NBA suspends Artest for rest of season
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-11-22 09:02

Ron Artest was suspended for the rest of the season Sunday and two of his Indiana Pacers teammates must miss a total of 55 games for fighting with fans in a melee that broke out at the end of a game against the Detroit Pistons.

Ron Artest of the Indiana Pacers is escorted out of The Palace by Chuck Person on November 19. The National Basketball Association suspended Artest and three others following an ugly skirmish where Pacer players fought with Detroit fans. [AFP]

Overall, the NBA banned nine players for more than 140 games, some of the harshest penalties ever issued. Artest is the first player to be suspended for nearly an entire season for a fight during a game.

"The message the league sent was so powerful to players that they'll never do that again," Pistons CEO Tom Wilson said.

Indiana's Stephen Jackson was suspended for 30 games and Jermaine O'Neal for 25. Detroit's Ben Wallace — whose shove of Artest after a foul led to the 5-minute fracas — drew a six-game ban, while Pacers guard Anthony Johnson got five games.

"I'm sick about that for Indiana. I'm devastated for them," Pistons coach Larry Brown said. "And we lost our heart and soul."

Four players were suspended for a game apiece: Indiana's Reggie Miller, and Detroit's Chauncey Billups, Elden Campbell and Derrick Coleman.

All of the suspensions are without pay.

The NBA has suspended Ron Artest, Jermaine O'Neal and Stephen Jackson of the Indiana Pacers and Ben Wallace of the Detroit Pistons indefinitely on Saturday, Nov. 20, 2004, for their roles in Pacers-Pistons brawl Friday night, Nov. 19. Commissioner David Stern calls brawl 'shocking, repulsive and inexcusable.' All are shown in these 2003 handout photos. [AP]

"We have to make the point that there are boundaries in our games," NBA commissioner David Stern said. "One of our boundaries, that have always been immutable, is the boundary that separate the fans from the court. Players cannot lose control and move into the stands."

Artest, O'Neal and Jackson — who all threw punches at fans in the stands or on the court at the end of the nationally televised Pacers-Pistons game Friday night — began serving their suspensions Saturday. Indiana, limited to just six players because of the suspensions and injuries, dropped an 86-83 decision to Orlando.

The NBA also has to "redefine the bounds of acceptable conduct for fans attending our games and resolve to permanently exclude those who overstep those bounds," Stern said.

NBA commissioner David Stern frowns after announcing suspensions of nine NBA players for an altercation at a November 19 game between the Detroit Pistons and the Indiana Pacers during a press conference at New York's Madison Square Garden, November 21, 2004. Pacers forward Ron Artest was suspended for the remainder of the season. [Reuters]

He added that security procedures in all NBA arenas will be reviewed and rules need to be added to prevent a repeat of what happened at Auburn Hills, Mich., on Friday.

For Sunday night's home game against the Charlotte Bobcats — Detroit's first outing since the melee — the Pistons doubled the number of armed police to about 20 in the arena and increased other arena security personnel by about 25 percent.

When some spectators lined up to take pictures with Pistons guard Lindsey Hunter on the court before the game, two police officers stood just a few feet away.

The brawl was particularly violent, with Artest and Jackson bolting into the stands near center court and throwing punches at fans after debris was tossed at the players.

Later, fans who came onto the court were punched in the face by Artest and O'Neal.

Nine people were treated for injuries, and police are investigating possible criminal charges.

Wallace began the fracas by delivering a hard, two-handed shove to Artest after Wallace was fouled on a drive to the basket with 45.9 seconds remaining. After the fight ended, the referees called off the rest of the game.

The initial skirmish wasn't all that bad, with Artest retreating to the scorer's table and lying atop it after Wallace sent him reeling backward. But when a fan tossed a cup at Artest, he stormed into the stands, throwing punches as he climbed over seats.

Jackson joined Artest and threw punches at fans, who punched back. At one point, a chair was tossed into the fray.

The most recent example of an NBA player going into the stands and punching a fan came in February 1995, when Vernon Maxwell of the Houston Rockets pummeled a spectator in Portland. The league suspended him for 10 games and fined him $20,000.

Among the harshest non-drug-related penalties in NBA history was a one-year suspension of Latrell Sprewell — later reduced to 68 games — for choking Golden State Warriors coach P.J. Carlesimo at practice.

Kermit Washington of the Los Angeles Lakers drew a 60-day (26-game) suspension in 1977 for a punch that broke the jaw of the Houston Rockets' Rudy Tomjanovich during a game, while Dennis Rodman was suspended 11 games for kicking a courtside cameraman in the groin and six games for head-butting a referee.

Artest was benched for two games this month for asking Pacers coach Rick Carlisle for time off because of a busy schedule that included promoting a rap album.

Artest was suspended twice by the NBA last season, once for leaving the bench during a fracas at a Pacers-Celtics playoff game; the other for elbowing Portland's Derek Anderson. During the 2002-03 season, Artest was suspended five times by the NBA and once by the Pacers for a total of 12 games.

Artest also once grabbed a television camera and smashed it to the ground after a loss to the Knicks two years ago.

Close

Today's Top News     Top Sports News
Airliner crash kills 54 near Baotou, Inner Mongolia         President Hu: We support battling terrorism         APEC leaders want to revive world trade talks         G20 calls for Asia forex flexibility         Bush tries to mend ties with Latin America         Referendum will lead HK nowhere -- official	Federer, Hewitt to play for Masters Cup       Woods wins in Japan to end 9-month drought       NBA suspends Artest for rest of season       FIFA president would support England walk-off       German wins Macao SJM Guia Race/World Touring Cars       Shen/Zhao skate to 3rd ISU Grand Prix titile