Embarrassed NBA set to lower boom
The NBA issued indefinite suspensions yesterday for Indiana Pacers Ron Artest, Stephen Jackson, and Jermaine O'Neal, as well as Detroit Pistons center Ben Wallace, disciplining the players for their part in a frightening brawl involving fans at the Palace of Auburn Hills Friday night.
The league expects its investigation of the incident to be completed this evening, at which point the length of the suspensions will be determined. Criminal charges could follow, since Auburn Hills, Mich., law enforcement officials are conducting their own investigation.
"The events at last night's game were shocking, repulsive, and inexcusable -- a humiliation for everyone associated with the NBA," said NBA commissioner David Stern in a statement released yesterday. "This demonstrates why our players must not enter the stands whatever the provocation or poisonous behavior of people attending the games."
In addition to announcing the suspensions, the statement added that a "review of rules and procedures relating to altercations and security [has] been undertaken so that fans can continue to attend our games unthreatened by events such as the ones that occurred last night."
The problem started in the game's final minute when Artest committed a hard foul as Wallace drove to the basket. Players from both teams left their benches and began shoving and shouting at each other. Enigmatic as always, Artest lay down on the scorer's table. Tempers appeared to be calming when a fan threw a liquid-filled cup that hit Artest in the chest and face. Artest leaped into the stands and Jackson followed. Both players began swinging at fans, and fans began to swing back, as assistant coaches and arena security attempted to restore order.
"I didn't start it," said an unapologetic Wallace. "I just play the game."
The brawl moved to the court, as fans threw bottles, clothing, a chair, and other debris onto the hardwood and into the area leading to the visitors' locker room. A couple of fans ran onto the floor, apparently eager to join the fight. Artest punched one, O'Neal the other. Pistons coach Larry Brown stood helplessly with a microphone in hand, pleading with fans to calm down, but the chaos continued. Officials called the game with 45.9 seconds remaining and the Pacers ahead, 97-82.
"A very unfortunate situation developed at Detroit Friday night," said Pacers president Donnie Walsh in a statement. "After the initial encounter on the court, the players were under control. But as fans quickly became involved, the situation escalated. More specifically, the safety of everyone present was compromised, and that is of great concern for us. The league is reviewing the entire incident, and we recognize that responsibility for Friday night's actions can be shared by many. It is up to all of us to make sure that a situation such as this doesn't happen again."
The fight, which could become a watershed event in American sports, will likely change the way players and fans interact and most likely will mean beefed-up security at NBA games. Officials at league arenas often pride themselves on putting fans as close to the players as possible with courtside seats, and even some directly behind team benches. Fans can and do reach out and touch players on the way on and off the court.
The FleetCenter recently installed metal and curtain barriers in front of fans along the baseline to make crowds rushing toward the bench at the end of games more manageable. Still, spectators often feel entitled to a piece of the players. They also feel entitled to voice their criticism, sometimes obscenely.
Fans at the Palace of Auburn Hills can be particularly pointed in their running commentary directed at the visiting bench, but Celtics guard Paul Pierce does not believe they are any more provocative than spectators at any other NBA arena. But in light of the incident, the Pistons plan to go back to playoff-level security, with additional personnel.
What transpired at the Palace of Auburn Hills was not the first instance of player-fan animosity becoming heated. Former Celtic Antoine Walker verbally sparred with a heckler at the FleetCenter during the 2003 playoffs but never entered the stands. Cedric Maxwell had a run-in with Philadelphia fans during Game 6 of the 1981 Eastern Conference finals at the Spectrum. In Game 3 of the 1987 Eastern Conference semifinals, Kevin McHale climbed into the stands at the Mecca in Milwaukee to silence a heckler, and the rest of the Celtics followed.
Regardless of the provocation, said Celtics coach (and 13-year NBA player) Doc Rivers, a player can never enter the stands. In a talk prior to practice yesterday at the team's Waltham facility, he spent 25 minutes reminding his players of that.
"I know it's tough on our players," said Rivers. "I've been in this league and I've had all kinds of things said to me. I've had people throw things at me. You've got to turn the other cheek. It's just our job. It's difficult to do, but at the end of the day, it's a plastic cup that hits your stomach with water in it.
"It was ugly. It was the worst thing I've ever seen. It made our league look awful. I don't care about the fans on that one because I can't control them, but we can control our players.
"I don't care about the Pacers or the Pistons. I care about the NBA, and our league took a huge hit. The ramifications are going to be that it will take a long time for us to get over this."
The melee demonstrated that it can be difficult for referees to control players and fans, a point addressed by Lamell McMorris, a spokesman for the NBA Referees Association.
"Our guys are trained to referee basketball games, not trained to referee boxing matches," said McMorris, acknowledging that one of three officials assigned to the Pacers-Pistons game was hit in the face by an object thrown from the stands. "There's no way a fan should be able to run on the floor or be able to toss something at players near the tunnel. It's one thing to have security and another thing to have effective security. Luckily the injuries appear to be minimal, but the issues are not."
Arena security and alcohol sales during games are things the league may address, but according to Rivers, education is the only solution -- making sure players know how to behave so situations don't get out of control. Rivers saw the incident as a wake-up call to remind the Celtics that they cannot go into the stands under any circumstances. While most of the Boston players declined to comment about the incident, Pierce seemed to get the message.
"It's a situation that probably got out of hand on both sides for the players and the fans," said Pierce. "It shouldn't have ended up that way. It's a situation where fans have easy access to the players in a lot of sports and sometimes the situation gets out of hand.
"A fan throws something or says something, and as a player, your natural instinct is to attack. I think that's human nature, but it really hurts the integrity of the sport when a fan is throwing a beer and a player is talking back or going into the stands. It really hurts the game."
