Fans share blame with players for recent case of ‘basket-brawl’

By Josh Betts 2007

OK. We’ve all heard about the basket-brawl between the Indiana Pacers and the Detroit Pistons that occurred two weeks ago. The suspensions were handed down by NBA commissioner David Stern, and Ron Artest was suspended for the rest of the season, 73 games to be exact.

Now, the player’s union from the NBA has decided to appeal the suspensions calling them “excessive.” The payer’s union has the right to appeal the suspensions, but it is obvious that Artest is mainly at fault for his actions.

KCNZ Sports Director Mark Simpson said, “Artest is at fault for his reactions. He was unhappy with the flagrant foul. By him going into the stands, he fueled the fire. He made a bad situation horrible. His teammates getting into fights compounded the problem.”

I agree with Simpson. Artest is at fault for this one. When you are mad about a foul, and if you are shoved, you don’t shove back. You let it go, and the referee then should make the appropriate call. Artest’s teammates should not have started fighting other players either. That just makes the players look even worse and damages their reputations that much more.

To top it off, players from the Pacers and Pistons were pelted with alcohol, soda and popcorn when they were walking through the tunnel to their locker rooms after the game was called with 45.2 seconds remaining.

The fans at the Palace in Auburn Hills should be ashamed of themselves for the conduct they exhibited at that game last Friday. Joohn Green, the man who threw the cup of alcohol on Artest needs never to be allowed at a Detroit Pistons — or any NBA game for that matter — again. The cup that Green threw with alcohol in it was put on Ebay, and ran up the price for $9 million before it was pulled off the Ebay market.

A chair was also thrown at Artest, which initially fueled the brawl. The person that threw the chair at Artest has not yet been identified, but he should never be allowed in any other NBA arean, and if he had season tickets, they should take away this year’s season tickets, and he should never be allowed to buy season tickets for any other team.

This brawl was the ugliest in NBA history. Artest and Wallace deserved the suspensions that they received. I applaud Stern for standing up and saving what little integrity is left in the NBA by dropping the hammer on Artest and Wallace’s seasons.