Breaking News!, Artest Suspended for Season

[Ataraxia]

thats bullshit, absolute bullshit.. i agree what artest did was way out of line, but out for an entire season? 30 games would've been enough.. had this been someone else doing it, say david robinson/jordan or whatever the league wouldn't even think about banning them from the nba for an entire season.. this all goes back to artest being an easy target by the nba (the controversy w/ his rap career did not help either) didn't kermitt washington get 60 games for ALMOST killing rudy tomjonavich with a severe punch? (it was an accident, i know) and artest gets an entire season for defending himself? where the fuck is the logic behind that one? well, there's really nothing you can do but blame those out of control piston fans for ruining it for the pacers, im glad they got the shit kicked out of them by JO, jax and artest.. especially that fat fuck that got pulverized by both artest and JO in a matter of 5 seconds

d-rob and MJ wouldnt go into the stands...they didnt have massive tempers specially The Admiral....hes the most calmest and coolest player the NBA has seen.....

I think Artest kinda deserves his year suspension.....I mean hes already been clowning around, rap album(he cant rap for shit) n this...I mean yeh your pissed but u dont run into the stands punching ppl like half your size....specially when he punched a guy that didnt even throw anything......he got his victims all wrong, u cant bash innocent(well he was saying stuff) ppl.

JO wat happend, all the MVP talk will go down the drain now ...no more respect for him....SJ oh well hes Indiana days r off to a terrible start, n i think ben should have got max 10, cause I mean he did only push Ron rite....not like he went punching Rick Carlise or pissing into somebody's face

Im not a Pistons fan or a Pacers fan, so im telling this without bias.

[Ataraxia]

I just want to know why Anthony Johnson got 5 games? Did he even play?

for looking ugly

nah he punched someone too......

[Matt]

im guessing Artests suspension had something to do with his previous misdemeanors.

[j.23]

d-rob and MJ wouldnt go into the stands...they didnt have massive tempers specially The Admiral....hes the most calmest and coolest player the NBA has seen.....

thats not the point.. i agree robinson most likely wouldnt hit the stands but what IF? a lot of people seem to forget that these players are human beings too and they have emotions just like the rest of us. i would love to see how david stern would react if he got pegged in the face with a cup full of water

I think Artest kinda deserves his year suspension.....I mean hes already been clowning around, rap album(he cant rap for shit) n this

his rap album and suspension are totally irrelavant with each other.. saying artest has been clowning is pretty ignorant. what he does away from the game should be his own business.. a lot of people have simply forgotten the fact that artest has been tearing it up in the league this season

...I mean yeh your pissed but u dont run into the stands punching ppl like half your size....specially when he punched a guy that didnt even throw anything......he got his victims all wrong, u cant bash innocent(well he was saying stuff) ppl.

if i saw a midget peg me with something, it'd be lights out for him

[Matt]

hmmm.....well, in a way this is grat news for Artest. He can bust out a few more rap albums, and he can also help JO and Jax get their careers rolling. In their spare time they just might get "thug life" tatted on their chests. Hell, even reggie miller and Bender have spare time to make a record

Artest producer of the year!!! move over Kanye

edit:

All of the suspensions are without pay. Artest will lose approximately $5 million in salary, while O'Neal's suspension will cost him nearly 25 percent of his $14.8 million salary for the current season.

ouch!

[dave w.]

Personally I think Artest's suspension was somewhat over-the-top to say the least, even with his previous record etc..

The CambyMan summed it up well i feel...

On a side note - wasn't Fred Jones in the stands too? I mean he got hit from behind whilst in the fracas yet no suspension for entering the stands??

[Ataraxia]

Personally I think Artest's suspension was somewhat over-the-top to say the least, even with his previous record etc..

The CambyMan summed it up well i feel...

On a side note - wasn't Fred Jones in the stands too? I mean he got hit from behind whilst in the fracas yet no suspension for entering the stands??

dunk champion is required to defend his title

[dave w.]

- wouldn't that be ironic..!

