Fight Night (Updated)

Well. I just saw something that I never thought I’d see in American professional sports: an all-out brawl between the National Basketball Association's Detroit Pistons, the Indiana Pacers and the fans in the Auburn Hills Arena (Detroit 45 miles north of Detroit; thanks, Solomon).

Beer, punches, bodies and epithets were flying all over the place. Blame the Pistons’ Ben Wallace for the first shot, but blame all of the others for their equal or worse lack of self-control.

Los Angeles KCAL9’s Pat Harvey suggested that both teams—all of whom violated the NBA’s up-off-the-bench rule—be suspended for the year.

I agree. Punish the guilty: both the players and the fans.

Don’t let our sports icons and fans become like those of the Europeans.

AFTERTHOUGHT: In addition to the season-long team suspension, fine all the players that were off the bench for $200,000, whether they make 600K or 16 million a year; and ban all the involved fans from any NBA games for two years. Prosecute the guilty, both player and fan alike.

Yes, all these clowns ticked me straight off. Grow up, "gentlemen."

UPDATE: The full report, so far. I would have linked to the Daily Recycler for the video, but the Ku Klux Klan seems to have invaded the comments section for the post. Somebody call Orkin.

This incident is what I get for ripping on Spanish soccer fans the other day. ;-)

(Thanks to Roger L. Simon)

UPDATE: Four players are suspended for the foreseeable future.

NEW YORK - Indiana's Ron Artest, Jermaine O'Neal and Stephen Jackson, and Detroit's Ben Wallace were suspended indefinitely by the NBA on Saturday for taking part in one of the ugliest brawls in U.S. sports history, a fight with fans that commissioner David Stern called "shocking, repulsive and inexcusable."

Good, but there must be someway in which Detroit fans can also feel the pain.

Reading the article further, Artest sounds like a candidate for a lifetime NBA ban.

UPDATE: The verdict: Artest suspended for 30 games, O'Neal and Jackson for 20 and Wallace for 5. The first three got off light, but Wallace's suspension was heavier than he deserved, in my opinion. After all, the sort of thing he did happens all the time in the NBA with the offending player usually being ejected from the game or being suspended for one game at most, along with being fined. True, his action was (arguably) the catalyst for the brawl. But how was he to know that the Piston fans and the three Pacers were going to lose their collective minds?

CORRECTION: Artest: rest of the season; Jackson: 30 games; O'Neal: 25; Wallace: 6.

Additional suspensions:

...Pacers guard Anthony Johnson got five games...[SNIP]

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

Comments

[wes jackson]

That was one ugly show. What a bunch of thugs. I'm with you, Juliette, SERIOUS punishment must be delt to All, and I want to read about that punishment in tomorrow's paper.
Are you a basketball fan, or just a news junkie?

[baldilocks]

I used to be a big basketball fan (Lakers), but not so much after the Lakers' second non-Showtime championship.

My great-aunt (equivalent to my grandma), however, remains a loyal Laker fan, and alerted me to this travesty.

Both professional basketball and (American) football were my favorite viewing pleasures up until the last five or so years. I haven't followed either very closely since then. There are too many annoying and obnoxious players in both sports anymore.

[Marc]

I whole heartedly agree with your suggections on fines and suspensions. But alas, the NBA has never shown the honestly to deal with problems such as this.

It is also a fine display why I have given up following any of the stick and ball sports.

I'll stick with auto racing, their violent displays are few and far in between in comparison. And dealt with swiftly.

[Walter Wallis]

I would add one thing - anyone identifiable committing an assault, bring criminal charges. Six months time off in the pokey might make the point that you don't run around bashing folk.

[Vincent Hollier]

Hot on the heels of this Vibe Award brawl we have this

[Solomon]

Slight correction Juliette. The Palace of Auburn Hills is in Auburn Hills, MI (45 miles north of Detroit). Just my defend-Detroit side showing. ;)

I went to a few Pistons games last year and things were always cool. But I never how close fans get to sit to the action in NBA arenas. Everyone's to blame in this incident. But it sure seemed weird seeing the Detroit Pistons players just standing around looking shocked while some of their fans rioted. Crazy.

[Mike L]

As an Atlanta Hawks fan (I can hear you snickering btw) I can assure you that fans there would never pick a fight with the opposing team because most nights the visiting team usually outnumbers the fans in attendance.....

[Fred Schoeneman]

Ah well, Artest finally has time to promote that new album of his. Perhaps the fans should be punished by having to listen to it?

[avery]

players should NEVER go into the stands. EVER. But if a "fan" comes onto the floor and catches it, that's what he gets. I empathize with the cat who Artest caught in the jaw, since he was the wrong dude. Those two fat kids who came down to the floor looking to set it off w/ Artest? That's exactly what they get.

Put it like this: when I was standing up there teaching and some knucklehead kid who wasn't in my class came in there? Best believe I showed him some technique. Fans are out of control. People act like just because they pay 50 dollars, they can be a part of the action. This ain't no video game. Stay your heinie in the seat you paid for and let the people who gettin' PAID do their thing.

[The Meatriarchy]

It is true that nature abhors a vacuum. With the National Hockey League on strike it appears other leagues are trying to fill the void.

However no one has gone into the crowd during an NHL game since the 70's when hockey was at its wildest.

I guess I will start watching the NBA now.

Any news as to whether the fans who started it all were actually bored Red Wings supporters?

[caltechgirl]

heh. I have been to a hockey game where the game stopped because all the players were watching a fight in the stands. Of course, it was a college game....

[ricardo]

i gotcha mike l. dont forget the fact that atlanta players would hav no emotion during a game because practially nothing is at stake...man our hometeam sucks

[Margi]

I think the fans involved in the melee should be 86's from the arena -- for the forseeable future.

But I guess that's just me.

[Margi]

"86'd" she said.

[Daniel]

Professional and amature sports alike (did you see the fight at the college football game on Saturday?) need to move away from punishing individuals for this outrageous behavior. The teams need to suffer. If I'm sitting on the bench and I know that a fight will result in the team forfeiting the next few game or games and a serious fine to my much smaller salary than my multi-millionaire teammates, I'm stepping out to grab the damn fool on our team who's throwing punches and dragging him into the locker room.

When I saw that hockey player end the career of a Colorado Avalanche player with a punch to the back of his head, I knew that that player would pay, but the team would not. The leagues need to start punishing teams. Until they do so this will go on and on, and get worse and worse.

[Bucky Katt]

Meatriarchy sez:
"Any news as to whether the fans who started it all were actually bored Red Wings supporters?"

I thought Red Wing's fans threw raw octopi, not beer. ;-)

Besides..beer throwing is alcohol abuse. What self-respecting hockey fan would indulge in alcohol abuse? Never mind it's
a terrible waste of a perfectly good beverage. :-)