First time poster here.
Listen, I'm a "red" conservative in a blue state (MI), so you can recognize my bias if need be.
First, the idiot Detroit fans throwing stuff (all of them if you can track them down) should be charged with some crime. They made Detroit look worse if that's possible. That said, there is no excuse for Ron Artest, who is one of the most unstable players in the NBA with a rap sheet of problems, to criminally assault someone. He laid on the scorer's table basically taunting everyone. The same goes for Steven Jackson and Jermaine O'Neal. Artest had to run at least 20-30 feet to throw his punch. Everyone there should be ashamed of themselves, but let's get real, it's not exactly fair to dump everything on the Detroit fans.
As an addendum, Ben Wallace (my favorite player), overreacted and he should be dealt with accordingly. He should get the third most serious punishment behind Jackson and Artest.
What Wallace did is a semi-routine sort of oncourt punch that typically gets a 1-2 game suspension.
As best I can tell Jackson is the worst offender of all.
I don't know how lying on the table is a "taunt." To be honest I don't know what the heck it is.
"Third most" my foot. All three of them should be trundled out of the league. Period.
You don't go after fans. Period.
Stern has a responsibility to meet out the harshest punishment possible. And as far as I'm conerned, the trio should be banished.
If they want to play ball so damn bad, then they should find a playground somewhere. They have no business being called "professionals."
Just damn.
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