How do you feel about the suspensions?

How do you feel about Artest's suspension?


  • Total voters
    68
#3
I think it just about right.........Artest just shouldn't go up there........I don't care about what those ESPN guys said it's self-defense........he should let the police to handle this.........
 
#4
Too harsh on Ron, Not enough for Jackson, Too harsh on Jermaine, too harsh on the players that left the bench, when clearly they were endangered by the crowd.

So far nothing's been done about the people in the crowd. The NBA isn't going to punish it's customers any more than it has to.
 

6th

Homer Fan Since 1985
#5
I have no problem with Artest's suspension. This time he went way to far and showed (AFAIC) that he is a danger to the league (or at least it's fans).

I am not happy with the overall suspensions because it sends a message to the fans that they can affect the outcome of another team's season.....IMHO.
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
#7
Insomniacal Fan said:
So far nothing's been done about the people in the crowd. The NBA isn't going to punish it's customers any more than it has to.
While the NBA might not "punish its customers", it appears the police might. They said on the news a little while ago that police are fielding lots of calls from people identifying those shown in the video clips and that there is a real possibility of charges being filed against several individuals.
 
#8
VF21 said:
While the NBA might not "punish its customers", it appears the police might. They said on the news a little while ago that police are fielding lots of calls from people identifying those shown in the video clips and that there is a real possibility of charges being filed against several individuals.
Nice to hear that!! single out those and leave other innocent Piston fans alone....
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
#9
6th said:
I have no problem with Artest's suspension. This time he went way to far and showed (AFAIC) that he is a danger to the league (or at least it's fans).

I am not happy with the overall suspensions because it sends a message to the fans that they can affect the outcome of another team's season.....IMHO.
While that could, in fact, be the mindset of some of the "fans" out there, I think the possible legal actions against those fans will speak more loudly than anything done to the players.

And, at the bottom line, regardless of what the fans did, the teams would not have been impacted if Artest hadn't gone into the stands.

It's going to be interesting to follow this and see what, if anything, ends up happening as far as the fan-team dynamic at arenas is concerned.
 

piksi

Hall of Famer
#11
Feel pretty good. Thanks for asking. ;)

We play IND twice in that time frame so that is good news especially considering that it would be a road win I would not expect. We play Wolves night before that game and we need any break we can get.

Other than that I could not care less. Kings have a game in about 45 minutes and that is all that matters. I have seen such fights before up close and I was not schocked. Only difference is that in Europe road team players would have never come alive out of the home crowd. That is pretty much the talk in Europe anyway.

Also I am still sure that there are some Kings fans that would still do the trade. I would not trade C. Alexander for Ron Artest.

Suggestion for R. Artest:

You can plan a world tour now. No obligations in Your way :D

One has to be really really retarded to flush so much money down the toilet like that. Thanks for making BB being associate with you :mad:
 
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#12
I think the suspensions were fair enough (it simply had to be done)... but I would still like to know the fate of some of those fans. I do NOT want want to watch basketball from behind a plexiglass shield... this kind of behavior from 'fans' needs to be addressed as well as it is with player.
 

HndsmCelt

Hall of Famer
#13
6th said:
I have no problem with Artest's suspension. This time he went way to far and showed (AFAIC) that he is a danger to the league (or at least it's fans).

I am not happy with the overall suspensions because it sends a message to the fans that they can affect the outcome of another team's season.....IMHO.
If a player does not go up into the crowd, the crowd can not effect the other teams season... bad argument.

As for the concers that fans have not been punnished, be patient it's not like th NBA has any power over them. So we will have to wait for the some what slower wheels of justice.Chcek back in by say Friday?
 
#14
HndsmCelt said:
If a player does not go up into the crowd, the crowd can not effect the other teams season... bad argument.

As for the concers that fans have not been punnished, be patient it's not like th NBA has any power over them. So we will have to wait for the some what slower wheels of justice.Chcek back in by say Friday?
The crowd could throw things to hurt a player. Beer is harmless. Bottles, batteries, cameras etc are not.
 

