest, he deserved to get laid out by oneal. And matt? WTF!!! he hit him in the face with a full f**kin beer glass...that s**t had to hurt and s**t, i woulda reacted the same gd way. This was 100% the fans fault, and ben's for starting it over a weak ass foul by artest.

ron should be suspended , not the season thats bs. Self defense buddy, when he got hit 3 times in the back of the head, u dont think he has the right to fight back?

I dont care what anyone says, that was the greatest thing to happen to basketball in my eyes in a long time, who doesnt like a good fight?

But yes i agree that it will f**k the fans cuz of it, stupid detroit fans.

[richmond_mat]

Maybe I'm way too conservative here, but the players should not EVER go into the stands. If someone is dumb enough to enter the court then he's fair game. The players showed poor decision making at best.

Until there are serious ramifications for player misconduct (and fan misconduct and I'm not sure hurling a beer CUP is that unruly, a bottle would be another story) this garbage will continue. It seems to be growing in frequency which is not a good thing.

The players need to hold themselves to a higher standard and know when to walk away.

I'd like to see jail time for the player and the fan. :player:

[jditty47]

jail time for the players for what? defending themselves? u are way too conservative....i bet kirk agrees with u though

[richmond_mat]

jail time for the players for what? defending themselves? u are way too conservative....i bet kirk agrees with u though

defending yourself from words and beer?????

PLEASE.

Give me a break.

The players behavior was inexcusable and amounts to ASSAULT and BATTERY

Pro sports need to come down hard on athlete's inappropriate fan interactions. This type of thing never happened in the past and now is alarmingly frequent.

Sooner or later one of these dumb ass athletes will be killed by a knife weilding fanatic. Imagine what some european football hooligans would do.

[bengalboomer7]

cleveland fans are the reason ehy they don't sell bottles any more. Come on Richmond, you mena to tell me if I poured beer all over you, you wouldn't want to fight me? I know, professional athlete or not, someone throws s**t at me, then they will have to answer to me!!!!!!!

[jditty47]

give me a break matt. words are fine, words didnt do anything. Artest wasnt even going to fight. When u get hit in the face with a plastic thick cup that hits u in the face that is full of beer, i wanna see what ur reaction will be.

[B24]

If you are man enough to throw something at a player you should be prepared to take your beating. It's stupid of fans thinking since they bought a ticket they can do anything.

Ron Artest, Jermaine O'Neal, Stephen Jackson and Ben Wallace all got indefinate suspensions, but what about the fans involved? Every fan that was caught throwing things at the players should be banned from attending NBA games. Whoever threw the chair should have charges filed on him.

[jditty47]

charges should be filed vs anyone involved in the altercation. Dont know if it will do much though. Revoking their season tickets or admission for life should be done. Thats the only way to teach fans that if u gonna do something, know the consequences.

Ya i heard about the indefinate suspensions. That just means they will be until its all be resolved. Im guessing 10 games for artest unfortunately, 10 for Jackson, 7 for Oneal, and 7 for Wallace. Mb 1-3 for Jones even though he definately should not get one.

[mgilgris]

I honestly think that professional players need to hold a higher sense of moral than the rest of America. While last night was as much or more of the fans fault, how many times have we seen this in sports of stupid fans getting out of control and throwing stuff on the athletes. Players get heated and fight, but when you go outside of the playing arena, you deserve whatever problems you get into. I guarantee there are some serious lawsuits from this, and to be honest i don't feel sorry for anyone that has to go through them because they should know better than going into the fans. How many times do athletes deal with unruly fans? i would have to say that its not something that is too new. Who knows though bad for the whole NBA in general, and sorry to see.

[not-another]

I think the fan wasnt expecting him to jump up from that table. I guess the guy thought he was just going to lay there.

Artest had a right to jump back at him. He wasnt going to sit there and be like "now, if i do this...". He was mad, and testrone levels high. I dont blame the guy for beating the s**t out of that fan.

[richmond_mat]

Artest had a right to jump back at him. He wasnt going to sit there and be like "now, if i do this...". He was mad, and testrone levels high. I dont blame the guy for beating the s**t out of that fan.

I do. He is privileged to be earning the living he is. It is like a driver's licence, a privilege which can be revoked.

Inappropriate fan interaction can not be tolerated.

And yeah B&ditty I'd be mighty pissed and probably leave wherever I was at immediately.

Why compound the incident?

BTW It's testosterone

[San Antonio Bengal]

That was one of the craziest scenes I've ever seen. I was out with some friends at a restaurant and that game happened to be on all the majority of the TVs. When the fight started everyone in the restaurant (including the waiters) stopped what they were doing and just watched in dumbstruck awe. What was so amazing was how long it went on. It wasn't just a fight; it was a riot.

The NBA should hand out some huge suspensions and fines to Artest, Jackson and O'Neal. Wallace should be given the standard suspension and fine for the on-court stuff after the hard foul. No matter what a fan does, a player should NEVER go into the stands. Also, a fan should NEVER get on the court. Those fans who got on the court got what was coming to them. And I am still amazed about how hard O'Neal punched that one guy. That was an Iron Mike kinda punch.

