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That brawl at the Pistons-Pacers game has to be one of the craziest things I have seen. Everything was thrown from chairs to punches and fans we on the courts and players were in the stands. This could revolution security at American sporting events.
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I heard about this from a DJ on the radio on my way home today, but I don't really know much about it past there being a riot at a Pistons game.
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posted
Yet another reason I don't like sports and games being idolized so far as to just sit and watch. I'm all for playing them though.
Posts: 1132 | Registered: Jul 2002
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posted
I think the scariest part of the whole incident was the part where Ron Artest was trying to leave the court. At that point, a couple of fans came out of the stands and he had to literally punch them to get away from them. That is the worst thing I have ever seen in a sporting event including anything in hockey. What I think is even worse is that Ron Artest tried to do what is right, both after getting punched by Ben Wallace and trying to leave the stands. I have to put all the blame on the fans for this one. The players have to be able to defend themselves. Just an incredile scene that I saw live.
Posts: 107 | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted
Gah, I was shocked to hear about the fight last night. And now there's been a brawl at the S.Car.-Clemson game. Only difference that I could see was that no one wound up in the stands.
I love to watch sports, particularly football, but I hate it when things like this happen. It just leaves a bad taste in your mouth.
Posts: 959 | Registered: Jan 2002
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posted
I haven't seen video online, but SportsCenter showed the video in its entirety as was seen on live TV. The people who watched it live didn't get to see Artest and O'Neal nailing two fans that had come onto the court, nor did they see the chair thrown at a Pacers player.
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posted
Of course, stuff like this used to happen all the time in the early 20th century... It's just that polite society didn't much care what the dregs did at low-class sporting events.
posted
A fight between a Gator and a Cane cheering for the Gators almost broke out tonightat the FSU-UF game, but the police became involved and got everyone to settle down.
Posts: 3446 | Registered: Jul 2002
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posted
The worst timing of all, to have the most outlandish brawl in American sports history occur the night before Rivalry Weekend for College Football, influencing all those youthful, immature college students...
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quote: Ron Artest of the Indiana Pacers was suspended for the rest of the season today by the NBA, which came down hard on him and other participants in a brawl at the end the Pacers' game against the Detroit Pistons on Friday night in Auburn Hills, Mich.
His teammates Stephen Jackson received a 30-game suspension and Jermaine O'Neal was suspended 25 games. The league also suspended Indiana guard Anthony Johnson (five games) and Detroit Pistons Ben Wallace (six games).
Detroit forwards Elden Campbell and Derrick Coleman and guard Chauncey Billups as well as Indiana's Reggie Miller have each been suspended for one game for leaving the bench.
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Since most of the arenas double for hockey duty, maybe they should just leave the boards up regardless of sport.
That whole incident was, while not unprecedented, a major escalation from the last. I'm glad the penalties increased accordingly. I've had worse than drinks thrown at me during sport events (specifically batteries and oranges), and I managed to keep from charging the stands and flailing at spectators.
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For some reason, saw the replay of the brawl several times on ESPN, and I have to say that the first fan had it coming to him. I don't know the players names, but this guy threw ice on a player who was just resting on a table on the sidelines. The player jumped up and it was all, like, wrath of the angry, giant black man, in which nerdy guy gets his lights punched out. While the rest of it was just a confused brawl in which the fans were, being charitable here, at least as much to blame as the players, that first fan needs to have the book thrown at him.
What I don't get is that, if I am looking at this correctly, these are supposed to be the fans of the players that they are beating up on? WTF?
Posts: 13123 | Registered: Feb 2002
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posted
For some reason I was thinking fans of the team sat behind them or something. Ah, well. Guess that's what I get for not watching sports.
Posts: 13123 | Registered: Feb 2002
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posted
Actually, what I'm really wondering is why there isn't an overhang over the tunnel that leads from the court to the lockerroom. I know there is one the Office Depot Center in South Florida for NHL games, because otherwise its like a medeival murderhole.
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posted
I wonder if Indiana still has their first round draft pick. Maybe they can tank this season and get a good pick, like those lucky Spurs. Posts: 1592 | Registered: May 2000
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I'm just suprised that the 30 game suspension one of the players got will be over before my birthday (january 20th). Some people I babysit for have season ticket's to the pacer's, maybe I'll take their offer and go to a game this year.
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posted
There was also the pregame fight between Joey Porter and William Green last week, at the Cleveland/Pittsburgh game. Craziness everywhere. Posts: 5422 | Registered: Dec 2001
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If Wallace would've left it with the one shove, Artest never would have laid on the table, and the fan woudln't have thrown the ice.
Posts: 2756 | Registered: Jul 2002
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posted
I saw this on SportsCenter about 900 times after the game last night, and my reactions changed a bit during the repeated viewings.
At first, it was "Holy $#!&. I can't believe that happened."
Then I came to the "Wow, did you see the snot fly from that guy? Good hit!" phase.
Then it was "That's disgusting, both on the players' and fans' behalves."
Then I saw all the commentary on the suspensions and who should have gotten what and for how long. That allowed me a moment to sit and think about it for a while.
