I tend to agree that one year's suspension is not enough, but there is another way of looking at it as well. It's pretty much to the point that NBA Basketball has reached freak show status along with the Roller Derby and professional wrestling. Perhaps it should just be left alone so that those who are interested in such things can just enjoy it in peace.
You wouldn't ban the Bearded Lady or Lizard Head from the carnival side show just because they are sickening or grotesque. So why ban Artest and similar freaks from the NBA? After all, they are the ones fans lay down the money to go and look at-- at least the "fans" who remain interested in the cultural trainwreck that is the NBA.
Perhaps the true future of the NBA lies in obcenely promoted "grudge matches", half-time rap concerts, and the irrestible lure that a gun fight is always a strong possibility that will pack in the crowds and push TV ratings.
It appears we've finally come full circle with the NBA. All this crap started in the late 80s when the "Bad Boy" Pistons presented the image of a bunch of thugs, with the thug-in-chief being Bill Laimbeer. Before then, it was Magic and Larry Bird's league. When they retired, I quit watching.
Somehow, it's fitting that the place where the NBA started it's downward spiral would be the place where it hit rock bottom Friday night.
Don't put professional wrestling in the same category as the NBA.
WWF matches have to be tightly choreographed so that nobody gets seriously injured. The wrestlers must NOT be subject to uncontrolled actual (as opposed to staged) anger, lest they actually injure somebody. WWF wrestlers are high-class entertainer/athletes.
I doubt any NBA player would be considered stable enough for WWF