[Old School Fool]

Yep. Fred Jones said Last Year he was gonna be at DN05 Dunk Contest, and do something 'Kinda Like The Matrix'.

But this is Bullshit, You gonna Suspend Miller, Suspend Elden "Dweldin" Campbell, and Anthony "Who Is He?" Johnson? What the fuck is this shit? Elden didn't do shit. Miller just promoted himself to the 'High Life', Miller didn't really do anything.

We have a Bud Selig of the NBA, and his name is David Stern. Stern? I show you Stern, A Stern reaction from my middle finger.

Artest suspended? 73 Games? The Fuck?! Dude doesn't deserve this. I bet every person in this world would go AWOL if they got hit by a CUP OF BEER Undoubtebly. Thank You. I'm Done.

[allamerican08]

Are you guys serious? Artest got execly what he deserves! He landed the first puch on a FAN!!!!! Between players is one thing, but to go after fans is totaly diffrent.
Why are so many of you keep saying that all D.Stern cares about is $$??
Dont forget if it wasnt for him there would be NO NBA!! Artest has been making a mokery of this league all his career. Thsese players are some of the highest payed athletes in the world, all because of Stern. This is also a proffesional league, you act as a proffesional. Part of you 14mil a year is taking the shit fans give you, beacause they also payed for the ticket. Im not saying what they did was right but, a player much think before he acts. Artest has basketball skills, but no one wants him or anyone else to bring there "Hood" onto the floor.

Besides, David Stern is protecting the Pistons, Pacers and the rest of league by his actions. If i knew that a ball player whould run at me, i would never show up to games. He has to show that thsese actions are unacceptable thus making sure it will never happen again! Artest is LUKY he is not kicked out of NBA for this.

I think we are giving Artest too much slack, we are all treating him like a baby, saying "ohh, this past season he got only 2 techs and hasn't been suspended once!" There are too many other good players who will act like proffesionals to allow someone like Artest to stay in the NBA.

[[Q]]

ok so I noticed Jackson was ready to fight even on the court... what an idiot... I have him on fantasy NBA teams and that realy sucks... how unconsiderate of him

and well the fans got what they deserved cuz first of all Ben Wallace started it cuz Artest's foul wasn't even that hard.... and second, fans need to have common sense... when you're a 5' white dude you don't piss off/throw shiite at big strong 6'8" black dudes...

Oh by the way, I can't get enough of that footage! J O'Neal's sliding punch was siick!!!

[Ataraxia]

yeh I dont know why u guys give D-Stern so much of hate....look at owners/commisioners of other sports n u see so much of politics and under hand stuff goin on.....Stern to me is one of the most respectable owners of any proffesional sports league.

What would you prefer Jay-Z owning it????

Artest has been fooling around....I mean hes a proffesional sportsman...u have certain obligations when u play pro sports...if u didnt then heck why arrest the Blazers players...I mean after all millions of teens smoke weed n inject stuff into themsevles but dont get caught. I mean whats wrong with smoking weed(its only hurting yourself) ???? but punching a guys lights out is ok...just cause he said something to u...

I mean when your parents say no u cant go out with that girl, do u go punching them ??

Artest is making a fool of himself and making a mockery of pro b-ball players....no matter how talented he is hes acting like a silly fool....hes dumber than Ernest playing b'ball ...I like Artest by the way but hes just got the worse personality in the NBA.

yeh maybe racist slurs were thrown around but is it gonna be solved by punching someone?...no its not it'll just make that person becomer a bigger hater.


This scene was unncessarry, Artest shouldnt have gone and hard fouled in the first place....Ben obviously got ticked off like normally what happens after a flagrant is done on u....yeh it was cowardly to throw a bottle at artest but why the fuck did he become a "ALL GUNS BLAZING BLEED THIS MOFO'S LIGHTS OUT" ......he has these huge body guards, use them.....dont punch a weener with glasses !!


protect artest all u want and say stuff against Stern, but u guys need to really look around before accusing poor Sterny before molesting him for finings.....hes a solid commisioner....at least hes not a damn racist like *cough* Malcolm Speed(ICC Chairman) *cough* .

