Is it me or did it look like Ron Artest's punches didn't really hurt anyone. When he hit the dude on court, he just slipped and got back up, and then when he went after the fan he had to get Stefen Jackson to kick his booty. And J.O had to sucker punch that guy on the court. Did anyone see that huge fat dude just pound away at Fred Jones's head? I think this will go down as the greatest brawl in sports history. This will now be a huge rivalry. And what our luck the re-match is on Christmas.
It did seem like Artest's punches didn't hurt the fat guy. Maybe his fat absorbed them or something. O'Neals looked like it did some damage. The fat guy beating away on jonse's head was hilarious. Slivingston14 needs to make a mix of the fight night.
Yeah, if someone can send me the clip of the fight, threw yousendit or something I'll gladly make a mix of the fight for all users of the site.
Try the thread clip of the Pacers/Pistons brawl. I don't know if the clips are still working but they were earlier this morning.
Honestly, there are so many idiotic posts here, I can't believe I managed to read each and every one of them. The only one that made sense was Explosive's post back in page 5, post #87. Refer to that. Or at least most of it. Now first of all, I am sick and tired of all the morons in here attacking Ron Artest using the word "Professional". Yes he's a professional, so does that mean he's not human? Get real. A professional is also human. Just because you're a Pro NBA player DOES NOT MEAN ANYTHING. You still make mistakes. You are not perfect. Get it through your head. Example? Bill Clinton - Ex-President of the United States of America. We all know what happened there. So don't let me see any of that "Oh but he's a professional, he should know better" bullsh*t. Artest will get his punishment, now let's move on. Second. Nobody in here is defending and commending Ron Artest for jumping into the crowd and pounding the fan. They said they UNDERSTAND why Ron did it. They're not defending and worshipping Ron here. It's not the right thing to do, but it's also not completely outrageous as you think. Any guys will balls will do almost the same thing. Btw, sorry to all the females here, you'll never understand. All you angel-wannabe sissies that say "I wouldn't have done anything if a beer cup is thrown at my face" is lying. You would've done something. What Ron did was wrong, he shouldn't have beat the living crap out of the fan but it wasn't entirely his fault that he did it. Ok? Next, Jermaine O'Neal and Stephen Jackson. They merely tried to defend their teammate but again, same deal, there's no excuse. Their intentions were right but they took it too far. They're wrong, but understandable. It is not a matter of who started this whole thing. Yes, it might've started from Artest's foul (which wasn't that hard mind you), but then Big Ben reacted too harsh. Artest backed away and laid down on the scorer's table trying to restrain himself, which was the right thing to do. True he did try to taunt the Pistons, but at least he stayed out of trouble. If you want to blame it all on one person, it's the fan that threw the beer to Artest's face. Just because you are a fan and you pay to see the players play basketball doesn't give you the right to throw stuff at them in the face. Now please, can someone explain to me what the hell were the fans doing in the court trying to provoke the Pacers? Are they asking for death?
Most posts were intellegent discussions in this thread and wh have already been through what happened a millon and three times. But you do have some legitament arguments and facts. Artest fouled Wallace he overreacted, pushed Artest a fan threw beer at Arteset ha gets mad attacks him, th whole crowd jumps him. Jackson trys helping him and it all gets out of control. Then fans come onto the court and Artest and O'Neal punch him. Pacers are forced back to the locker room while the fans throw things and disrespect them. Tinsly comes out of the loker room with a dustpan getting ready to throw it, thinks better of it and goes back into the locker room. That's what happened. It will be remembered as one of the greatest fights ever.
I know, I was just giving an overview of the fight so people wouldn't have to read the whole thread to know what happened.
