Did anyone watch the whole fiasco last night? Sorry, that fans and people watching ahve to be treated like that.
I think the players should be suspended without pay:

Wallace:10 games ( Keep the showving away from the game, if someone shoves SUSPEND HIM for games, get the msg through)

Artest: 12 games (You cant hit Wallace so you and attack a rowdy fan, the fan was stupid to spill beer at you, you are even wrose for jumping on him, wait for him to sue you for cool million)

Jackson: 8 games ( If you follow a mad man, you are mad as well...You let the mad dog liek Artest go..let him suffer why you care..and now deal with it)

O'Neal: 8 games ( you skinny stick. Fight someone your size...your girly punch will tarnish your MVP type season...I thought this would be a year..but NAH you ignorant unedcuated prick isnt smart at all)

Both of the teams should be fined heavily for this misconduct..let them suffer!!! I mean these players are so hungry for freaking violence, its not even funny. Making millions on the court hasnt changed these guys..after all they know they arent gonna get SHOT...here ..

I hope NBA takes serious action.

BTW, that Young Buck( rapper) stabbed someone during VIBE awards. I hope authorities make him pay dearly.

Tne NBA wants tp purify its image but I think they were little harsh on Artest. Wallace recieved only 6 games for starting the fight so its unfair that Artest was suspended for the entire season. The instigator should be punished equally..

Artest: averaging almost 25 pts game, best defender in the NBA...easily one of the best players of this season.

O'Neal: He was due for MVP season. but its not gonna happen this year.

Wallace: 6 games is nothing .

Interesting piece of fact:

Artest was the best defensive player last year and Wallace was the defensive player a year before that..

Ironic that the got "offensive" that day lol

I was surprised that Artest wasn't suspended for his whole career. Whatever and however it escaleted to the point, a player shouldn't charge on the fans, especially when he has to climb up few stairs in opponents home. He is supposed to be a "PROFESSIONAL" athlete and like Confused mentioned above, treat the game of basketball as his business.
I Think Ronnie deserved the 73 games punishment and this will definitely deter others from doing so.

Khate:

Yes, I agree with some your points there.He should have acted "profressionally" and yes, he gets paid millions to do that. But, also do not entirely blame it on him. The rowdy fans were equally responsible for the fiasco.It is easy to criticize a player ..but also those drunken fans should have know better...

anyway, the players got suspended..I am sure the money Artest would have been making this year wont go to him...so he will lose alot from this and deservedly so...but the fans will also have to be punished.

Also, punish the Pistons organisation for not being able to provide enough security...fine Pacers for not being able to discpline players...Just dont blmae it on one person..its not fair

Khate -- Ronnie ?? You know Ron Artest personally? From his Queenbridge days or St John?s?
Big -- You're dreaming if you think the pacers can make the playoff without 2 All-stars

David Stern is absolutely right in suspending him for the entire season.
Just like Lateral Sprewell. Now Sprewell is a humbled man (well sort of).
I believe Artest wanted the publicity and time off to promote his Rap album.
But he never thought it would be for the entire season, this will teach him a good lesson.
Besides he will have to face criminal charges.

There is lesson for ALL OF US (ballplayers and fans) to learn from.
Show constraint and accept responsibility for your actions.

Next, the Long Island Police should prosecute that 18 year kid for 40 years in prison for throwing the turkey out of a moving vehicle and causing a woman to go into coma.
?Accept responsibility for your actions?

here's the msg i got from Mr. Commish. Pacers fans you will be just fine throwing beer cans and other objects @ opposition team players and their fans. NBA would no take any action regarding it. Mr Stern, mark your calendar!!! you should visit Conseco Fieldhouse on Christmas day not the La La Land for Kobe-Shaq show, you will be showered by few beer bottles

And did any of you notice close to 500 lbs fan who was hurling at Fred Jones??? I wonder how get to the arena (must have been used crane) This dude is a brother of Detroit Pistons suspended Center Ben Wallace. This dude needs to be ban from the arena for his life. Punishing players only doesn't cut both ways. Pistons Organization and fans need to be penalized more harshly. If there have been better security, we would not have to see all these mess.

ok im not goinna repeat what ppl already said on this topic, but this is what i think.

- Ben Wallace-6 suspensions ifs fine, yes he started it but his record is clean and he was provoked. Especially being down and at 45 seconds, emotions are running high that was not a smart thing to do by Artest.