The NBA already had somewhat of a image problem and this does nothing to help. I'm hopeful that David Stern will bring out some huge suspensions, but this is David Stern we're talking about; I don't think he'll have enough courage to do that. It's at times like this that I'm glad that I'm in a city with a really classy team.

Did anyone else notice that Artest looked very Rodman-like when he lied down on the scorers table with his hands behind his head? I seem to remember Rodman doing something similar once upon a time. And it also looks like Artest will get that time off that he wanted so badly to promote his rap album.

[Bengal_Smoov]

Ron Ron ain't nothin but a scared lil' boy, why didn't he go after Ben Wallace like that?? Ben Wallace mushed the s**t out of him and threw a sweaty towel in his face, but a fan washes him off with a beer and he gets all upset.

Truthfully, I think Artest needs to learn a lesson, he can't act like he is playing in the Rucker or the Kingdome in Harlem. This is the NBA, a league that has already lost the capitavation of the nation to football and trying to recover from the Kobe Bryant ordeal(which isn't over yet). Little kids were crying at a basketball game, that is not what David Stern has in mind when trys to promote the league as family entertainment. Prices at basketball games aren't that cheap, how can a league justify charging people a hefty sum to be terrorized?

The league should promote the good stories like Grant Hill and Alonzo Mourning to get people's mind of the madness.

[semiotter]

Oh well RON ARTEST wanted time off to promote his RAP CD now he will have alot of time 10-4

[San Antonio Bengal]

I'm now hearing rumors that Artest will be suspended for 30 games. O'Neal and Jackson for 20 games. Wallace will be out 5 games.

If these do turn out to be the actual numbers, I think they're about right. I had wanted something like a 40 game suspension for Artest. I think Wallace's suspension is too long, however. If the fan hadn't thrown the cup at Artest and everything ended there, Wallace would only be given a game or two suspension. Wallace wasn't involved at all after the whole melee in the crowd started.

And one other thing. Did anyone else notice that the walking technical foul, Rasheed Wallace, didn't get involved and was playing the role of peacemaker during the entire thing? Everything is just backwards and crazy.

[jditty47]

i COMPLETELY disagree. The fans were at fault 100% and so was ben wallace. 5 games is what he deserves. Nothing less. Artest, Jackson, and O'neal should get max of 10 games, its ridiculous that they will be suspended half a season cuz of the fans in detroit being little bitches. None of this was caused by a pacer. I cant believe you guys think this is the pacers fault.

[San Antonio Bengal]

You can also argue that Artest started the whole thing because of the hard foul on Ben Wallace near the end of game that was already over. Had that not happened, none of the rest would have happened. It doesn't matter how it all started, what matters is that Artest and the other Pacers crossed the line between the field and the fans.

Were there fans at fault? Yes. Were the Pacers at fault? Yes. Should the fans be prosecuted for what they did? Yes! But, NOTHING, absolutely NOTHING gives a player the right or the reason to go into the stands and start pummeling people. The fan deserved it, BUT THAT STILL DOESN'T MAKE IT RIGHT. Oh, I guess Artest, Jackson and O'Neal had to go protect themselves from the vicious attack of a cup. Oh, the humanity! You know that I would be really scared for my personal safety because some jerk throws a plastic cup at me. Just because a fan "started it" doesn't mean that the players involved shouldn't be held responsible. It's just like being in high school... it doesn't matter who started the fight -- both involved in the fight will be in detention for a while. In this situation, it is different because one is under the jurisdiction of the NBA and the other isn't. Everyone involved in the fighting should be punished. I can't comment about the punishment of the fans since I am not familiar with the law with respect to such things. However, I am a little familiar with the nature of fines and suspensions in the NBA. There have been fines and suspensions before, but there has never been an incident like this. The league must send message that such behaviour is simply not acceptable and there are severe repurcussions from crossing the line between the field and the fans. This kind of thing deserves a strong, long suspension, not a little slap on the wrist like a 10 game suspension. A 10 game suspension is basically saying that it really isn't so bad -- that it's just normal basketball to go and beat on some fans in the stands. The NBA must send a strong message that this kind of stuff will absolutely not be tolerated. This was orders of magnitude more severe than anything else I've seen happen in an NBA game. Of course, the numbers I gave previously are RUMOR, not actual yet -- but I sure hope that they become actual. It would basically mean an end to Indiana's season, but that's what happens when your team does something so stupid and idiotic.

And please give a logical explanation for why Ben Wallace deserves a 5 game suspension. Wallace didn't cause Artest to go into the stands. Wallace didn't throw any plastic cup at him. Was Wallace mad? Yes. Wallace should get a suspension for his antics (shoving, throwing the towel at Artest, etc). However, that suspension should be similar to others who've done the same kind of thing during a game -- a 2 game suspension, maybe 3, but not 5. How is it right to bump Wallace's suspension up because of actions that happened afterward and did not involve him?

In all of this, I'm not claiming that I wouldn't have reacted as Artest did. In fact, I don't know how I would have reacted. I can somewhat understand why he did what he did. But he crossed the line and must be severely punished for doing so.

[sean]

Yet another polarizing issue. Not much in the middle.