I'm tired of this "holier than thou" attitude by the rest of the Pacers who didn't get involved, the Detroit Pistons, the Detroit press, and the NBA. A man defends himself and gets tossed for the season or 25-30 games?? I don't think so.
I am sure you would feel the same way if you were the guy Artest sucker-punched in the face.
Michigan law requires that you do everything possible to avoid a fight. Unless someone is ontop of you punching you, you are breaking the law by going into the stands and punching someone. I got this from my father who was a police officer for 29 years. He said that what Artest did was a criminal act. He did not have the right to go into the stands and assault someone.
And to whoever else it was who compared Ben Wallace to Ron Artest and Kobe Bryant obviously doesn't know what went on during the rest of the game. Artest was allowed to do some crazy things by rookie referees. Ben Wallace is a class act. Yes, he took things too far and deserves his suspension, but don't compare him to an accused Rapist.
Yeah, running up into the stands and attacking the wrong guy is legitimate self-defense.
Not even close champ.
A 6'-7", 250# halfwit gets hit with a cupful of ice and goes off on everybody in sight.