[Fresh8]

Artest got suspened with 73 games because not only did he hit fan but he hit the wrong one!

I suspect this to be Stern's actions to make sure Artest wont be sued for as much money cause they can say he is already being punished.. and when those trials ewnd, Artest will be allowed to play again. But thats only my theory!

See, if the NBA punishes Artest, fans will konw that they will be safe at games and stuff like that. Sorta trying to repair the image of the league.

[8-Hype]

Artest: Season
This is appauling. Stern wants to say Artest has had self control issues in the past. Lets forget the fact he showed alot of poise from not retaliating to Ben Wallace. Lets forget the fact that he was confronted by the fans on the court. Lets forget that the fans were the first to throw punches at artest in the stands. Lets forget all that, and lets suspend Artest for the rest of the season to try to keep the image up. To quote stevan a while back "[David Stern] I hope you get assasinated"

Stephen Jackson: 30 Games
Okay.. Jax deserved somthing. I respect he went in to help a teamate, but 30 fucking games. I wonder If Charles Barkley recieved such a punishment when he got involved in the DR.J/ Bird fight. Absolutely not. David Stern, I hope Dennis Rodman kicks you in the balls.

Jermaine O'neal: 25 Games
Oh great, Jermaine didn't even go into the stands. This shows the stupidity shown by the NBA in this incident. How the hell can you blame Jermaine for acting this way? A chair gets thrown at him, beverages are thrown, fans are on the court trying to get a peice of him, and he gets suspended for defending himself. This is fucked.

That's too hard. The whole season? That cannot be true. And Jackson 30 games? That's almost his whole life, and he only punched a couple of times. Compared to other insidents in NBA history, I think that these suspensions are way too hard. Wallace should get more, because he was the wire-puller. Man, I can't believe this...

You know what, what will the Pacers fans do when they will host Detroit, keeping in mind these suspensions?

Edit: I'm not Jay Cee anymore, look at my new name!

[alexboom]

didn't kermitt washington get 60 games for ALMOST killing rudy tomjonavich with a severe punch?

it was indeed 60 days

Miller suspended for 1 game? Isn't he injured anyways?

The suspension will take effect once he'll be out of the IR

Artest's behaviour was bad, but at last there's some fever in the NBA

[J@3]

Wow... I've made my thoughts on this whole incident known in the other thread, but suspending Ron Artest for the whole season is just as over the top as his actions the other night

[Mahoney_jr]

I think, every given suspension is reasonable. I'm completely disappointet by Ron, Jax and O'Neal. And I disagree with anybody who charge Ben Wallace, that he sparked off this shit. Ben Wallace merely cherished a rivalty the way Artest wanted him. But Artest lost himself as he ran into the stands. That was the trigger for this "motown melee". Not a thrown bottle... why doesn't he throw his sneaker or anything else? Defending himself?

The punishment for O'Neal and Jackson is ok, too. O'Neal didn't leave the court but reacted completely out of his mind as he hit this fat nobody with a run-up of several feet. And Jackson's only intention since Ben's wrestling was to throw some punches - as he did, a minute later in the stands.

But... I hoped, that the NBA or Detroit (I don't know, which organisation can decide about fans in the first place) punish this bottle-throwing-freak. And I would appreciate, if the Pistons had to hold the next 10 games (i.e.) without audiance.

The suspensions of the NBA involves a bad taste, how the Pistons were able to knock out their biggest competitor in the east As I said, the three players of the Pacers have to bear the blame themselves, but it leaves behind the bad taste.

[Andre]

To me it's totally unfair and biased. The Pistons got the most out of it.

ANyways....have you guys heard the latest news?? All the Pistons players (and Larry Brown too!!!) talked about their fans and how good they are for the team!!! They were proud of them!!!! OH MY GOD!!! How can you say that? Darvin Ham even said that he was pleased to see how the Fans were all over the bobcats in yesterday's game against Charlotte. He said it was great to hear the fans being all over the bobcats for the entire game....

