Blame Artest for the entire mess..

Stiggy · 11-21-2004, 02:48 PM

Go away, Ron Artest. Go far, far away.
Last week, you were an amusing circus act.
For much of Friday night, you were the best player in the building.
And then you were something beyond Idiot and several miles past Nuts.
And now you need to disappear -- not for a week, not for a month, and not for any amount of time that can be defined in conventional basketball terms. We're not measuring this in games missed. It goes beyond that.
An intense regular-season game morphed into one of the ugliest nights in sports history Friday, and it's all because of Artest, the Pacers forward. Without him, there is no riot at the Pistons-Pacers game. Period.
Let's replay what happened: Artest committed a hard foul on Ben Wallace, which happens. Wallace retaliated with a shove to Artest's face, which was over the top, but it happens.
Artest went to lie down on the scorer's table like a sunbather and briefly grabbed a headset from the Pacers' broadcast team -- which doesn't happen, but wasn't a huge deal. As other players scuffled, a fan threw a water bottle at Artest's head.
That was stupid and irresponsible -- BUT IT HAPPENS. It shouldn't, but it does. And the expected level of decorum for players and coaches is higher than it is for fans.
Then Artest jumped up and ran into the stands with fists flying. He got there so fast, he almost knocked me over before I knew he was there.
Stupid me, I was watching the court.
Then Pacers Jermaine O'Neal, Eddie Gill and Stephen Jackson jumped into the stands. Pistons broadcaster Rick Mahorn, trying to play peacemaker, followed. It was hard to tell who was trying to break up fights and who was trying to start one. Fans screamed "I punched Artest!" Or, if they were on the receiving end, "He hit me! He hit me!"The next thing you knew, Artest coldcocked somebody, and O'Neal was said to have done the same, and chairs flew at the Pacers.
And a lot of it was inexcusable. But none of it would have happened if Artest had done what athletes are trained to do forever: Ignore the fans.
You never, ever, EVER run into the stands. And if you dispute that, please tell me one time, just when, when a situation got better when a player bolted into the crowd.
As Palace president Tom Wilson said, "we're paid a lot of money" to maintain poise in that situation.
"I don't know that there was a security failure," Wilson said.
Wrong. Somebody let Artest into the building.
That can't happen for a long time, and it won't. Expect the longest suspension in NBA history. And expect police charges, although none was filed Friday.
What Artest did has nothing to do with sports, nothing to do with the Pacers-Pistons rivalry and very little to do with the water bottle. He has teetered on the wall between sanity and insanity for a while, and Friday he fell on the wrong side. No, not fell. Jumped.
This is obviously a man in need of some serious help. Last week, when he asked coach Rick Carlisle for some time off to promote his CD, he was an amusing sideshow. There goes Ron-Ron again. Ha-ha.
And Friday, he played brilliantly. He was the reason the Pacers won, 97-82. Then he was the reason the game ended with 45.9 seconds left.
Over the loudspeakers, fans were asked to leave the Palace. Then, and only then, did the clock wind down from 45.9. It was way, way, way too late.Finally, long after the game was officially over, the Pacers' team bus departed the parking lot.It moved past the Pistons' cars, all of which were running, so that the Detroit players could make a quick exit. (None spoke to the media.)Rain fell on the Palace parking lot. And as the bus wedged between a dozen or more police cars and a few ambulances, this much was clear: Ron Artest was in the wrong vehicle.

"The Meaning of things lies not in things themselves,but in our attitude towards them"

Karen'sMom · 11-21-2004, 06:02 PM

Stiggy,

We have seen that replayed over and over again on TV and it is disgusting. You are right - it is NEVER ok to go in the stands or retaliate with a fan. They all know it is off-limits.

It's really too bad for the sport. Basketball is a sport my husband and I love and watch all the time and we feel very badly for it. I am glad that he is suspended for the rest of the season. The others all had different suspensions.

I'll bet that was a frightening experience for you Stiggy! I'm glad that you weren't hurt. I'm also glad that they were quick with their suspensions.

