For their parts in the ugly brawl that marked the end of last night's Pacers-Pistons matchup, Detroit's Ben Wallace, along with Indiana's Ron Artest, Stephen Jackson & Jermaine O'Neal have been "suspended indefinitely" by the NBA.

...a fight with fans that commissioner David Stern called "shocking, repulsive and inexcusable - a humiliation for everyone associated with the NBA."

League officials and police were examining videotapes of Friday night's melee and interviewing witnesses. The NBA issued a statement saying it was reviewing rules and security procedures "so that fans can continue to attend our games unthreatened by events such as the ones that occurred last night."

Artest, O'Neal and Jackson - who all threw punches at spectators in the stands or on the court at the end of the nationally televised Pacers-Pistons game - were to begin serving their suspensions Saturday night, when Indiana hosted Orlando.

Wallace's suspension will start at home Sunday night against Charlotte, the next game for the reigning NBA champion Pistons.

The exact length of the four players' bans could be announced as early as Sunday.

Quiet as it's kept, he's right. His team was losing, and Wallace was going up for a layup. Artest (already a pegged for a loose cannon with little business in the League) hit Wallace from behind in a hard, blatant foul that should have earned him an instant technical foul.

Wallace retaliated (which arguably, he shouldn't have done) by shoving Artest, and that started the on-the-floor fight that got settled after a few minutes.

Artest then laid down flat on his back in the middle of the scorers table. That should have gotten Artest another foul, if not an outright ejection, but things were about to get much, much worse.

Artest took a full cup of beverage in the face from a fan. And instead of being the professional that he's supposed to be and removing himself from the situation, he charged into the stands going after who he thought was the drink thrower. And he took a swing at the wrong fan!

Then, unbelievably, O'Neal & Jackson took off into the stands along with Artest, swinging at fans along the way!

As far as I'm concerned, Artest's NBA career should be over. Period. If I were commissioner, O'Neal and Jackson would be forced to sit out the season. All would be fined in addition to the suspensions and expulsions.

But I'm not commissioner. David "Show me the money" Stern is. So don't hold your breath.

The League may give the length of the suspensions as early as tomorrow, as the NBA tries to put this sorry chapter behind them.

Local police were reviewing ESPN's game footage to determine if criminal charges would be brought against anyone, fan or player. I expect to hear something from the local authorities on Monday or Tuesday.

Posted by: mhking at 02:21 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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