Posted on 11/19/2004 7:54:02 PM PST by LesbianThespianGymnasticMidget
Big time fist throwing. Fans, players and more. Any thoughts ?
I know Jesus says to turn the other cheek but I can't say in the heat of the moment I would.
They're not getting paid to be the targets of sore loser fans.
lol....it makes all the difference in the world. If not for basketball Artest would likely be broke and behind bars.
Non-violent-yeah. His actions showed major contempt for the whole game, the fans, the officials, the opposing team, and even his own team.
LOL. Likely for assault and battery.
Artest could just as easily have pointed out the perp to security and avoided the whole melee. But, he instead decided to cause a full-blown riot over a plastic cup. BRILLIANT!
I tell you what, if I'm a player making 6 or 7 figures annually and my choice is either to phycially go after a guy who I suspected threw beer at me and possibly destroy my whole career (and all the money that comes with it) as a result or just bite my lip and head on into the locker room as quickly as possible, I'd do the latter. How about you?
What security? If there had been adequate security they would have been the ones tackling the fan and beating his ass.
Yep, and many people on this thread appear dead intent on matching Artest's "brilliance" ;)
There was one chair thrown and no "bottles". And the chair was thrown after several fans were attacked. As for the pacers fearing for their safety, there was no problem untill they attacked a innocent person in the stands.
You cannot excuse their behaviour.
The drunken beer-tossing, chair-hurling, punch throwing fans?
LOL
Excuse me but they DID have security. They DID NOT have "riot control." Artest decided to cause the melee over a plastic cup instead of keeping the participants to one or two by relying on the security on-hand. His charging into the stands on his own accord is what started the damned riot.
Fans were throwing everything that wasn't nailed down. An official got hit with a water bottle that spun him around. People were throwing cups of ice into players face. The guy that threw the cup of ice which started the whole thing grabbed artest from behind and started to sucker punch him. Jermaine O'Neal was attacked and punched repeatedly by some big black guy with credentials on. You better take a closer look at the replays.
If Artest seriously injured or killed the guy it would be different (and he easily could have)--- apparently from the news stories, no one was injured too badly and only a handful needed any treatment.
The way to maintain that particular image is to kick your opponents' ass on the court, not in the stands. Doing the latter would create a brand-new image -- that of an out-of-control moron. .....and possibly a permanently out-of-work one.
How the heck did Steven get to be a big talking head on ESPN. He is IMHO a loud mouth obnoxious jerk who thinks he knows everything.
He's a loud articulate black man who is even right once in a while. This sells guess
If you can find a career where what is expected from you is to stand there and let people throw beer, trash, fists, etc. at you, and you will get paid 6-7 figures, go for it. I don't think you'll have much luck. That's not what these players are getting paid to do. I really think the drunk "fan" should have given it more thought, because if I decided to throw a beer on someone, unprovoked, I'd quite expect them to come after me, regardless of how much money they make.
Or it will help him sell his rap CD's. Now everyone --- even those who had no interest in basketball will know who Artest is. I also think it will depend on the seriousness of any injuries he caused how much trouble this actually causes him.
I heard that. If you throw something unprovoked at a grown man, much less a 200 lb athlete I think it's safe to assume you might get an ass-beating.
Those of you that think you can toss objects at grown men and not expect some kind of retaliation are hilarious.
You are correct and the fans should not have done that. Nonetheless it would never have gone that far if a couple players had not ran into the stands and attacked a fan. Turns out the fan who was attacked did not throw the beer. Innocent fans could have been hurt very bad by these huge men going ballistic in the stands. Maybe even a child. Look at the grandma laying on the floor.
Oneil (I am pretty sure he was the player) landedtwo huge punches especially the running punch that connected with the fan who had gone on the court and had just been punched by Artest. It is somewhat of a miracle that running punch did not connect very well and break his jaw or even kill him by cracking open his skull when his head hit the court.
I think he was very lucky and he could have easily been paralyzed with a broken neck.
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