NationStates Jolt Archive


NBA Suspends Artest for Rest of Season

Tuesday Heights
22-11-2004, 08:27
NEW YORK - Ron Artest was suspended for the rest of the season Sunday, and two of his Indiana Pacers teammates must miss a total of 55 games for fighting with fans during a melee that broke out at the end of a game against the Detroit Pistons.

Overall, the NBA issued some of the harshest penalties in its history by banning nine players for more than 140 games. Artest's suspension is the strongest ever levied for a fight during a game.

"The line is drawn, and my guess is that won't happen again — certainly not by anybody who wants to be associated with our league," commissioner David Stern said.

Indiana's Stephen Jackson was suspended for 30 games and 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.

"I'm sick about that for Indiana. I'm devastated for them," Pistons coach Larry Brown said. "And we lost our heart and soul."

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 fracas.

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.

Players union director Billy Hunter, calling the penalties excessive, said an appeal would be filed with Stern on Monday.

"We have to make the point that there are boundaries in our games," Stern said. "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."

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.

"The NBA has singled out Jermaine O'Neal in an arbitrary and capricious way," agent Arn Tellem said, faulting the NBA for not considering the players' fear for their own safety.

Pacers co-owner Herb Simon issued a statement saying "We believe that there was a rush to judgment and not enough opportunity for all sides to be heard. We will vigorously support our players in any available appeal process.

All appeals of disciplinary penalties for on-court disturbances are heard by Stern, making it highly unlikely any of the suspensions will be reduced.

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.

Source: Yahoo! News (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=755&e=1&u=/ap/20041122/ap_on_sp_bk_ne/bkn_pacers_pistons_brawl)

If I was the boss of the NBA, I'd cancel the entire - yes, ENTIRE - season. This behavior cannot be tolerated, and I think Artest's punishment, along with the rest of them, is way too lenient for spoiled brat athletes like them.

What say you forumites?
Rome West
22-11-2004, 08:36
On one hand, it looks like it's an indictment of the Indiana Pacers as a whole, as it takes away two of their most valuable assets- Ron Artest and Jermaine O'Neal- for the season (essentially), which, to my knowledge is not fair to the Pacers as their organization did not cause the fracas- only the players did.

On the other hand, Artest and O'Neal were being stupid and needed to be reprimanded for it, and reprimanded harshly. There's simply no place for that in the National Basketball Association, no matter if it were Artest committing the infractions or Tyrone Lue (he's just being used as an example).

Now, if only hockey could dish out penalties like that...
Pantylvania
22-11-2004, 08:39
do you mean you'd cancel the season for the entire NBA or just for more of the players involved in the fights? There isn't much of a point in punishing the innocent players, the refs, the coaches, the owners, the announcers, the arena owners, the TV and radio sport networks, the security officers, the food vendors, the souvenir salespeople, the arena maintenance workers, the ticket handlers, and the innocent fans
Ice Hockey Players
22-11-2004, 08:41
Canceling the entire season for all 30 teams is insane and excessive. Artest deserved what he got and perhaps more. Wallace probably deserved 10-12 games, and maybe ban Jackson and O'Neal for longer, like 41 games each. Half the season.

As for Artest...well, he should have to apply for reinstatement next season and have to keep a squeaky-clean profile between now and then. If he so much as gets busted for putting chewing gum under a chair he should be barred from part of next season.
Kellarly
22-11-2004, 08:41
On one hand, it looks like it's an indictment of the Indiana Pacers as a whole, as it takes away two of their most valuable assets- Ron Artest and Jermaine O'Neal- for the season (essentially), which, to my knowledge is not fair to the Pacers as their organization did not cause the fracas- only the players did.

On the other hand, Artest and O'Neal were being stupid and needed to be reprimanded for it, and reprimanded harshly. There's simply no place for that in the National Basketball Association, no matter if it were Artest committing the infractions or Tyrone Lue (he's just being used as an example).

Now, if only hockey could dish out penalties like that...


I thought hockey did. I mean when i was in the states once i saw a player hack at another guys throat with his stick and he had to go to hospital with a collapsed windpipe. The NHL banned him for something like 20 games, which caused a bit of controversy. Actually, 20 games sounds a little short if you play 5 times against the same team in the play offs...
Tuesday Heights
22-11-2004, 08:44
I just think that punishing only the players involved is going to lead to most of the NBA not really giving a crap about what happened and just going on as if it never happened... that's where I was coming from.
Ice Hockey Players
22-11-2004, 19:15
I just think that punishing only the players involved is going to lead to most of the NBA not really giving a crap about what happened and just going on as if it never happened... that's where I was coming from.

The negative media attention many players on other teams are getting is punishment enough for them. They know full well what happened. Artest has had an example made of him. I don't think other players will fuck around like this anymore.
Andaluciae
22-11-2004, 19:18
Their suspensions were well deserved. I saw the fight on ESPN, and the ueber-masculine part of me said "awesome." Meanwhile the rational side said "what disrespect for the game." And then I ate some fritos.
Sarzonia
22-11-2004, 19:24
On one hand, it looks like it's an indictment of the Indiana Pacers as a whole, as it takes away two of their most valuable assets- Ron Artest and Jermaine O'Neal- for the season (essentially), which, to my knowledge is not fair to the Pacers as their organization did not cause the fracas- only the players did.O'Neal wasn't suspended the entire season. I would have suspended all three players who went into the stands for the season at LEAST. Artest would have gotten a lifetime ban. Ben Wallace (who started the whole sorry episode) would have gotten a 30 game suspension.