Oneal- 25 games is strict but the CommisioneR has to be stern and make sure this does not happen again, so MVP out.

Stephen Jackson- this guy should have got the most suspensions, he was just in the middle swinging at fans acting like an idiot.

-Ron Artest-ok im gonna give my view, as far stretched as it maybe, a colleague pointed out that Ron is coming out with his rap album. Well what better way to earn streedt credit and publicity than to attract all this attention. It's a gamble but the payoff could be huge. In addition Ron Artest is just an aggressive guy, being the only NBA player hailing frrom Queens Bridge he is a thug nigga! By the way i herd his materials not that bad...shaq-fu baby!

of course players have to endure all the hassle of fans, esp away fans, but if you're being paid millions that should be irrelevant.
The fans should be held responsible and fined as well.
Also as pointed out in PTI maybe beer sales should be stopped at half-time or at least the least 3rd quarter.
watever the reasons or actions, the NBA is getting too much attention these days and for the wrong reasons, lets get back to what we enjoy, the game itself.

The brawls, drama and law suits...one of a thousand reasons why I LOVE THIS GAME.

-jb

AX bro what are you talking about?

without fans, do you think NBA exists? I think the security in auburn hills is partly to blame for not being able to control fans' misbehaviour however, that does not justify a professional NBA player to go up the stairs and charge on the fans. That's just pathetic and sends the wrong message for something globally televised game like NBA!! YAh! i know..some of you will now be yapping about personal pride and self defense. But like many of the folks have already reiterated above, that these are not just basketball players but professionals and above all role models for many of the kids watching television and the game.

I fully support Stern's decision-- though it might have been partial. This prescience of Violence on and off the court in NBA has been lingering for years. Just look at the slack NBA players have been getting. Prime example would be Ruben Patterson, who's charged with vicious crime and the Kobe scandal that is not helping the NBA image. Just because somebody is getting paid in millions allow them to do whatever they want as they know on the back of their mind that they can get away with it????

I think it should be made mandatory that all NBA players get a college degree first and join anger management class....then think about crossing over with the ball (unselfishly)!

THat game was a messed up one.

The Fans are the Fans.... F*^k they don't care about the opposing players. Just because the fans become offensive don't mean an athlete should go and try to bring his ass down. What does that say about Sportsmanship?? Fans throwing objects (especially those beer cups) at opposing players is nothing new to the professional sports. Well, if someone needs more explanation in this issue then it's advisable to follow Yanks and the RED SOx games next season.

We can all tell that Artest was more than anxious to knock out someone after Big Ben Wallace intimidated him physically. You bet if it was Hamilton, Artest would have beaten the hell out of Him right there on the court. Yet, Wallace was almost an impossible opponent to confront. WHy would he confront him?? same as saying why would he get his own ass beaten right in front of so many fans (including the TV watchers)?

And what can be a better opportunity to pour his frustaions than someone throwing a beer cup on his face??? We can alll tell why Artest erupted so badly?? And to me that's very unprofessional and unsportsmanship like conduct. Sooner or later Artest should have learnt a lesson. Hopefully, he will learn something out of this.

As of fans, its stupid enough to throw stuffs at the athletes on the floor. Verbal confrontation is okie but challenge the athletes physically... that's beyond limitations.

I am sure even if Artest and company hadn't confronted the fans (the stupid ones) security would have definitely done thier job. There wasn't much time for the security personnels to react since Artest immediately jumped on to the seats... so one shouldn't raise questions about security!

All the players and their respective professional organizations should realize (I bet most of them do) that it's the fans who fill their pockets. Not the other way around. The athletes should have much more tolerance towards fans offensve activities than the ordinary people. Physical confrontation is never good. One shouldn't go bite a mad dog just because the dog did so. That will make him inferior than the dog itself.
Just as Artest or Wallace.. the fans were pumped up also. While thier home team was losing so disappointingly, Artest provoked the fans (silly ones) to throw stuffs at him by laying on the scorer's table. What was he thinking??? Of course those stupid fans will like to throw stuffs at him... well they were also trying to pour their frustrations.

