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I would expect to see:

3 games for Ben Wallace
5 for Steven Jackson
10 for Ron Artest
10 for Jermaine O'Neal

There will also be fines, but they're a joke to these guys. Suspensions without pay have an impact

Lawsuits against Artest and O'Neal from the fans on the court that got hit (I'm not saying they should win them, just saying that they'll file them)

New NBA rule with automatic multi-game suspension for going up into stands

What was amazing was to see Rasheed Wallace in the middle of things, but only trying to calm things down.
 
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It was, in fact, the wrong guy that Artest attacked. Watch ESPIN News and the video shows clearly the guy in the blue shirt tossed the plastic cup (underhanded at that - one hell of a accurate toss, I might add).

And, frankly, I don't care if Shaq, T-Mac, Iverson or whomever says they would do the same. It is still wrong! All that proves is that the League is full of thugs. I know right from wrong and the way Artest/Jackson/O'Neal reacted was wrong. Period. To try to justify their actions speaks clearly to the character of those trying to defend them.

What happened to being the bigger man and walking away from trouble?
 
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I think it will be:


Artest 20-25 games, 500k fine
Wallace 2 games, 10k fine
O'Neal 2 games, 10k fine
Jackson 10 games, 100 k fine

If you want to hit the guy throwing shit at you, fine, but if you're going to charge into the stands and start swinging at random, you go down hard, as you should. Not to mention Artest's track record, which will be taken into account.
 
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"Self defense" is the most ignorant argument I have ever heard. His attack was retaliation.

A beer to the head gets the guy who threw it kicked out of the game. Period. There's nothing to "defend," the guy who did it is gone.

Artest was out for revenge. And he got it. Hopefully, it means the end of his career. Unfortunately, I don't think Stern has the marbles to do the right thing, so I guess we will see Artest back in the NBA until he does something that we cannot overlook, and ends his ass up in jail.
 
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NEW YORK, Nov. 20 -- NBA Commissioner David Stern issued the following statement today:
“The events at last night’s game were shocking, repulsive and inexcusable -- a humiliation for everyone associated with the NBA. This demonstrates why our players must not enter the stands whatever the provocation or poisonous behavior of people attending the games. Our investigation is ongoing and I expect it to be completed by tomorrow evening."


Exactly my point.
 
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Kermit was suspended 26 games (Washington, not the Frog :biggrin: ), and that was for punching a player, so I see Artest as getting at least in that ball park if he punched a fan who didn't throw the cup at him, which obviously he did. A suspension until the All Star Break is not out of the question. The other guys will get 10 or less, but porbably closer to 10. I also expect a record fine for Artest, which of course will all be appealed, and we will get to listen as with a straight face Artest and his lawyers say the suspension and fine are way over the top because he is "misunderstood".
 
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They might be done for the year, and they'll need the time off with all the lawsuits coming their way. I don't condone the fans behavior, but does anybody else think it's coincidence that Artest was popping off about taking some time off this year to work on promoting his rap album..then two weeks later he jumps into the stands to beat up a fan that was heckling him??

coincidence, I think not.
 
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vrbryant said:
Ignorant statement.

____



You had one thing right there. I'll explain in a moment.

___



*shrug* That's sort of a non-issue.

___



Alright - let me break down what really happened. You would actually have had to watch the game to understand this, of course. About two game minutes before the foul in question, Ben Wallace had a similar defensive play on Artest at the other end of the court that was called a clean block - a call I didn't disagree with. Artest didn't get back on defense, and when the Pistons turned the ball over on the next possession, Artest was the easy outlet man and glided in for a dunk, after which he and Ben Wallace traded glares. The Pistons, at home, for the next couple minutes, watched the game slip away after they'd gotten to within five points.

Now, the Pistons are on offense with less than a minute remaining. Wallace goes to the rack to throw it down, and Artest fouls him from behind. These little on-court single serving rivalries are entirely commonplace - you see players gunning for each other like that all the time. The foul itself, which was not a very hard foul, was - you could say - relatively unnecessary. Wallace takes offense, as he has every right to do, and shoves Artest in the chest/neck area. Artest falls back, the benches empty, and after about 15-20 seconds of some spirited shouting and shoving, the coast is effectively clear.

Here is where the problem starts. Ron Artest, knowing perfectly well what his reputation is, knowing perfectly well how much people hate him, knowing just as well how big the rivalry between Indiana and Detroit is, does not shove back. He does not throw any punches. He submits to his teammates and coaches and finds a spot on the scorers table to get out of the fray and cool off.