Speaking as a former college basketball player who was involved in a similar situation (fans physically threatening players) I can honestly say that it was my worst experience as an athlete, and this is coming from someone who tore his acl. Despite the fact that there's always a chance of getting injured while playing a sport, you expect to be safe from any outside (read: fan) influences/behavior. ANYBODY compromising that deserves to get dealt with. Yes, fans are allowed to be fanatics, but only verbally, not physically. Anybody who feels the Pacers were in the wrong lemme ask you one question? If somebody came to YOUR JOB and threw a big ass cup of beer directly in your face, how would you react? This situation actually has been brewing for years. Its no coincidence that the primary offenders were the white ticket holders in the thousand dollar courtside seats. Its another example of the sense of entitlement many in this country have, and the lack of respect for other demographic groups. I get sick and tired of hearing people blast athletes (I bet you'll hear a thousand columnists over the next couple weeks saying shit like "they're spolied millionaires....for all that money they should take the abuse") as being overpaid and uneducated and spoiled. Why are athletes repeatedly dissed, but when the cast of "friends" threatens to hold out because they want one million dollars per episode, or mike myers gets 8 figures for just using his freakin voice as shrek, nobody says shit. Anyone that knows me knows that I'm usually as objective as possible when it comes to shit like this, but this ill will towards professional athletes is 99 percent based on race. Its no coincidence either that the professional league with the highest precentage of black players (84%) is the one that consistently gets the most scrutiny. Shit, if Brett Favre was in Newark, New Jersey and attacked a black fan that physically acosted him, you'd hear nothing but praise along the lines of "...that Farve is a tough cookie"
If Artest wasn't a basketball player he would likely go to jail for at least a year, infact he still should but because he is in the NBA that likely won't happen. He assulted not one but 3 fans. Jermaine O'Neal and Sjax got involved and went after fans as well and they would also get jail time. You don't go and bunch people in the face and certainly not when a fan just shouts at Artest which is what happened when the guy on the court got attacked. David Stern better sort this mess out, there were kids crying in the stands and parents fearing their safety. This is going to hurt the NBA big time. The oakland county are going to review this and see who should be charged. My guess is there will be at least 2 Pacers who will be charged.
If artest was "doing what any man would do" when he got beer thrown on him. (obviously by "doing what any man would do" means attacking the wrong guy in the stands) then where was his manlyness when ben wallace threw him 15 feet across the court by his face?... you cant say he was standing up for his manhood when a 1/4 full beer cup hit him in the chin, and he blew up. But not when been wallace manhandled him.
Also anybody that didnt read earler in the thread.... Look at the foul Big Ben "over-reacted" to... Ron Artest KICKED HIM IN THE BALLS.... that was no over-reaction by Big Ben. That was a bitch-made move by Ron Artest...
"then where was his manlyness when ben wallace threw him 15 feet across the court by his face?... you cant say he was standing up for his manhood when a 1/4 full beer cup hit him in the chin, and he blew up. But not when been wallace manhandled him." I've been elbowed (intentionally), pushed, bridged, poked in the eye, scratched, smacked, kicked, pinched, and head-butted, all in the confines of the game. Again, while on the court, there are certain things you just have to deal with. If Ben Wallace walks up to you on the street and mushes you in the face, he could be prosecuted and convicted. Since he did it in the confines of the game, he'll only face a fine and suspension. Im saying this because you can't possibly compare Artest's (who, even though i'm defending him now, i believe is nuts) reaction to Ben Wallace with his reaction to the fan(s). In a game, things happen. Youre supposed to take a hard foul, and you're supposed to be cogniscent of the league's rules about fighting. Those rules of professional decorum get thrown out the window, though, when a third party enters the picture.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting StayingOccupied:</div><div class="quote_post">Also anybody that didnt read earler in the thread.... Look at the foul Big Ben "over-reacted" to... Ron Artest KICKED HIM IN THE BALLS.... that was no over-reaction by Big Ben. That was a bitch-made move by Ron Artest...</div> What are you talking about?! Artest didn't kick him in tha balls. He came over his back and barely slapped him in the arm.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting AA13:</div><div class="quote_post">What are you talking about?! Artest didn't kick him in tha balls. He came over his back and barely slapped him in the arm.</div> watch his leg, he kicked him in the balls from behind.
That's what I was thinking. Wallace reacted to the slap on the arm, he though it was a hard fould when it really wasn't that bad. Emotions were running wild in this game anyway.
i wish s. jackson and artest teamed up to beat up the fat guy that was slugging Jones....FROM BEHIND...WHEN HE WAD DOWN. what a *****
Can you imagine what would have happened if it were like a college game where half the arena were Pistons fans and the other half were Pacer fans?
