Pistons - Pacers Fight

It seems that while you can't turn on ESPN without seeing coverage of this fight, no one I know has written on it. So here goes...

Who is at fault?

1) Ron Artest. There was a fight. It happens. Not all the time, but at least semi-regularly. But players don't go into the crowd. Self defense? Yeah right. Self defense means that you are doing something to protect yourself. You think you were safer going into a crowd of hostile fans to attack some fan you think may have thrown a bottle at you is safer than staying on the floor? Artest was lucky that he didn't get his ass kicked by a mob of fans.

The bottom line is, if when that bottle hits Artest, he just stands up and points out to security who did it, that guy would be arrested (and hopefully thrown in jail), and none of this happens. But Artest has to be a badass, and try to take care of it himself...He got suspended for the season, and I say good riddance.

2) That fan. There is no excuse to throw stuff on the court. Like I said, I hope this fan was caught and prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Throwing stuff at players is a cheap shot, and just a wussy thing to do.

3) Stephen Jackson. Artest went into the crowd. And I know you feel allegiance to the guy, but go get him and hold him back. Going in swinging is as stupid, if not more stupid, than what Artest is doing.

4) Everyone else. Ben Wallace shouldn't have started the fight. That being said, in my eyes, zero of the blame for the brawl in the crowd falls on Big Ben. He got a six game suspension, which seams a bit high to me, but only by a few games. He should have been suspended for the same amount as if the fight had not ventured into the crowd. So six may have been a game or two too much, but maybe not.

Everyone else that went fighting, including, but not limited to, Jermaine O'Neal, should be suspended. Jermaine got 25 games, which is fair, as he attacked a fan.

What I don't understand is the suspension to Reggie Miller. He was not even playing in the game, and, at least in several shots that I saw, was doing nothing besides holding players back and breaking up fights.


Well, Ron Artest was taking a month off. He even said that he wished he could have taken the entire year off. Well, I guess he got his wish...