Darlene

Stiggy · 11-21-2004, 07:54 PM

Amount lost by the nine players suspended by the NBA ...
Ron Artest-Pacer Suspended the rest of the Season - 73 games,Fined $4,995,000
Stephen Jackson-Pacer Suspended 30 games,Fined $1,700,000
Jermaine O'Neal-Pacer Suspended 25 games,Fined $4,111,000
Ben Wallace-Piston Suspended 6 games,Fined $400,000
Anthony Johnson- Pacer Suspended 5 games,Fined $122,222
Reggie Miller-Pacer Suspended 1 game,Fined $61,111
Chauncey Billups-Piston Suspended 1 game,Fined $60,611
Derrick Coleman- Piston Suspended 1 game,Fined $50,000
Elden Campbell-Piston Suspended 1 game,Fined $48,888

"The Meaning of things lies not in things themselves,but in our attitude towards them"

michaelm · 11-22-2004, 02:27 PM

The NBA players prove to me once again that the league is nothing but a league of self rightous thugs (I would use "goons" here but that is a hockey term). Adult males in the prime of their life, in the best physical condition they will ever be in, and finnancially well off for the time being showed what they are made of, arrogence and ignorence, an egocentriism that a body builder in 'roid rage would be ashamed of!

These persons don't use the brains God gave them thinking only their braun is what works. Well the sad news for the atheletes here is no matter how guilty the fan was in inciting the Riot at Auborne Hills, it is the athelete and the organization to which they belong who will pay the penalty and I hope they pay dearly, for there is no excuse for the behavior of the players involved.

SiliconCowboy · 11-22-2004, 04:04 PM

The NBA is a joke. Any athlete that hit a fan should be thrown out of the league forever.

Sprewell can put a knife to the coach's throat and he still plays...

Stern's reaction was to blame everybody.

So much for NBA professional athletes being civilized, much less role models...

booster · 11-23-2004, 05:40 AM

Unfortunately this seems the trend, hence why I gave up on the NBA. When you have a Pro sports organization where 40% of the players have felony convictions and still get payed lucrative salaries, it sickens me. I choose not to contribute to what I veiw as a legal form of organized crime.

For those who may state that this happens in other sports, I'll try to find the name and author of a good book who documents the wrong of the NBA and does so in comparison with other sports. I heard him on Fox sports Sunday.

JJmagna · 11-23-2004, 11:36 AM

Everyone here seems to blame Artest right off the bat. Im not saying it was right for him to head into the crowd and start swinging away. If Wallace would have never pushed Artest after the foul this incident wouldnt have happened on Friday night. It was 1 of the most intense games of the seasons and with the all the energy if you get hit with a cup of whatever you wont act like nothing happened. It was very sad that a great game had to end the way it did.

11-21-2004, 02:48 PM	#1
Stiggy Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Michigan/USA Posts: 398	Blame Artest for the entire mess.. Go away, Ron Artest. Go far, far away. Last week, you were an amusing circus act. For much of Friday night, you were the best player in the building. And then you were something beyond Idiot and several miles past Nuts. And now you need to disappear -- not for a week, not for a month, and not for any amount of time that can be defined in conventional basketball terms. We're not measuring this in games missed. It goes beyond that. An intense regular-season game morphed into one of the ugliest nights in sports history Friday, and it's all because of Artest, the Pacers forward. Without him, there is no riot at the Pistons-Pacers game. Period. Let's replay what happened: Artest committed a hard foul on Ben Wallace, which happens. Wallace retaliated with a shove to Artest's face, which was over the top, but it happens. Artest went to lie down on the scorer's table like a sunbather and briefly grabbed a headset from the Pacers' broadcast team -- which doesn't happen, but wasn't a huge deal. As other players scuffled, a fan threw a water bottle at Artest's head. That was stupid and irresponsible -- BUT IT HAPPENS. It shouldn't, but it does. And the expected level of decorum for players and coaches is higher than it is for fans. Then Artest jumped up and ran into the stands with fists flying. He got there so fast, he almost knocked me over before I knew he was there. Stupid me, I was watching the court. Then Pacers Jermaine O'Neal, Eddie Gill and Stephen Jackson jumped into the stands. Pistons broadcaster Rick Mahorn, trying to play peacemaker, followed. It was hard to tell who was trying to break up fights and who was trying to start one. Fans screamed "I punched Artest!" Or, if they were on the receiving end, "He hit me! He hit me!"The next thing you knew, Artest coldcocked somebody, and O'Neal was said to have done the same, and chairs flew at the Pacers. And a lot of it was inexcusable. But none of it would have happened if Artest had done what athletes are trained to do forever: Ignore the fans. You never, ever, EVER run into the stands. And if you dispute that, please tell me one time, just when, when a situation got better when a player bolted into the crowd. As Palace president Tom Wilson said, "we're paid a lot of money" to maintain poise in that situation. "I don't know that there was a security failure," Wilson said. Wrong. Somebody let Artest into the building. That can't happen for a long time, and it won't. Expect the longest suspension in NBA history. And expect police charges, although none was filed Friday. What Artest did has nothing to do with sports, nothing to do with the Pacers-Pistons rivalry and very little to do with the water bottle. He has teetered on the wall between sanity and insanity for a while, and Friday he fell on the wrong side. No, not fell. Jumped. This is obviously a man in need of some serious help. Last week, when he asked coach Rick Carlisle for some time off to promote his CD, he was an amusing sideshow. There goes Ron-Ron again. Ha-ha. And Friday, he played brilliantly. He was the reason the Pacers won, 97-82. Then he was the reason the game ended with 45.9 seconds left. Over the loudspeakers, fans were asked to leave the Palace. Then, and only then, did the clock wind down from 45.9. It was way, way, way too late.Finally, long after the game was officially over, the Pacers' team bus departed the parking lot.It moved past the Pistons' cars, all of which were running, so that the Detroit players could make a quick exit. (None spoke to the media.)Rain fell on the Palace parking lot. And as the bus wedged between a dozen or more police cars and a few ambulances, this much was clear: Ron Artest was in the wrong vehicle. "The Meaning of things lies not in things themselves,but in our attitude towards them"

