“After the punches and counterpunches, after the apologizing and moralizing, it was time for the repercussions. And on a sad, sad night for professional sports, on a sobering night in suburban Detroit, an astonishing hammer was delivered.
It had to be done. After the ugliest brawl came the strongest message, the appropriate message. You hope everyone — players, fans, the whole sports world — heard it.
With stunning clarity, NBA Commissioner David Stern suspended Indiana star Ron Artest for the rest of the season, the harshest penalty in league history for an on-court incident. Artest had precipitated the brawl at Friday night’s Pistons-Pacers game, a disgusting altercation with ripples just starting to grow.
Three other Pacers — Stephen Jackson (30 games), Jermaine O’Neal (25 games) and Anthony Johnson (five games) — also were suspended, essentially gutting that team. Pistons center Ben Wallace, who shoved Artest after a hard foul, was suspended for six games. Three other Pistons — Elden Campbell, Derrick Coleman and Chauncey Billups — were suspended one game, as was Indiana’s Reggie Miller. ”
There has already been much said about this, but I still want to add my voice to the chorus. This cannot be allowed. It cannot be viewed as an an anomaly. I want to see more than a simple suspension.
Jackie Robinson dealt with much worse and for much longer and never did anything like this. The fans behavior was horrible, but it doesn’t excuse the players.
Somehow I’m not surprised we’d disagree on this. I think the players should be applauded for finally doing something to try to shut up fans that no limits to their behavior. Before Artest went into the stands, he was doing exactly what he was supposed to be doing. The on-court issues had settled down and the players were calming down.
It’s the fans in Detroit who aggravated the situation.
Where does it say that fans are allowed to throw things and call players names and throw insults at them that nobody should have to tolerate?
The NBA did what they had to do. But, this is also an issue that a judge should decide on. I hope the DA goes out of his way to punish these idiots.