Posted on 11/23/2004 10:16:44 AM PST by EveningStar
If nobody had thrown anything at Ron Artest while he was sunning himself on the scorer's table Friday night, nothing would have happened.
The NBA would have yawned and fined Artest for slugging Ben Wallace needlessly at the end of an Indiana victory and maybe fined and suspended Wallace for shoving Artest practically out to the sideline.
Just another day in the thug life. The Pistons and Pacers know no other way to play each other, and neither did the old Pistons and Bulls, and neither did the old Heat and Knicks.
It was much worse in the '50s, when everyone rode buses and trains and smoked cigarettes and drank six-packs in the locker room.
(Excerpt) Read more at ocregister.com ...
Hello?
That didn't happen.
The columnist is a ass.
Sounds more like he is saying it's just as much the fans as it is the players involved.
The guy that threw the cup is now on tv saying it wasn't him.
If anyone should be sued, it's The Palace.
There is NEVER an excuse for going into the crowd and pounding people willy-nilly.
Totally agreed.
Artest had the ultimate excuse. Wallace dissed him on the court in front of his rap fans and he had to restore his street-cred by going after a drunk fan.
I personally think that the fans are equally culpable but I think the columnist is going beyond that. Read the last few paragraphs of his article.
He's ignoring the problem(s). 1) Pampered athletes who want everything but not willing to give back. Plus they feel they can act as they wish, when they wish, whether it is acceptable behavior or not because they believe they are above the law because of their stature as an athlete and the money they make as a result. 2) Ignorant fans who put the atic back in fan and believe that they have the right to act like morons and that they are part of the show because they paid money for a ticket. 3) The league because they allow these athletes to showboat which in the mentality of today's athletes may be a 'diss' to their manhood if it is done by an opponent.
If the fans that respect the fact that they are their to enjoy the games and are not part of the entertainment quit going, it might at some point force everyone involved to make the changes that are necessary to put the competition back in the games and take the thugism out of them. The ones I feel sorry for are the innocent fans who got caught in the middle of the brawl that were there strictly to enjoy the game. They didn't pay to get slugged but to watch the very best in the game play and compete against each other.
Since Detroit couldn't beat Indiana on the court, they had to get them suspended... I can't wait for Detroit to come to Indiana... I hope they get Wallace suspended!
The players are Stern's responsibility. It's up to someone else to discipline the fans. And I hope this is done.
Not saying what Artest did was right but, sometimes it just boils over, adrenaline is pumping, emotions are high, poop is going to happen.
This is crap. The Detroit Pistons are as clean a team as there is in the NBA. Artest mugged Wallace, and Wallace responded. Artest has a rep and he is going to get it when he mugs somebody. Detroit always plays him tough defensively, and he responds by trying to hurt Ben Wallace. Don't paint Wallace with the same brush as Artest, he is not a thug and has drawn few suspensions before this one. The fact that he got only 6 games while Artest got suspended for the rest of the season suggests that David Stern agrees. The Detroit fans may be crapheads, but the team isn't.
Exactly! Who were the ultimate winners of this whole thing? Thats right the ignorant Detroit fans! They got 3 Pacers suspended! Indiana's season is now over! Indiana won that game , but they actually lost because they lost 3 players! Stern is an idiot... He should have just barred the players from play IN DETROIT... OR he should have imposed the same penalty's across the board...
Artest our for the year
Wallace out for the year
O'Neill out for 30 games
A Detroit player out for 30 and so on...
Whoa! your totally off base! Wallace started the whole thing! Artest contented a shot, THATS BASKETBALL! If it was a foul give him free throws, Wallace does NOT have the right to grab Artest by the face and shove him! What you saying is Artest should have just given up and not done his job? His job is to play defense, fouls happen all the time on the court thats part of the game! Getting your face grabbed and then shoved is not part of the game... Wallace was the catalyst for the incident and he should be banned for the year also.
Apparently you did not see Richard Hamilton cheap-shot elbow Tinsley in the back two possesions after Wallace knocked Artest into the basket support during the last five minutes of the game.
And apparently you did not know that Artest was hit in the head by a quarter thrown from the stands in the Eastern Conference finals at Detroit last year.
Yeah right, Detroit is full of choirboys.
By the way, what was the score of Friday night's game? The champs looked more like chumps against the Pacers. Good thing for Detroit their #1 criminal fan provoked Artest. Detroit would not beat the Pacers this year any other way since adding Jackson and Harrison. Incidently, the Pacers had five guys miss that game with injuries.
I agree the whole thing was great. The only thing missing was none of the players raped a white groupie.Too bad Kobe wasnt on the team that would have been priceless.
Stupid fans keep making these thugs millionaires paying big ticket prices I hope they get their moneys worth and that night they did.
Maybe someday the Pacers will win a championship...la
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