Posted on 11/20/2004 11:43:57 AM PST by Dan from Michigan
NBA indefinitely suspends Artest, O'Neal, Jackson, Wallace
November 20, 2004
NEW YORK (AP) -- The NBA suspended Ron Artest, Jermaine O'Neal and Stephen Jackson of Indiana and Ben Wallace of Detroit on Saturday for taking part in one of the ugliest brawls in U.S. sports history.
The suspensions were indefinite, and the league was still investigating Friday night's melee, which commissioner David Stern called ``shocking, repulsive and inexcusable -- a humiliation for everyone associated with the NBA.''
The league issued a statement saying it was reviewing rules and security procedures ``so that fans can continue to attend our games unthreatened by events such as the ones that occurred last night.''
Stephen A Smith is an A$$!!!
He was just sucking up to NBA players in general so they'll give him interviews and give him inside info that will let him break big stories in the future (this is his shtick).
You're blind...
That beer cup looked to me like hit him right in the face. I am not going to pick nits with you.
I was watching basketball and a hockey game broke out.
Well,if there are uniformed officers trying to intervene thats more than you saw last night in Auburn Hills.
You throw anything at anyone, you'd better be ready to fight and not whine when you get your butt whipped.
The drunken fans were also way out of line from what I saw.
If we're going to ban the players, then the detroit venue should also be banned.
Too much alcohol
Oh so true! LOL
Yeah the guy on the floor was O'Neil, Jackson hit the guy in the stands hard.
I think Artest is a thug who didn't want any of Big Ben and got punked out. I understand him going in the stands but point the guy out, intimidate him and have him thrown out. He was looking to show he still was a tough guy. Jackson and O'Neil should both be gone for good.
Exactly what do you mean?
Is there a special codec needed to play the AVI file? It hangs for me shortly after it starts. Bummer.
Hopefully the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan so they can see this. They need to see this so there is something so stupid being done in the name of a game, to get their minds off of the REAL S**T they have to deal with 24/7. Nice thought to remind us of them.. Thanks!
Good point, Wallace is a monster. I wouldn't want to mess with him either.
My point was that Artest didn't really do anything bad at all in the altercation with Wallace. In fact Artest's foul on Wallace that got Wallace pissed off wasn't that bad a foul.
If putting on softcore porn is okay to promote a television show before a football game, who says starting a brawl at an NBA game isn't okay to promote sales of a rap album? After all, Artest's "street cred" has just gone up with the hoods that buy that garbage.
The bottom line is that I saw no Innocent people on that tape.
Good analysis. Sort of like that guy that gets put down and then comes home and whacks his wife because dinner is late.
For some who didn't see the game, the Wallace referred to is Ben Wallace - the nice Wallace, not Rashed Wallace, the lunkhead just traded to .
The story goes that Ben Wallace's brother died of cancer this week and Ben was bummed , of course, and that could have caused him to overreact to Artest's foul.
Also, right after it started, Howlin, that Steven A. Smith guy looked right into camera and said,"I know people are blaming alcohol for the reason the fans became so violent, but I happen to know it isn't alcohol a lot of times that cause these fans to act this way". Then, they went on to speculate whether the white fans where shouting racial epithets to the players. I think the one white guy on the panel made the comment that most of the fans where black and that the fans probably would have shut up any fans that consistently screamed racist comments to the players.
The guy Artest attacked was not even the guy that tossed the cup. But he was nearby so I guess he deserved a being attacked. Right?
This speculation pops up everytime a Black athelete loses it.
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