Who else thought that was tragic, yet hilarious? Ron Artest needs a leash

I'm sorry, but the FANS needed a leash.

i do believe it was Ron Artest who first jumped up into the stands and hit some random guy while the guy who actually threw the drink at him sat there and watched

i think his suspension is fair. he should be the more responsible party in this and wasn't. he was totally out of line jumping into the stands. marc jackson should be gone too because he definitely should not have been in the stands. he was not provoked.
ben wallace should know that when you come thru the paint, you're gonna get bumped. that is part of the game. he should be suspended more games.
the fans should be embarrassed. they are taking heckling to a whole new level.
after this, they will most likely put a net or something around the court to prevent this.

Oh, I'm not saying Artest is innocent, but I am saying that the guys in the stands who were throwing punches were just as guilty. By the way, from what I saw, it looked like Artest went into the stands and pushed the guy and then other fans started a fist fight with him.

As for what to do to prevent this again, there will be no more courtside seats next year.

If someone on the street threw a water bottle at me and called me names and I responded by punching them in the face, I would be in jail..................

Thomas - this isn't over yet. The prosecutor is reviewing tapes.

My view - Artest's foul was unnecessarily hard in a game that had less than a minute to go with a 15-point lead. Wallace's reaction to the foul was dead wrong. Artest's continued taunting was out of line, but sadly typical in the league today. No one has any business throwing things on the court or at the players. Players going into the stands is inexcusable.

There are no winners here.

Part blame must be placed on high ticket prices and frustrations of fans over overpaid under-delivering professional athletes like these NBA players.

So, I propose a solution. Let’s call pro basketball a quasi-public financial utility like the banking industry. Then we can regulate it and pass the BRA, the Basketball Reinvestment Act. I’m tired of seeing only rich drunk fat men in the stands. What about everyone else? Make the teams prove they have not only have sold tickets to low/mod income fans as well, but that the new fans actually show up. Moreover, make them develop and promote complex low-ticket price programs (even though they may lose money on them).

Then nothing will change but at least we’ll all feel better. Right? Right?

Any bets on when the law-suits start??
-Buddy Magee

Everything said in the past few threads are exactly why I am not an NBA fan and I will not watch NBA games.

Outside of a few - Jordan, Bird and a couple more - NBA players are the worst role models in professional sports. Jut my opinion.

I agree that the fans need to show more restraint, and the ones who willingly threw drinks, food, and punches without provocation should not go unpunished. But Artest failed to realize one very important point in this mess:

He is not a member of the arena security staff or local law enforcement.

It's simply not in the players' jurisdiction to deal with unruly fans. This is very similar to situations at home when one child is misbehaving and another child takes it upon him/herself to mete out the punishment- yes, the other child was wrong for misbehaving in the first place, but it's not your job to punish the behavior. I expect to have to go over this with children from time to time- but adults like Artest should know better. I think the league dealt quite fairly with him.

This isn't the first time Artest has been in trouble with the league for outlandish behaviour. He has had several suspensions.

Other tidbits -

Stern said the suspensions could not be staggered, so with Ben Wallace out for 6 games & 3 other Pistons out for one game each (for leaving the bench after Wallace's reaction), Detroit only had 8 players available Sunday night. Three of the 8 were in foul trouble by halftime. The Pistons won by one in the 2nd overtime, after all three fouled out.

Security had been doubled for the game, and there were no incidents reported.

The Pistons next play the Pacers in Indiana. On Christmas Day. On national TV. Hopefully the Pacers fans will show more class - or at least more restraint.

Last thought - does anyone remember Rasheed Wallace's reputation for being a troublemaker / upstart / rotten guy? He wasn't among those fighting, or suspended on Friday. I'd like to think that Artest can turn his reputation around like that.

rasheed wallace was one of those trying to break it up.

That's my point - Rasheed is moving in the right direction. Maybe he can serve as a role model for Ron Artest. Certainly, Artest will have some time to think about it...

I watched this live, living in Indiana. I dislike Artest personally, but he handled everything very well....up to a point. Ben Wallace shoved Artest after a foul was called. Artest did NOT retalliate (big surprise to me) but sat on the scorer's table talking to a teammate (Jermaine O'Neal I beleive). It was not until the "fan" threw a bear (quickly followed by ice cubes) at Artest's back did he go into the stands. I have no idea what the crowd was saying during the entire game, and I have heard (ESPN Radio) Artest assaulted the wrong person.

"Fans" need to understand that there HAS to be a limit. There has to be a Code of Conduct implicit in the purchase of a ticket to an event that prohibits interferance with the event. Fan involvement with events, sports in particular, is proliferating at a rapid pace. How to stop it? I don't hafve an answer. I will say, in MY opinion, limiting the consumption of alcohol would help. Personally I would like to see stadiums alcohol-free. It will never happen as much of America likes a frosty cold one, and MOST of America can be classified a "good" fans. There is no way to spot the "bad" fans so we should al be made to suffer if it means increased safety. I live with security checks at airports, I can live without a beer for 3 hours. Still, stadium ownership will not eliminate such a heavy stream of income.

Thoughts? Who hates me?

One more reason not to watch the NBA. I hope the guy who Artest went after takes him to the cleaners.

I hope Artest takes the guy who threw the beer, thus causing him to lose millions in salary to the cleaners!

The line "it all started when he hit me back" does not work.