Some pin-dick white bread cocksucker, who very likely was plastered on a night's worth of six dollar Budweisers, sees Artest lying on the scorer's table and decides that the best thing he could probably do to make up for the fact that his team just got trampled would be to throw a cup of beer and (what I understand to be) a plastic bottle onto the prone Artest. The one thing you got right, guy, was that the fuckstick fan should never even have let the notion of throwing anything anywhere near the court - let alone directly at a player from close range - enter his faggoty little head. Unfortunately, people (especially fans) are really no more intelligent, rational or civilized than a bunch of shit crazy baboons. One white monkey throws a cup at Artest, and the gauntlet is down. Like almost any other player in the league would have done having seen the guy who did it, Artest crawls over a few rows of seats and teaches the little prick a lesson. All the other monkeys see the first monkey throw his feces, and ooh ooh ah AH AH AH! Hey, I've got poo too! Let's get our ugly fucking faces on television!

Here's where you'll probably get upset. Not only do I blame this catastrophe (that, unfortunately, will probably never be forgotten) entirely on the fans, I am 100% in Ron Artest's court. In point of fact, I love Ron Artest. Apart from the fact that he's an extraordinary talent, I applaud him for his ability to be his own person. You say he's crazy? A couple olives short of a martini? Fucking right. It's an acquired taste, I suppose, but the Ron Artests, Milton Bradleys, Dennis Rodmans and Ricky Williamses of the world - for me - are a huge part of what make sports so great. You want to know why people hate Ron Artest? Because they can't handle the concept of someone just not giving a fuck.

Here's how I - if I were David Stern - would handle this situation. (1) Suspend Ron Artest, Ben Wallace and Stephen Jackson one game apiece, and fine them each $5,000-10,000. (2) Enact a new policy concerning the treatment of fans who engage in the sort of activity in question. (3) Ensure that each and every fan who was involved in inciting the melee is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law for disorderly conduct, assault, and whatever else that can be thrown at them. Obviously this isn't the same sort of situation as the attack on Tom Gamboa at Comiskey. It also isn't anything like the chair throwing incident at the Texas/Oakland game, which itself was mostly the fans' doing. This was a direct assault on a player, and that is completely unacceptable.

Expel Artest from the league? Please. You may not like him - that's fine. I'm sure you, uh, have your reasons. Just try not to do him and the league the disservice of crucifying him publicly over something he has little to no responsibility for.
stupid, ignorant analysis.
 
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halfdome said:
stupid, ignorant analysis.
Well I'm not sure I agree with VR myself, but I do know he at least took the time to explain his thoughts. Perhaps you should explain your point of view instead of throwing a general blanket claim of stupidity.

Until then, enjoy your licorice
 
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osugrad21 said:
Well I'm not sure I agree with VR myself, but I do know he at least took the time to explain his thoughts. Perhaps you should explain your point of view instead of throwing a general blanket claim of stupidity.

Until then, enjoy your licorice
we all know here how insightful your posts are.
 
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First of all...nice rebuttal. lol

Secondly, what good does it really do to suspend and fine the players so heavily? Artest et al would never have gone into the stands if the fan hadn't provoked him. So if the punishment for the players turns out to be as harsh as people want it to be or think it will be, you're pretty much guaranteeing that it will never happen again. That's good, right? I mean hey, sure it is. That way, the next time a fan - drunk, angry and about to leave the game anyway - wants to throw something at a player, he will have basically no reservations about doing so. He'll be just as aware of the consequences of his actions as this fan was, only he'll know that there will be no risk of real punishment (getting his face beaten in). I'm clearly not saying that it should go into the rule book that players should respond like that, nor am I saying that such an action should go without serious punishment. Perhaps my initial feeling that one game suspensions would be sufficient was hasty. I think 3-5 for Wallace and 5-10 for Jackson and Artest are more appropriate. The season? That's absurd. If the league brings the hammer down on these players the way it sounds like they intend to, I fear for the future of fan/player interaction, and for the future of the NBA. These guys get suspended for the year, and I smell a strike. It simply makes no sense.
 
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vrbryant said:
First of all...nice rebuttal. lol

Secondly, what good does it really do to suspend and fine the players so heavily? Artest et al would never have gone into the stands if the fan hadn't provoked him. So if the punishment for the players turns out to be as harsh as people want it to be or think it will be, you're pretty much guaranteeing that it will never happen again. That's good, right? I mean hey, sure it is. That way, the next time a fan - drunk, angry and about to leave the game anyway - wants to throw something at a player, he will have basically no reservations about doing so. He'll be just as aware of the consequences of his actions as this fan was, only he'll know that there will be no risk of real punishment (getting his face beaten in). I'm clearly not saying that it should go into the rule book that players should respond like that, nor am I saying that such an action should go without serious punishment. Perhaps my initial feeling that one game suspensions would be sufficient was hasty. I think 3-5 for Wallace and 5-10 for Jackson and Artest are more appropriate. The season? That's absurd. If the league brings the hammer down on these players the way it sounds like they intend to, I fear for the future of fan/player interaction, and for the future of the NBA. These guys get suspended for the year, and I smell a strike. It simply makes no sense.
I had forgotten how harmful a plastic cup can be. :roll1:
 
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