This basically tells everything. Aren't the fan supposed to root for a team and not against the opponents????

I'm disgusted by the Pistons, They are teaching an awful lesson to the NBA fans and they are winning for it. The Palace should be disqualified for the season, not artest. Good job Stern.....I guess the more stupid you are , the more power they give you in this fucked-up world.

[Ataraxia]

I guess incidents were so rare n u didnt have Pippen, Barkley or somebody getting caught for DUI's those days....

its time to show some authority and well I guess Mr.Terrible Rapper became the scape goat...but I really dont get the point of abusing David Stern.

[Andrew]

(Quoting from the announcement on NBA.com)

Pacers forward Ron Artest has been suspended for the remainder of the season.

I can see the reasoning, but I have to disagree. If the precedent is Vernon Maxell's 10 games for the incident in 1995, then Artest shouldn't get more than the 30 games that Stephen Jackson has been suspended for. It's making an example of him, but it's still a little too much.

Indiana guard Stephen Jackson has been suspended for 30 games.

Pretty fair, but I'd knock that down to 25 games.

Pacers forward Jermaine O’Neal has been suspended for 25 games.

I would have figured 20 games, maximum as he punched a fan that came down onto the court, something that is prohibited. As John Saunders said after the game, the fans who came onto the court were fair game in that they had come down to confront the Pacers' players. Punching them still warrants a suspension, but this is a little too much.

Indiana guard Anthony Johnson has been suspended for five games.

I saw the melee live and I've seen it dozens of times since, but I can't remember seeing Anthony Johnson do much. I can't really agree or disagree with that ruling without seeing the footage again and really looking for Johnson.

Detroit forward/center Ben Wallace has been suspended for six games.

I think this is fair based on the precedent of player altercations and the fact that his overreacting triggered the whole ugly scene. That's not to say the blame rests on Wallace and Wallace alone, but there was just no way he should have reacted the way he did. Six games sounds fine to me.

Pistons forwards Elden Campbell and Derrick Coleman and guard Chauncey Billups have each been suspended for one game for leaving the bench during an on-court altercation.

I wouldn't have suspended them. I did not see them doing anything that really warranted a suspension. I know it's the automatic mandatory suspension, but if that's the case then pretty much everyone on the sideline should be suspended.

Indiana guard Reggie Miller has been suspended for one game for leaving the bench during an on-court altercation.

In a related story, the NBA will now fine players who express disappointment in themselves after missing a free throw. Like the suspensions for Campbell, Coleman and Billups, this one is pretty petty. I don't agree with it.

“There are other issues that the NBA must urgently focus on at this time. First, we must redefine the bounds of acceptable conduct for fans attending our games and resolve to permanently exclude those who overstep those bounds. Participants in and around the court must be assured complete protection from unacceptable fan behavior.

I'm glad that David Stern finally mentioned this, in his first statement he condemned the players but didn't acknowledge the behaviour of the fans at all. I wonder if anything will be done - I have a feeling most (if not all) the folks who were the worst offenders in the crowd will not be punished.

[Ataraxia]

I hear the fans who were throwing stuff and punching will face criminal charge cause the players have rights to file against them.

So I dont think they'll escape, theirs gonna be alot of legal battles.

[Null17]

I hear the fans who were throwing stuff and punching will face criminal charge cause the players have rights to file against them.

So I dont think they'll escape, theirs gonna be alot of legal battles.

how the hell can they identify them? there's fucking too many of them...

[Ataraxia]

I hear the fans who were throwing stuff and punching will face criminal charge cause the players have rights to file against them.

So I dont think they'll escape, theirs gonna be alot of legal battles.

how the hell can they identify them? there's fucking too many of them...

u can see most of them if u look at the video ...plus u just have to check seatings, like who brought a ticket in which region....then u can u know do blah blah stuff n find them.

I think the guilty should be sent to Iraq (literally give them the death sentence)

[Incubus]

...and be killed by some fucking soldiers?


I agree.

[Adrian]

Could someone please post the fines that each player got because of the brawl and also the organisations if they got fined too?

Thanks so much.