I was hanging out with a few of my One Army amigos last night at Taco Cabana when ESPN showed the Ron Artest vs. Detroit Fans fight. Does “freaking wow” do it justice? You can see all the action in this video (it has slow motion with commentary explaining the blow-by-blow).
As of right now, I’d have to agree with Radley Balko’s take on the situation:
Overarching reaction: I think professional athletes are generally spoiled, overpaid, and that for the most part, they underperform.That said, I side almost 100% with the players in this one.
Maybe I’m biased because my team’s in the crosshairs, here. But I’m having a hard time seeing it any other way.
1) Ron Artest is a hothead. I have some affection for him because he’s on my team. But were I commissioner, I’d suspend for about five games, simply because you need to make it clear that a player should never go into the stands. Mostly because it’s stupid. These guys’ bodies are worth hundreds of millions of dollars. You can take on ten thousand fans.
All of that said, I can’t fault Artest for what he did. He removed himself from the altercation with Ben Wallace, and for that, was pegged in the side of the head with a full cup of beer. That’s assault (and battery), and I can’t begrudge the guy for defending himself. Somebody throws a full cup of beer at me in a bar, I go get him. NBA players understand that they have to put up with verbal abuse. They don’t have to put up with physical abuse.
I also have no problem with the swing Artest took at the guy on the court, nor with the one Jermaine O’Neal took, though at first blush both looked like sucker punches. Fans don’t belong on the court. And if you’re there, you’re de facto breaking the law, and if you’re there durnig a melee, your very presence indicates your intent to harm the players. You’re fair game.
Frankly, I’m proud of my guys for not taking shit from punk Detroit fans.
While I’m not going to excuse the rash behavior of Artest et al., I will state that I am more sympathetic towards the players than the ruckus impolite “fans.” Additionally, while the NBA has suspended Artest, O’Neal, Jackson and Wallace “indefinitely,” I think when the smoke clears everyone will get what they deserve. The fans that got punched shouldn’t have been throwing beer at athletes and expect zero-recourse from either the players or security. Players, while I have never been physically harassed at a sporting event (I have been heckled a numer of times), I would err on the side of caution and work with some dreaded lawyers before running into a hostile crowd.
I blame dihydrogen monoxide, without it none of this would have happened.