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11-21-2004, 06:02 PM	#2
Karen'sMom Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Saanichton, BC Canada Posts: 569	Stiggy, We have seen that replayed over and over again on TV and it is disgusting. You are right - it is NEVER ok to go in the stands or retaliate with a fan. They all know it is off-limits. It's really too bad for the sport. Basketball is a sport my husband and I love and watch all the time and we feel very badly for it. I am glad that he is suspended for the rest of the season. The others all had different suspensions. I'll bet that was a frightening experience for you Stiggy! I'm glad that you weren't hurt. I'm also glad that they were quick with their suspensions. Darlene

11-21-2004, 07:54 PM	#3
Stiggy Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Michigan/USA Posts: 398	Amount lost by the nine players suspended by the NBA ... Ron Artest-Pacer Suspended the rest of the Season - 73 games,Fined $4,995,000 Stephen Jackson-Pacer Suspended 30 games,Fined $1,700,000 Jermaine O'Neal-Pacer Suspended 25 games,Fined $4,111,000 Ben Wallace-Piston Suspended 6 games,Fined $400,000 Anthony Johnson- Pacer Suspended 5 games,Fined $122,222 Reggie Miller-Pacer Suspended 1 game,Fined $61,111 Chauncey Billups-Piston Suspended 1 game,Fined $60,611 Derrick Coleman- Piston Suspended 1 game,Fined $50,000 Elden Campbell-Piston Suspended 1 game,Fined $48,888 "The Meaning of things lies not in things themselves,but in our attitude towards them"

11-22-2004, 02:27 PM	#4
michaelm Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: montville nj usa Posts: 1,136	The NBA players prove to me once again that the league is nothing but a league of self rightous thugs (I would use "goons" here but that is a hockey term). Adult males in the prime of their life, in the best physical condition they will ever be in, and finnancially well off for the time being showed what they are made of, arrogence and ignorence, an egocentriism that a body builder in 'roid rage would be ashamed of! These persons don't use the brains God gave them thinking only their braun is what works. Well the sad news for the atheletes here is no matter how guilty the fan was in inciting the Riot at Auborne Hills, it is the athelete and the organization to which they belong who will pay the penalty and I hope they pay dearly, for there is no excuse for the behavior of the players involved.

11-22-2004, 04:04 PM	#5
SiliconCowboy Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 612	The NBA is a joke. Any athlete that hit a fan should be thrown out of the league forever. Sprewell can put a knife to the coach's throat and he still plays... Stern's reaction was to blame everybody. So much for NBA professional athletes being civilized, much less role models...

11-23-2004, 05:40 AM	#6
booster Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: somewhere, tx USA Posts: 856	Unfortunately this seems the trend, hence why I gave up on the NBA. When you have a Pro sports organization where 40% of the players have felony convictions and still get payed lucrative salaries, it sickens me. I choose not to contribute to what I veiw as a legal form of organized crime. For those who may state that this happens in other sports, I'll try to find the name and author of a good book who documents the wrong of the NBA and does so in comparison with other sports. I heard him on Fox sports Sunday.

11-23-2004, 11:36 AM	#7
JJmagna Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 263	Everyone here seems to blame Artest right off the bat. Im not saying it was right for him to head into the crowd and start swinging away. If Wallace would have never pushed Artest after the foul this incident wouldnt have happened on Friday night. It was 1 of the most intense games of the seasons and with the all the energy if you get hit with a cup of whatever you wont act like nothing happened. It was very sad that a great game had to end the way it did.