Artest suspended for the year!

[SUMG]

Now that thug has all year to work on his rap album.......

Two other Pacers were suspended 30 games and 25 games....Ben Wallace was suspended 6 games, I think.

All are suspended WITHOUT PAY. Good move, Commissioner Stern.

quite a blow to Indiana ........but a deserved one.

[Coach]

Is there a link? The article I found had Artest with 30 and O'Neal and Jackson with 20 and Wallace with 5.

Are they suspending any fans found to be involved or throwing beer for the year as well?

[Coach]

Ok, I found the post on the other board.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Ron Artest was suspended for the rest of the season Sunday as the NBA came down hard on three members of the Indiana Pacers for fighting with fans when a melee broke out at the end of a game against the Detroit Pistons.

Overall, nine players from the teams were banned for 143 games, including some of the harshest penalties the league ever issued. Artest is the first player to be suspended for nearly an entire season for a fight during a game.

Indiana's Stephen Jackson was suspended for 30 games and Jermaine O'Neal for 25. Detroit's Ben Wallace -- whose shove of Artest after a foul led to the 5-minute fracas -- drew a six-game ban, while Pacers guard Anthony Johnson got five games.

Four players were suspended for a game apiece: Indiana's Reggie Miller, and Detroit's Chauncey Billups, Elden Campbell and Derrick Coleman.

All of the suspensions are without pay.

Artest, O'Neal and Jackson -- who all threw punches at fans in the stands or on the court at the end of the nationally televised Pacers-Pistons game Friday night -- began serving their suspensions Saturday. Indiana, limited to just six players because of the suspensions and injuries, dropped an 86-83 decision to Orlando.

``The actions of the players involved wildly exceeded the professionalism and self-control that should fairly be expected from NBA players,'' NBA commissioner David Stern said in a statement, adding that the league must not ``allow our sport to be debased by what seem to be declining expectations.''

The NBA also has to ``redefine the bounds of acceptable conduct for fans attending our games and resolve to permanently exclude those who overstep those bounds,'' Stern said.

He added that security procedures in all NBA arenas will be reviewed and rules need to be added to prevent a repeat of what happened at Auburn Hills, Mich., on Friday.

The brawl was particularly violent, with Artest and Jackson bolting into the stands near center court and throwing punches at fans after debris was tossed at the players.

Later, fans who came onto the court were punched in the face by Artest and O'Neal.

Nine people were treated for injuries, and police are investigating possible criminal charges.

Wallace began the fracas by delivering a hard, two-handed shove to Artest after Wallace was fouled on a drive to the basket with 45.9 seconds remaining. After the fight ended, the referees called off the rest of the game.

The initial skirmish wasn't all that bad, with Artest retreating to the scorer's table and lying atop it after Wallace sent him reeling backward. But when a fan tossed a cup at Artest, he stormed into the stands, throwing punches as he climbed over seats.

Jackson joined Artest and threw punches at fans, who punched back. At one point, a chair was tossed into the fray.

AP - Nov 20, 3:52 pm EST

More Photos

The most recent example of an NBA player going into the stands and punching a fan came in February 1995, when Vernon Maxwell of the Houston Rockets pummeled a spectator in Portland. The league suspended him for 10 games and fined him $20,000.

Among the harshest non-drug-related penalties in NBA history was a one-year suspension of Latrell Sprewell -- later reduced to 68 games -- for choking Golden State Warriors coach P.J. Carlesimo at practice.

Kermit Washington of the Los Angeles Lakers drew a 60-day (26-game) suspension in 1977 for a punch that broke the jaw of the Houston Rockets' Rudy Tomjanovich during a game, while Dennis Rodman was suspended 11 games for kicking a courtside cameraman in the groin and six games for head-butting a referee.

Artest was benched for two games this month for asking Pacers coach Rick Carlisle for time off because of a busy schedule that included promoting a rap album.

Artest was suspended twice by the NBA last season, once for leaving the bench during a fracas at a Pacers-Celtics playoff game; the other for elbowing Portland's Derek Anderson. During the 2002-03 season, Artest was suspended five times by the NBA and once by the Pacers for a total of 12 games.

Artest also once grabbed a television camera and smashed it to the ground after a loss to the Knicks two years ago.

[JayDub]

All are suspended WITHOUT PAY. Good move, Commissioner Stern.

Best move by Stern...possibly ever. Granted, I can't stand Ron Artest, so that could have something to do with the way I feel about it. I DO like him for what Coach calls "The Unintentional Comedy Factor", though...

Are they suspending any fans found to be involved or throwing beer for the year as well?

I think they should bring all those jackasses up on charges...the players AND the fans. The fans were just as much to blame as the players and should face penalties as well.

That said, NBA players should be able to control themselves. Artest (and perhaps Jackson) will be unable to use "self-defense" as a defense in court because video evidence show that thier life and well being weren't in danger when they charged the fans. Anyone else that got into the act AFTER the melee was started... they may be able to use self-defense.

Either way...fine, penalize, charge, and sue them all...fans and players. Then let's do it again...because this is the most interested I've ever been in the Thug Basketball Association.

Edited November 22, 2004 by JayDub

[Rudy]

I dont like the TBA, but Im glad to hear that the commish has the guts to suspend them w/o PAY!

Now, onto tracking the fans down and charging them.

[Coach]

When I found out, I was questioning the severity of O'Neal's suspension. I don't remember seeing him in the stands, and remember seeing him give a good shot to a fan that charged him on the court. What was he supposed to do? If he went in the stands, that is one thing, but he should appeal his if he didn't.

Any fans that were part of it, physically or throwing beer, need to have the season tickets canceled without a refund and those seats should be re-sold with the proceeds going to charity.

Edited November 22, 2004 by Coach

[MeanGreenBuzz]

Wallace should have been suspended longer. I also feel like there should be a HEAVY fine on Detroit as an organization for not providing adequate security and keeping the fans out of the brawl. The fans throwing puches and beer should also be held accountable for their actions.

[JayDub]

Any fans that were part of it, physically or throwing beer, need to have the season tickets canceled without a refund and those seats should be re-sold with the proceeds going to charity.

Excellent idea.

I do think that O'Neal's suspension fit the crime. The guy he punched was pretty defenseless at the time. He shouldn't have been on the court, of course.

Screw'em all. I'm pulling for the 6 man Pacers to win it all this season.

[Guest e-bone]

Wallace should have been suspended longer.

I agree. He started the whole mess with his two hand shove to Artest's neck. Then after Artest backed off, Wallace couldn't leave it alone and kept trying to go after him as well also throwing a towel at him. It was Wallace who really got the crowd riled up, and the fan may have just been mimicking Wallace in throwing something at Artest.

[Coach]

This is costing Artest 5.4 million. Since he clearly doesn't care about playing basketball from his earlier episode this year, that will get the point across very well.

[Coffee and TV]

Those fans had it coming. This is coming from a guy who heckles our opponents every home game. I know what line to cross and throwing a cup of beer on a guy minding his own business on the bench is not only crossing the line, but long jumping over it.

I got no sympathy for any of the fans that were guilty of provoking what happened. They knew Artest was a loose cannon and you think he's going to simply shrug off someone throwing a beer at him? The guy's lucky he didn't get a chair thrown at him. And how about these wiseguys who come onto the court asking for an a-whoopin, LOL, they got knocked out.