The league had a great chance to show they weren't going to tolerate such criminal behavior and they blew it.
Talix
22-11-2004, 19:32
Their suspensions were well deserved. I saw the fight on ESPN, and the ueber-masculine part of me said "awesome." Meanwhile the rational side said "what disrespect for the game." And then I ate some fritos.


same here cept i ate cheesesticks
Dobbs Town
22-11-2004, 19:51
It's hard to care in any event. Any game with scores measured in the hundreds obviously needs a goalie.
Utonium
22-11-2004, 20:18
The league had a great chance to show they weren't going to tolerate such criminal behavior and they blew it.
Hey, Artest received one of the harshest penalties in NBA history. At least give Mr. Stern that much credit.

And you bring up an interesting point. Shouldn't criminal charges be filed by someone, somewhere? I thought we had rules against first-degree beating the **** out of someone.
Ice Hockey Players
22-11-2004, 20:26
O'Neal wasn't suspended the entire season. I would have suspended all three players who went into the stands for the season at LEAST. Artest would have gotten a lifetime ban. Ben Wallace (who started the whole sorry episode) would have gotten a 30 game suspension.

The league had a great chance to show they weren't going to tolerate such criminal behavior and they blew it.

Part of me thinks David Stern did the best he could. The NBA Players' Union will appeal all the suspensions, and there's no way in hell anything longer than the rest of the season was going to hold up. Artest would have had to bet against his own team or maybe shot someone on court in order to get a lifetime ban. After all, Latrell Sprewell choked his coach and only got the rest of the season as a suspension (originally it was a calendar year suspension but it was appealed back...the thinking is that the Artest suspension would have been appealed back in a similar manner. And this is not to say it won't be.)
Clean Harbors
22-11-2004, 20:32
And what's next?

PGA Golfer Brawl May Spark Suspensions
(2004-11-22) -- A brutal fistfight among golfers and fans at this weekend's Dunlop Phoenix in Miyazaki, Japan, may result in the suspension of top players from several nations, and again raises concerns about how the so-called "Cadillac and Callaway" attitude which has dominated the game may contribute to a coarsening of the culture. :)

PGA executives continue to review videotape of the incident, which apparently started when a fan standing near the tee box shouted 'Miss it!' while Tiger Woods was in mid-swing.

"You can't blame the golfers," said an unnamed PGA source. "A lot of these kids came from the suburbs, and you can't change their behavior just by paying them millions of dollars."


by Scott Ott
Rome West
23-11-2004, 06:53
I thought hockey did. I mean when i was in the states once i saw a player hack at another guys throat with his stick and he had to go to hospital with a collapsed windpipe. The NHL banned him for something like 20 games, which caused a bit of controversy. Actually, 20 games sounds a little short if you play 5 times against the same team in the play offs...

I'm not sure if that event happened in the American Hockey League or the East Coast Hockey League (because it might have- and I think I remember hearing about something along those lines), but in the National Hockey League that's never happened. Trent McCleary did once get hit in the neck with a puck but that was unintentional. You may be thinking of Todd Bertuzzi's hit from behind on Steve Moore or Marty McSorely's clubbing of Donald Brashear, the only 20+ game suspensions in NHL history (along with Dale Hunter's 21-game ban for driving Pierre Turgeon into the boards). McSorely received a 23-game ban that later became a year, with Bertuzzi receiving a whole season ban and must meet with the NHL commissioner to play again (the hit came last season and this season's in the toilet anyway, so that last part is superfluous for now).

What I was referring to is that hockey doesn't do anything to regular on-ice fights beyond sending the players off for five minutes, while leagues like the National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball hand out much larger penalties, suspending players for a game or more. What happened to Artest was rather excessive, but I think if the NHL were handling it, with its silent support of fighting (why else would they do nothing to fighters beyond sending them off for five minutes), Artest would have been suspended for eight games and that's it. Toronto Maple Leaf Tie Domi once sprayed water onto a fan from the penalty box after the fan egged him on (Domi and the fan went on to fight at that moment in the penalty box), and all he got was a fine and a short suspension (I forget how long or even if there was one- I just remember that a week later people went on as if nothing happened). So hat I meant is that I just don't see the NHL having the guts to do what David Stern did, which is why I respect him (that and basketball is actually playing games while the NHL and the players bicker over who gets that last 50 cents they don't get from the fans).

O'Neal wasn't suspended the entire season. I would have suspended all three players who went into the stands for the season at LEAST. Artest would have gotten a lifetime ban. Ben Wallace (who started the whole sorry episode) would have gotten a 30 game suspension.

The league had a great chance to show they weren't going to tolerate such criminal behavior and they blew it.

What I was talking about is the fact that Jermaine O'Neal was suspended for nearly half the season, which should seriously hurt the Indiana Pacers as he is a significant part of the Pacers' roster (and thus organization), and unjustly as the Pacers organization did not cause the brawl. Of course, a player's star power should not supercede their actions on the court, meaning that if O'Neal killed someone he shouldn't escape punishment because the Pacers need him on the team.
Carpage
23-11-2004, 07:27
Personally I think Artest should be gone for life with the option of review after the year is up and every year after that to follow if reinstatement is not successful. Basketball already has a bad rep, oftentimes referred to as the thug'n and bug'n league.

Bird and Johnson played the game, and believe it or not, they didn't always like each other, but they kept the drama to dunks and three pointers and wowed the crowd. MJ did his fighting with spectacular dunks, and even Dennis Rodman kept his antics to off the court, or what I call funny on court events that landed him suspensions. The athletes today don't respect the game, the fans or themselves. It's sad. Who remembers the trouble the NBA was in before Bird and Johnson? They revived the league and MJ got it back in the race. This one event could ruin what took so long to build.

My biggest logical concern is this... Artest walked away from the Ben Wallace fight and did the right thing. Why couldn't he do the same when he got hit with the drink?