HndsmCelt

Hall of Famer
#17
LPKingsFan said:
The crowd could throw things to hurt a player. Beer is harmless. Bottles, batteries, cameras etc are not.
How is that a new situation? Any time some scum bag wanted to throw something at a player be it a glow stick or 5 in breass belt cuckel that opertunity has been there and will likley always be there. Are you sugesting the Leage make some kind of allowances for players to enter the stands in some situations?
 
#18
HndsmCelt said:
How is that a new situation? Any time some scum bag wanted to throw something at a player be it a glow stick or 5 in breass belt cuckel that opertunity has been there and will likley always be there. Are you sugesting the Leage make some kind of allowances for players to enter the stands in some situations?
maybe the NBA can set up those net from football surrounding the whole stadium from now on.........:D
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
#19
The concept of fans throwing ANYTHING is going to be under very close scrutiny, if I'm understanding Stern's comment about further review of the tapes. I presume they're going to be looking at preventive measures and better action on the part of security, but those are just guesses.

HndsmCelt said:
If a player does not go up into the crowd, the crowd can not effect the other teams season... bad argument.
If you were addressing my comment, that's not exactly what I said or meant. ;) I meant IN that situation, if Artest hadn't responded to the beer being tossed, then he, Jackson and O'Neal wouldn't be sitting out for a large portion of the season.

But it's all conjecture at this point ...

The one thing I'm pretty sure about is that the next fan who throws something may really regret his/her actions. The league, the teams, the arenas, AND other fans are going to be very rough on the next fool who decides to do something that stupid IMHO.
 
#20
I'd bet if Artest hadn't made a scene, the fan would have gone away to throw beer and generally make an *** out of himself at sporting events for many many years to come.
 
#21
HndsmCelt said:
As for the concers that fans have not been punnished, be patient it's not like th NBA has any power over them. So we will have to wait for the some what slower wheels of justice.Chcek back in by say Friday?
The NBA CAN ban the fans involved, it CAN force Detroit to play in an empty arena, it could also force them to clear a certain portion of the lower level (not too sure about the last one).

That hurts Detroit fans but it also hurts the Pistons org. by taking money out of their pockets. I would bet if Detroit was forced to play one game in an empty Palace, that would pretty effectively solve the rowdy fan issue. Losing around 1 million dollars for a game would probably increase the amount of security and decrease the tolerance for rowdy fans.
 
#22
Too tough. Inconsistent. No apparent rationale to them.

1) Maxwell got 10 games for running into the stands and punching a fan. Let's start off with 10 games for Artest for that infraction, even tho he didn't punch the guy. Artest goes back on floor and throws two punches at another fan. Let's give 10 games for each of those infractions. That puts him at 30. Let's tack on another 6 games for not leaving the court in a timely manner (basically what B. Wallace got). That's 36 games -- still not even half of the 73 games he'll miss. Btw, yes, 73 games doesn't have a real world halfway point, but you get the point...

2) Fred Jones wasn't given any suspension for going into the stands although he didn't punch anyone. Various players got 1-game for leaving the bench. Reggie Miller was one of them, and he didn't appear to do anything but trying to control Artest.

3) Stern had no explanation for why Jones wasn't suspended and he admitted that Artest's past factored into his decision. Why the 5 game difference between Jackson's and O'Neal's suspensions?
 
#23
In my humble opinion, 36 games would be just. But justice is for the police. The NBA levied this suspension only because its image was damaged by the incident. More publicity, harsher sentence.
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
#24
kingskings! said:
I would bet if Detroit was forced to play one game in an empty Palace, that would pretty effectively solve the rowdy fan issue. Losing around 1 million dollars for a game would probably increase the amount of security and decrease the tolerance for rowdy fans.
Interesting suggestion...
 
#25
well, the league had to set some kind of standards for the future, or anyone would be beating up anyone.

has any one sued for assult?
 