The issues on the court are resolved on the court in NBA and in any other professional sports. Wallace was out of control. HE was gonna get thrown out of the game anyways.
Artest couldn't maintain his cool amongst the circumstances (I understand his emotions at that point... maybe I would have done the same). But that doesn't make him innocent. He forgot what he was and where he was. So he payed the ultimate penalty. Too me most of those suspensions look too small given the dimensionality of that brawl.

Some of usthink Wallace should have been suspended more?? I ask why?? Yeah, he started the altercation. But, altercations amongst athletes are nothing new. There had been plenty of evidences where athletes fought on the court and got suspended. Wallace is suspened for comparingly the same amount of time as were other athletes.
THe recent one is of course A-ROD VS VAritek... how many games did each of them get suspended?? about 5-8. Now, people don't tell me this is not basketball!!!
I am just using an analogy here.

CRIMINAL charges are far from over. I won't be surprised if some of the fans and the athletes involved in that brawl find themselves in the prison in the coming months. THis incidence had disappinted biilions of basketball fans. Especially the younger ones. How many of them got scared??

I like Artest as a basketball player. His Hussels, defensive as well as offensive skills are fun to watch. Until now, he was hero in the eyes of many many basketball fans. see.. what he earned for himself now?? Forget about some $5.4 million he is not gonna earn this season from the Pacers, his image... it will take a long time for him to make it. By the way weren't he talking about Retirement!!!!!!!! .. NO... Artest shouldn't give up. He should come back and become an Example for the rest of the league.

GO CELTICS
JAi Nepal

Yo JOhnny Blaze..

what's cracking??
How's schooL?

it's proud here

jai Nepal

Someone earilier in a different post posted that Artest should go fight someone his size (he had an example and it was Iverson).

Quick stats again: Artest 246, 6'7
Wallace 243,6'9
So, they are both tough guys if they had gone against each other it would have been a fair match.

Yes, ProudNepali, Artest could have poured his frustration to ROWDY fans( mind you they are not innocent). Now may I ask, if you think fans are equally responsible then shouldn't they be also held accountable. Shouldn't they be made to forfeit their Years SALARY to a charitable organization?

Ok, someone also said that given Wallace's given past its fair that he got only 6 games. I mean why you care about past so much. He instigated it, he should be PUNISHED equally!! Some say these things HAPPEN quite frequently in Pro-Sports but HEY you don?t want to encourage these things to happen FREQUENTLY. Wallace not only shoved him once BUT he was also tempting him to fight.

NBA is just being hypocritical here and they don?t want to lose their FAN BASE. They are letting Wallace walk away with minimum penalty when he pushed Artest around but WHEN Artest actually hits a rowdy spectator he gets 12 times worst penalty.

Some of the things I would have done:

1)If Wallace got 6 games for toying Artest, slam Artest for 20 games max since he hit the spectators. Don?t keep him away from the game. Make him attend anger management class.

2)O?neal and Jackson should get only 10 games since they were acting in the heat of the moment. THEY DINT NOT START THIS FIASCO. Its unfair that Wallace gets 6 games for starting this and these players get 6 times more..HELLO!!

3) NBA was sick of Artest?s previous incidents so I think they took that into consideration, which I think is totally unfair.

4) Make those FANS pay for their rowdiness!!! Make them pay .Send a message that even if you Pay those high priced tickets you cant be stupid!!

5)Pistons organization should have better security around the court.

Btw, if I was David Stern I would have made sure that those players come out of suspension just before that big game in December( doubleheader between lakers vs Heat, Pistons vs Pacers).

Like Shaq said on his upcoming match with KOBE ? that game is gonna be the highest rated show ever?. Of course it is going to be like that?after all its Pacers & Pistons!!

Anyway, any publicity is good publicity. NBA isn?t gonna lose fan?it will just prove that NBA has tough athletes like NFL..or Hockey?:) U know hwo Americans think!!

casey what you are saying is just ludacris n outrageous.
First of all what do you mean that the past does not matter, OF COURSE IT MATTERS! Decision variables all rely on past events. Should a criminal who has been found guilty of his second or third offense be handed a heavier sentence than compared to one who has no ofefences? Yes yes yes! Ron Artest has one of the worst records in behavior, breaking several violations over the years. So where was the line where one had to say ok stop, well this was the line, and he got his just desserts.
Wallace a less fine, what he did was wrong, but far less severe and not even comparable to attacking fans. And his record is not one of a "known trouble maker". Scuffles and minor pushes or even brawls happen in the heat of the moment. But going all out with your comrade of fan killers on the people is on a different level of your so called "heat of the moment".
Which brings me to my next point, how can you say that just cuz of the heat of the moment Oneal and Jackson should be fined ten games. I don't thinking i can describe running towards the fun to refuel the fire and sucker punching him is heat of the moment, or swinging wildly at any fan, mind you not even the fan who started it, but every fan that he (jackson) could hit. The only heat of the moment i saw there was Ben Wallace's push, which he felt it was unnecessary and rightfully so.
The only thing i agree with you is make the fans pay. Find those hooligans and ban them, take away their season tickets, arrest them, but fine them.

This is not about who started it, but about where the boundaries are in professional sports. Key word, professional, this is not street ball, a professional should act like one, and expect the unexcusable AND unprofessional behavior of some of the fans.

*goes back to sleep*

-jb

i totally agree with AX and casey on their views in this matter, i was shocked to see artest suspended for the rest of the season, i am sick of the word "professional", sick and tired of people saying professional athletes shouldn't cross the line and all that, we all know artest has big problem controlling his anger, heck he tried his best to control himself, after getting smacked by wallace for a meagre foul and thrown towel, can we even imagine what was going thru his mind sitting on that bench and trying not to let it all out after getting humiliated by wallace, its hard enough for any player to keep composure in that situation, even harder for a short tempered guy like artest, but getting hit by a beer cup was enough to break it all for him, i mean c'mon, its a human reaction, u can't be thinking NBA and professionalism, there is such a thing as human emotions, it was just an instant reaction in artest's part and he even went there and asked the guy if he was the one, i mean he didn't flat out laid down the guy, i am more dissapointed in Stern's reasoning for harsh punishment of Artest, by saying he could have handed out a less severe punishment had it been any other player than artest (referring to his past), he said "Artes, no matter how hard u try to be a good guy, for us u will always be that bad guy, so we are not giving u a chance to be good and do sth good, we don't trust u for the kind of past u had" Isn't that what Stern is saying, Artest cannot be given anymore chances, Heck why doesn't he end his career only, not allow him to play at all, the Defensive player of the year, Artest is a dad of 4 and i am sure he is not the same guy he was few yrs back, but this suspension is a total setback for him and his confidence in NBA, look at rasheed wallace, he has a similar, if not a worse history than artest, he was honestly trying to break up the fight, its just unfortunate that his past played such a role in case of artest, shame on u Stern for making mockery of the situation and abusing ur powers of being a commisioner, the main instigators for this whole incident was ben wallace for reacting angrily, sth totally uncalled for, then those stupid detroit fans, they all are cocky for their championship last yr, that's all, agree with AX, Stern should be showered with Budlight during Christmas , but how can he not side with fans, those who watch games and bring money to NBA............i think Artest should have been suspended for like 30 games or so and i actually stephen jackson should have been the one facing more games or maybe whole season suspension, coz he wasn't provoked and he was not trying to clean up the mess by punching that guy in the face, he was just living his thug life out in the stands, i liked it personally those tho guys getting slammed by artest, that coach and Oneal in the court, they had no business to come in court and act like they can do anyhting..........
whatever, best of luck to paces, they are my favs in the east now........chill o ut

Jonny Blaze:

I respect your points but I dont necessarily agree with it. So, Wallace's anger is justifiable and Pacers players weren't? All Artest did was foul him hard and Wallace acted as if his afro had been shred to pieces. C'mon now lets be fair now.

Yes, Artest has been slammed for a season and his past history did come into play. Now, I ask, if it was Kobe or someone else swinging blows would the NBA punished him like that. I am not sure abt the answer. I think NBA got a scape goat in Artest to prove its point. Dont get me wrong but I am not supporting Artest or his acts. I am simply saying that the distribution of penalty was unfair.

You also said that O'neal/Jackson werent acting in the heat of the moment. You are in a chaos , defending your teamate when he is scuffling in the stands..then what do you do? put your hands in teh pocket and wait for another beer bottle to hit you? I mean yes...he was throwing some punches..he should have been trying to hodl Artest down rather than fight..it did escalate things but he will be punished for that!! I would rather have a bud who would help me out then run away in the locker roon..

And whats up with the Pistons fan confronting Oneal on teh court..its not RIGHT!! if you want the plaeyrs to act right then you need to do that as well...I mean if there is A RULE THAT SAYS ATHELTE SHOULDNT JUMP INTO STANDS NO MATTER WHAT THEN THERE SHOULD ALSO BE A RULE THAT THE FANS SHOULDNT CROSS THEIR BOUNDARY. So, I think both were the culprits..both should be punished.

Face the fact people: the reason that dude threw beer at Artest was coz his home team got whipped by Artest and the Indiana Pacers. I totally blame the fan who threw the beer at Artest. Paying $50 to watch the NBA doesn?t give you a right to abuse opposing team players and throw objects at them coz they make millions of dollars. I believe Artest and O'Neal made the right decision by knocking down those two fans that came to the court. Fans have no right to come to the court?? will you guys feel comfortable someone else harrasing and threatening at your workplace???

The best thing should have been David "Dumbass" Stern taking the pay cut from his 10+ million salary and use that money on security. Why was security not there??? Shouldn?t someone be protecting when Artest was lying in the table??? The only police I saw during those airing was the one trying to use pepper spray @ players. And can someone justify me why Pistons organization is not penalized? I hope Pistion organization will be drageed into law suit to come. I am appalled by Dumbass's decision.

David "Dumbass" Stern and his NBA associates would not have handed out such harsh punishment if the player were in the likes of Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Shaq, Allen Iverson, JKIDD, CWebb and Kevin Garnett. If you are a superstar in the league you will get a free pass whether you are a wife beater or accused rapist or teammate beater.

NBA trying to pose itself and untainted league, come on now?. The NBA's problems run deeper than image, suspending Artest won?t do it. The situation we are now is coz you have been giving free pass to the superstars for longtime. Mr. Dumbass, have you realized why there is no connection between fans and the NBA players??? Coz the players are arrogant, selfish and overpaid, didn?t we got to know more about them in the last World Championships and Olympics??? The only thing matters to you is the attendance, TV ratings, sponsorships and advertising deals, and broader interest worldwide, NO??? As long as players perform in the court, that?s all it matters to you. You have compiled full thugs who are wife beater and deadbeat father in the NBA.

Mr Stern, there has been declining attendance and awful Finals ratings for the past few years, why not take the responsibility and resign from the post??? I hope the major sponsor will pull out from the deal so NBA can learn the lesson......

NBA needs new leadership??..a new leadership who will start to promote teams and great teamwork, not individuals and highlights. and who will stop encouraging the kids from high school to jump into NBA.

AX,
You wrote, "I believe Artest and O'Neal made the right decision by knocking down those two fans that came to the court. Fans have no right to come to the court?? will you guys feel comfortable someone else harrasing and threatening at your workplace??? '

Should not the same logic apply to those players who go up on the stands to attach the fans? As you said" Fans have no right to come to the court??" I say, players have no right to go on the stands either.

One more reason to shorten the suspensions of the playesr, which I think will likely happen.

-- Piston fans acted stupid that night along with the players from of both of the teams.SO, DON'T make those Pacers fans suffer from something they had nothing to do with.We all know that it takes alot to be a die hard fan..lot of money and effort go into it.So, I think NBA should think of that and not be too harsh on the players..

If the ruling stands, there is no way that Pacers are going to make the playoffs.

Mr. Casey00,

To answer your question brother go to NBA.com or just switch your TV channel to some sports news. The person who threw the beer cup on Artest's face identified as John Green had been interviewed by several news media, ESPN being the one showing it repeatedly. By now, I believe, you must have had known that he has been banned from entering the PAalace at Auburn Hills. Additionally cirminal charges had been filed against him. And Oakland county police have been doing excessive reviews of the videotapes to correctly identify the personnels involved in the brawl and the degree of their convictions. So, I am expecting some announcements from the police department to be made anytime soon.

NOne ever said fans are/were innocent for that alma matter. A fan provoked Artest physically by throwing that beer cup. That wasn't a good thing to do. However, how stupid is it to jump to the stands to get that fan??
Someone wrote (in one of the posting above) "he even went there and asked the guy if he was the one, i mean he didn't flat out laid down the guy- Unknown" no offense brother but you can watch the video over and over, there ain't any sign of Artest halting for a moment or speaking a word to anyone when he got hit by the beer cup. He just stormed into the stands. SO-- your defense of Artest sounds really stupid/premature to me.

Athletes are under contract with thier respective organizations, not the fans. It will be awfully stupid idea to make the fans donate their years earning to a charity. They are banned from coming to the Basketball arena.... which is logically equivalent to a player's suspension from the Basketball season. Monetary wise it's nothing same ( Unless John Green and/or other fans are millionaires/billionaires also). And each franchises are a part of NBA (we are talking about pro-basketball here in US). So, NBA can fine/suspend the athletes not the fans. All they can do against the fans is... ban them from coming to the stand. Well, maybe the fans CODE of conduct can be made more strict.

However, I didn;t mean to say that the fans should be excused. They should be penalized as severely as the opposing athletes... whether it's by the police/court or the NBA itself. Especially the one/ones who threw that steel chair.

If someone comes with the idea that Athletes should go to the stands to confront the fans because a beer cup had been thrown on him..... I will say.. YOU are a STUPID ass. An athlete is mad/angry/crazy because of what happened on the court.... that has nothing to do with a fan throwing objects at him. Oh yeah, it makes the matter worse but THe athlete was mad/angry... you cannot blame the fan for that. If you are walking on the street (As Charles Barkley says .. I am not in an agreement with him about what he said on TV) and someone throws stuff at you, yeah you would like to beat the nigga outta hell. But while you are on the court.... you should know your limitations.

I don't think Artest's suspension was too long. See, what happened to that baseball player (Maybe from Florida or LA..... don't remember) this gone season.. he tried to hit (threw a chair I believe) the fans and he got suspended for the rest of the season along with the criminals charges. People might argue his suspension was shorter because Baseball season was approaching the end.That's not the case. EVen if that incidence had occured on the opening day of the baseball season, suspension would have been the same. I can try find the links upon request. Lots of talks were hosted on TVs on that issue and almost everybody agreed. Of course including the player himself. And I know, most people (here on Sajha and on media) today don't even remember that (it's about 2 -3 months old) mishap.

And now I see people talking BLAH... Blah Blah here. Just because, Artest is a more popular player doesn't mean he gets special treatments. He is a player. That's how the league sees it. To me the suspension is little short. You go and smack the WRONG person ! hey hit the wrong guy(even if he had hit the right guy it shouldn't be any better).. you guys expect him to do exactly what he did... you guys must have some problems. What's the matter with you jerks????
oh... since Artest hit the wrong guy.. so that GUY has every right to knock Artest also... is that how you guys see the thing? In someone else words.. that's totally justified?? heck .. we are human beings and should know how to control our emotions, especially when we know where we are and what values we have.

Of all, S. jackon's suspension is the shortest one. Why in the world did he throw that CHEAP shot on another innocent fan. What in the world did that guy did to either Artest or JAckson??? That's not human like..... forget about professionalism. ANd people still think His suspension was bit inappropriate. I say, that Mofa should be thrown to the CELL rite away and let deal with pack of hungry wolves. That's ridiculous.

And same goes with O'Neal... who in the world confronted him?? yeah... there were few fans on the court. And they are not supposed to be (I expect more severe charges to be filed against them since they were on agrresive mood also) there. But again... what a Gay/faggot/sonofabitch.... to throw a cheap punch on someone who is already on the floor and not even aware of o'Neal's position. If he was a real man.. F***K why can't he try confront Walllace (Ben/Rasheed)... that nigga was just trying to bring out his thug behaviors on the court. I wish someone had knocked that bastard right there for throwing such a cheap punch.
He could have acted like the middle man there not as an aggressor.

continued....

continued..

As of Wallace's suspension (PLEASE read my earlier positings : of NOV. 22nd):

He did initaite the altercation. That's similar to many of those altercations we had witnessed on TVS or live. YOU cannot blame him for what happened after that.
It was a CO-incidence that a fan threw a cup on Artest's face... well not by Wallace himself. Now you cannot make Wallace pay for what happened next. That's just too dumb. his UNSPortsmanship like conduct would have been resolved on the court. As a rule he would have been ejected from the court and would have faced possible fine or suspension. Which he now did, I have nothing to say againt or in support of that.
However, he didn't go to the stands and he didnt confront any fan. His, suspension (duration) is justified. He is suspended for same amout of time, he would have earned at any other time or in any other game and as any other player.

We should understand that Artest's suspension has everything to do with his going to the stands (he was the first one to make the move) and battering the fans. So, we cannot compare the durations of Artest's or Wallace's suspension.

TO those questioning the SECURY issues at THE PALACE:

I have never seen Security personnels covering the players all the time while they were on the court.. or laying on top of the scorer's table. Oh.. not even in CONSECO FIELDHOUSE. What an stupid question: "where was the securtiy when Artest was laying on top of the Table??" I don't think players as well as fans would like to be surrounded by security personnels while inside the basketball arena. Of course, enough protection should be there.... and I have no reason to say there wasn't enough security in the PALAce last Friday Night. Security personnels are no Supermen so they also need some time to react. The whole thing happened so fast that without TV replays it's difficult to memorize or even imagine the whole drama. With that kind of instantaneous actions taken by the athletes, it surely would make the Security personnel's job difficult. No matter where the incidence took place.

People are hammering the COMMissioner like though he was a waterboy in the Palace. The suspensions he announced are severe .... but no way beyond limitations. Just because the Director of the Players Union showed up ON TV doesn't mean that David Stern is proved to be INSANE while making those decisions. One has to realize that he didn't make any personal decisions. HE had his executive committee to discuss and come out with a result. OF COURSE he is the Head of the NBA.... if he doesn't react to the situation then who else will?? or who else should??

It's understanable that many people got surprised/shocked/angered/whatever!!! by the COmmissioner's announcement ... and I expect it to be that way also. After all, Nothing like that and of that scale had ever happened in the NBA. And I expected nothing such to happen again. Some of the comments Stern had made are less literate... yet his statements are overall justifiable. You cry/whine/celebrate about it..... it's not gonna change and shouldn't change.

THE fans behavior were unacceptable. The players' reactions were even more primitive.
They are all gonna get penalized more. And I feel no mercy for such MAGGOTS of the BEAUTIFUL game.

I am not a Detroit fan neither do I have anything against PAcers' players. I had always liked O'Neal and Artest (didn't know S. jackson is on the Rooster), I did support artest when he won his first Defensive player of the year Award (damn he shut down Paul Pierce when they swept the series against us Celtics), and I was glad O'Neal (someone from Eastern Conference) was making the push for the league MVP award. I like thegame of basketball and the good players. When players become street dogs, I have no respect for them.

GO CELTICS GO
jai Nepal

i haven't read all the postings here. If you start to quote others, postings will get longer. Here's what I say about Artest and Wallace. It's not that Artest have not seen people like Wallace. He hails from Wueens project and played at Queens bridge, visit once before you talking about how much guts Artest have.

Yes he tried to control himself, being just suspended 2 games by the team. He tried to control and he did but he blew off after beer showered him while lying in the table.

Here's what I would have been okay about the suspension. Stern should asked him to get psychological help beside the suspension. If he were to comply he will be reinstated after 20, 30 or 40 wotever game that is. You don't desert the players when they are in tought time but you try to help them. That's why i say Stern needs to go...... Stern as players is too arrogant and he thinks he can do wotever he feels like it.

And what happened to 500 lbs guy??? I bet he won't be. we all know the reason why :=)


got Q for you people, what happens to the salary players are supposed to get??? does that go to charity or they can use to sign other players???

and about the fancisco dude in baseball, please go and check how games were left for the season... when someone chokes the coach and retaliated again, he gets 68(???) and someone as big size of an elephant gets only 3 games suspension when he start to hurl at other player.... PLAY FAIR GAME

ther must be at least 30 morons throwing objects at players, police has to take action to all of them...............

AX bro,

The salary of suspended players will go straight to thier choice of charity.Charity is good nothing bad but Pacers are gonna suffer alot from this. They might get some expemtion, couple of millions here and there but not enough susbtantial money to sign marquee or even a solid player. So, they would have to probably get someone they previously cut or someone from NBDL...

Ya, I agree with AX and also Barkley said the same thing. Let the kid do some work..get counselling...go on TV( which he did and apologized)...do some anti-violence ads..and try to change..in return give him a chance to come back to the game..you dont let young player walk away like that...esp when he is so talented..

ProudNepali:

So, why not only bench those players? why take their money away? I mean players work for their money...like we do...they get paid better, thats a different thing but you are implementing a double standard...I mean ..FINE the organization for letting this fiasco..happen..I still believe THIS wasnt JUST Artest..it was EVERYBODY..