Pistons/Pacers fight

[BigDongedHoe]

Vernon Maxwell Punched a fan in the stands (Much like Stephen Jackson) and only got 10 games. Dennis Rodman kicked a camera man in the groin and only got 11 games in past instances.

How do you justify giving Artest 30 when he shoved a guy in the stands (not punched like maxwell) and hit a guy out of self defense on the floor (the guy came in clinched fist and all). O'Neal jacked that same guy when he was jawwing and going after artest and he was OUT ON THE FLOOR. What the fuck does he expect when he comes out on the floor and challenges 6'7 and 7'0 200+ lbs. NBA ATHLETES? He got what he deserves and O'Neal does not deserve that sort of suspension at all. Another great example of the NBA being unfair and getting caught up in the hype of the brawl rather than making an actual level headed decision.

The only reason why the NBA came down so hard on them is because of the magnitude of the whole event in general. This just made me lose what respect (as if there was really any there anyways) I had for the NBA.

David Stern is a cockless hermaphrodite who pleasures himself by sticking things in his ass such as cucumbers. I hate that short pudgy unathletic fucker with a passion. This is another blatantly obvious display of what a dildo this guy is.

[Orgazmo]

The initial reports were wrong.

From NBA.com:

</font>

• Pacers forward Ron Artest has been suspended for the remainder of the season.</font>
• Indiana guard Stephen Jackson has been suspended for 30 games.</font>
• Pacers forward Jermaine O’Neal has been suspended for 25 games.</font>
• Indiana guard Anthony Johnson has been suspended for five games.</font>
• Detroit forward/center Ben Wallace has been suspended for six games.</font>
• 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.</font>
• Indiana guard Reggie Miller has been suspended for one game for leaving the bench during an on-court altercation.</font>

“The penalties issued today deal only with one aspect of this incident – that of player misconduct. The actions of the players involved wildly exceeded the professionalism and self-control that should fairly be expected from NBA players. We must affirm that the NBA will strive to exemplify the best that can be offered by professional sports, and not allow our sport to be debased by what seem to be declining expectations for behavior of fans and athletes alike.
“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. Second, we must re-examine the adequacy of our current security procedures in Detroit and our other 28 arenas. The actions at Friday’s game, though unprecedented, must now be factored into all efforts to guarantee the well-being of our fans. Third, we must develop and implement new NBA rules to assure that the unavoidable confrontations likely to occur in the heat of competition are not allowed to escalate to the level we witnessed on Friday even prior to the egregious behavior by individuals in the stands.”

Hehehehe!

[ November 21, 2004, 06:47 PM: Message edited by: Orgazmo ]

[THEINCREDIBLEdork]

pacers got fucked, in the ass that is

[Nathan]

Originally posted by tonguegina:
Pacers won 97-82.

So, the Indianapolis Colts are playing in Detroit on Thanksgiving. Do you think anything will happen?

Ya the colts kill my lions like 40-10. I had some faith in the lions at the start of the season, but some of are key players keep going out with injuries, and Harrington just hasn't been able to get the job done... Hes put in 3 years at detroit with little progress, I expect to see detroit looking to draft a new QB for next fall.

[blackbirdsjoy]

I really didn't like sports up until now

[Cocktooth]

i will admit...about 20 minutes after this all happened i talked to UB and he told me his first instinct was artest would be gone for the year...good call ub...bad call david stern...if anyone should have got that it should have been jackson...he was the craziest one out of all of them, yet he gets the smallest suspension..having said that, im in the process of getting some tickets for the pistons pacers game on xmas eve..i figure if i can get rip hamilton or big ben or sheed to hop in the stands after me the pacers will still have a shot!!!

[Nathan]

Im not a big basketball fan, I only started watching when the pistons were in the playoffs last year. Anyways, Artest and Oneal are both key players to the Pacers aren't they? Thats probably gonna fuck up there season im sure.. Pistons will be back on there feet shortly with all players, and they already have been playing w/o Wallace for a little while since he had to leave for his bro's funeral.

[Orgazmo]

Jermaine's suspension has officially been cut off at 15 games...instead of the 25 which Stern decided.

In short, an arbitrator intitially said that the punishment should be cut from 25 to 15 games. The NBA decided that the arbitrator had no bearing in the case...so they took the decision to court where US District judge said that the arbitrator's decision was correct, a ruling which temporarily lifted the suspension until a final decision by a federal judge was reached. This final decision was reached yesterday...permanently ending the suspension after 15 games.

Now that we got the "how" out of the way, I'm going to tell you the two reasons why the decision is complete bullshit.

Reason #1: The punishment fit the crime. I mean...the motherfucker laid a fan out on national television. Of course, whether the punishment was excessive or not is a point that has been and can continue to be argued from now until eternity. The fact of the matter is that nobody's opinion really matters on the subject...except for David Stern. This brings us to...

Reason #2: The players' contracts specifically state that on-court misbehavior is punishable by the league commissioner...and cannot be appealed to an arbitrator. Since the brawl obviously happened during a game...and, if that's not enough, it literally occurred "on-court," the decision for punishment should, without a doubt, be one for Stern (and only Stern) to make. Whether the decision was excessive or not is irrelevent. If Stern decided that suspensions should be handed out to every player within 50 feet of the brawl for the rest of the season...they should be fully enforced. The fact that an arbitrator, and then a judge, can simply step in and overturn the rule of the NBA is quite cunty. The decision completely negates Stern's power in the league...and will certainly lead to pussy decisions in the future.

Go ahead and tell me why I'm wrong.