What does it now mean to be a fan? Is it being able to watch and enjoy the game? Is it being able to touch the players and make them actual physical people? Does being a fan give someone the right to do any of this?
My biggest issue is, in case you couldn't tell, with the fans. Why do this? What possible justification did that first guy have to throw that beer? Artest was sitting on the bench being looked at and calmed down after that shove. There was no reason to get him further riled up. You know the guy's a reactionary, and if he's already pissed off, don't mess with him.
And then when they were walking the players off, was anyone else disgusted by the amount of crap poured on them? There were probably three or four bottles of soda, several beers, and buckets of popcorn dumped unceremoniously on a player who was already out of the game. Why? There was no reason for this, and I am appalled at the behaviour of the fans.
Granted, the actions of the players were also inexcusable, but I believe more of the fault lies with the fans. I sincerely hope their ticket privileges are at least suspended, if not revoked. Because being a fan is just that - a privilege. If you can't act mature enough to warrant having tickets, you don't deserve them.
Sometimes I'm sad to be a fan of professional sports. This might just be one of those times.
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Speaking as someone who has gone off on a crowd while competing in a sporting event, I blame the fans... When an athlete has that much adrenaline going, doing something that can in no other way be interpreted than an act ment to piss them off is inexcusable and you get what you deserve, if i were there, i'd have loved to slash his tires and vandalize his car...
I think penalties were in order, but the severity of them are way out of line, I mean what do you expect him to do after someone throws a cup of ice on him, roll over and calmly ask the ref to take care of it.... come on people we all know that if you were in the same situation, you'd do the same thing....
edit: if your wondering, i was hit in the back of the head with a powerade after winning semi-finals match in a wrestling tournament. I didn't hit the man, but you can bet your ass i throw it back, only difference was he hit me in the back of the head, i hit him smack dab in the middle of the face.
[ November 22, 2004, 03:50 PM: Message edited by: J T Stryker ]
Posts: 1094 | Registered: Mar 2004
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posted
I don't think Artest can do ANYTHING calmly, it's not like he had a halo over his head before this incident. The powers that be fining/suspending know him well.
Posts: 5422 | Registered: Dec 2001
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posted
There's a large part of me that would just as soon see the players stay in the game and the NBA admin make a declaration that it's every fan for himself. I'm pretty sure the 'mid game fan ass kicking' would quickly cause ticket sales to increase.
Posts: 13123 | Registered: Feb 2002
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posted
My first thought was, if stuff like this happened more often I would be far more inclined to watch sports.
It wasn't like there was anyone involved who didn't chose to get involved. The players chose to go out and fight the fans and the fans chose to throw the cup, and later punch them. I don't feel much sympathy for anyone involved.
Posts: 4655 | Registered: Jan 2002
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posted
I saw at least a couple of fans get hit and pushed who had done nothing except have the misfortune to sit between the players and the cup-thrower.
I don't mean to be totally sympathetic towards the players, clearly they threw some punches that weren't at all warranted, but it's hard not to be sympathetic when you see the footage of what the players and staff had to go through when they were leaving the court. NFL's description of the tunnel as a medieval murder hole is about right.
Now that I think about it, I recall this kind of crap happening at other NBA games. This wasn't an isolated incident of players having things thrown at them. And now that I think about it, personally, I think that the NBA in general has been very negligent in protecting the players from this kind of abuse and going after those who assaulted the players more vigorously. If the NBA had put their foot down and made provisions before things reached this point, all of this could have been prevented.
Posts: 13123 | Registered: Feb 2002
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posted
Its not just these two incidents though. Just before the NBA game there was a pregrame fight between the Browns and the Steelers. In baseball that Francisco guy threw a chair into the stands and hit broke that woman's nose. There have been other recent incidents of fans throwing objects at outfielders. My problem with Artest is that it looks like the guy he went directly for wasn't the one who threw the ice at him. And why was he laying on the table anyways?
Posts: 3446 | Registered: Jul 2002
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posted
I believe he was waiting on the trainer to check him out... but he may have just been calming himself down, either way, the cup of ice understandably pissed him off beyond all reason...
edit: for poor spelling
[ November 22, 2004, 06:11 PM: Message edited by: J T Stryker ]
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posted
The cup was full of beer, not ice. Ice might bruise someone easier, but when beer splashes into your eyes, that hurts.
Posts: 3932 | Registered: Sep 1999
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It actually looked like Artest was trying to stay out of the fight on the floor, and laying down on the table with his hands behind his head was as non-aggressive a position he could think of, really.
Not that that excuses what happened, but for once he wasn't making things worse.
He fouled, whihc is part of the game. Anyone who calls basketball a non-contact sport has obviously not played much basketball at all. Wallace had a problem with it, which would have been a minor issue, maybe a 3 game suspention...
I am from Detroit, and it was this type of bullshit that made me stop watching baseball...when the Tigers won, the crowd overturned police cars and lit them on fire.
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My first thought was, if stuff like this happened more often I would be far more inclined to watch sports. ![[ROFL]](graemlins/rofl.gif)
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