#26
kingskings! said:
The NBA CAN ban the fans involved, it CAN force Detroit to play in an empty arena, it could also force them to clear a certain portion of the lower level (not too sure about the last one).

That hurts Detroit fans but it also hurts the Pistons org. by taking money out of their pockets. I would bet if Detroit was forced to play one game in an empty Palace, that would pretty effectively solve the rowdy fan issue. Losing around 1 million dollars for a game would probably increase the amount of security and decrease the tolerance for rowdy fans.
Hope they have a good TV deal :D
 
#27
the suspensions sucked! they were unexplained and lacking evidence. skew my words any way you want. i think david stern should have addressed the public more concisely. i was left unhappy with his press confrence. many of his answers were questionable and cut of broadcast because of biased networking. i just heard a sportsman say artest was the village idiot on nbc. but that just goes to show how biased messages get out onto the public without people even knowing it. we are so accustomed to believe everything we watch that we think not to question the hard facts that contradict their claims. just ask yourself or even yourself in a workplace or school yard, if someone assulted you personally with anything (even merely tossing a beer) at you, how differently would you have acted? even playing in the nba where your every move is taped, how does that justify jerks that harrash you day in and out. i don't think the suspensions were to change the future. i think money had to with it. people are mad and want compensation for the players' actions. so my theory goes- if protection is what david stern was aiming for when he suspended the players that he did, then protection for the players isn't accounted for. protection meaning protecting the league from suits, protecting the league from bad reputation, and protecting the league from insurance increases. and for the players, i think they need more protection as well (from fans and from scrutiny). they are human too. but what's different is that they're always put under the microscope. if everybody from the professional world was put under the micoscope, that would disable some from doing their jobs. so if you can't sympathize (or put yourself in their situation) with these players, then judging them would be a bad thing. isn't it??
 

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
#28
Gargamel said:
1) Maxwell got 10 games for running into the stands and punching a fan.
Ah yes, Mad Max. I knew there was some psycho back there who had charged into the stans. Was trying to blame it on Van Exel, but as I recall he assaulted a ref. ;)

Anyway -- that's kind of the thing here. This was more serious, but still, there's a giant gap between 10 games and 73 games (+playoffs).
 
#29
Bricklayer said:
Ah yes, Mad Max. I knew there was some psycho back there who had charged into the stans. Was trying to blame it on Van Exel, but as I recall he assaulted a ref. ;)
February 1995 at Portland Memorial Coliseum. Maxwell claimed the guy said something about his daughter who was either sick or had died.

NVE only missed 7 games for the ref nudge, btw.

Anyway -- that's kind of the thing here. This was more serious, but still, there's a giant gap between 10 games and 73 games (+playoffs).
The incredible thing is, there's a giant gap between fifty and 73 games. As much as I've harped on the supsensions that Stupid Stu Jackson has doled out, it was a mistake for Stern to be the sole arbiter of justice in this decision (as he said, "It was a unanimous decision...one to nothing.")
 
#30
I agree with the suspensions, especially that Artest will not return for AT LEAST the rest of the year (shoulda been forever, but we could never have expected that), and that Wallace only received a minimum suspension for his infraction, in comparison. If what someone said is true, then Fred should also get a suspension, but other than that they appear to be fair, especially considering an account in an article (in another thread) that described past offenses of players going into the stands and their subsequent number of game suspensions...

I have enjoyed reading everyone's take on the Artest matter, and I join you (well, most of you) in hopes that this will really, really, really hurt him. I believe that everything that happened off the court, then later on the court and into the tunnel, was Artest's fault, 100% without a doubt. Fans have ALWAYS acted that way with opposing teams (not that I ever would), it's tradition. Hey Artest--don't lie on your back in front of your enemy, that's just plain stupid. When have any of us EVER seen a player lie on his back on the scorers table? Maybe I havn't been watching long enough to know, is all. Geez, rant over. :eek: