Artest Expresses Regret Over Brawl with Detroit Fans (he's a big fan of the Nobel Peace Prize)

Reuters ^ | November 22, 2004

[jdm]

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Indiana Pacers (news) forward Ron Artest (news) has admitted that he regrets charging into the stands to fight Detroit Pistons (news) fans last Friday, sparking an ugly brawl that led to his suspension for the rest of the season.

In an interview published in People magazine on Monday, Artest said: "I just wish the situation hadn't turned out the way it turned out. I hope some of the Detroit fans I was interacting with before the game could come to my defense.

"(I'd) just like people to know how much I appreciate fans. You know, you've got fans, and 99.9 percent of them are great and 0.1 percent are jerks."

Artest made the comments a day after NBA commissioner David Stern gave the forward a 73-game suspension that is expected to cost the player close to $5 million in lost salary.

Several other players were suspended but none were penalized as severely as Artest.

The fight broke out when the 25-year-old Artest fouled Detroit's Ben Wallace (news) with less than a minute to go in the game.

An angry Wallace retaliated and the benches cleared before Artest waded into the stands after a plastic cup thrown by a spectator struck his head.

Asked how he explained the situation to his children, Artest said: "They don't really know what happened."

Meanwhile, Artest is promoting his record label, Truwarier, and said that with his other career endeavors he was trying to make his life more positive.

"Having a record company and putting out my own CD. There's clothes and shoes. There's also an upcoming book deal that I'm trying to do," he said.

"I'm trying to be positive. I'm a big fan of the Nobel Peace Prize."

[NYCVirago]

The suspensions are too long, particularly the one for Jermaine O'Neal. He never went into the stands, and the only thing he did was KO a clown who came down on the court and was accosting Artest.

I agree. Incidentally, remember the father-and-son thugs who attacked the Kansas City coach at the baseball game? They got let off with probation, even though they caused permanent hearing loss for the coach. That's why I have no problem whatsoever with the players hitting the idiots who walked on the court. Yeah, the players threw the first punch, but would it have been better for them to wait for those idiots to hit them first, and possibly get injured or even stabbed or something?