Did Ben Wallace go to far?

[RipRocK]

Here's a link to the video. Be warned. It's like 81MB! But it's dishing it out at a pretty decent speed, about 190 - 180KB/S.

Arrrrgh!!!! I did it again! Sorry, rsf. this is the link, http://2k3.traidor.com/fark/pacers_pistons_brawl.zip

I know Artest was wrong to have gone into the stands, but that idiot who threw the drink in his face is has as much to be blamed on this, if not more than Artest.

And yeah, I stopped watching the NBA long time ago. I used to watch it more than hockey, even before when Jordan came into the league. When Jordan quit the first time though, I just stopped watching it. Hey, Bulls fans, remember Sidney Green and Dave Corizine? I was lucky enough to have caught the playoff game between the Celtics and the Bulls when Jordan scored 63 pts in its entirety.

A thing of beauty.

It's just become so punkass trash now and it has been for a very long time.

[rfs830]

can you post the link. I still have not been able to see the video yet

[Bill Balmer]

No doubt the fans have some responsibility. But going after someone and beating the hell out of them (and anyone else in the vicinity) is a major over-reaction to having a cup thrown at you. People react to almost anything with violence these days. Society has gone to hell in a handbasket.

What was Artest defending? His honor? His actions clearly show that he has none. The league just announced that he has been suspended for the rest of the season without pay. Good for them. He should be banned for good. I don't care how much talent a player has, idiots and thugs like that shouldn't be encouraged. Make him earn a decent living like the rest of the world and reflect on how good he once had it.

Hopefully criminal charges will come next.

[Skate22]

Well the suspensions have been handed down. The rest of the season for Artest, not enough in my opinion. Well maybe he can promote his rap album now... without interruption.

He will be probably be handing out "lay-off" notices to his entourage and crying on TV how "I can't feed my family".

The fans involved will be dealt with to I'm sure. I agree that the NBA is in a downward spiral that they may never recover from. I used to be a faithful Laker fan in the days of Kareem, Magic and the likes, the last 5 years they are lucky if I watch the finals.

Selfish, rich, egomaniac's, although not all of them but they are the ones getting all the attention. I've heard it said for years, "you can take the boy out of the hood but not the hood out of the boy" I think that point was proven.

I applaud the commissioner on his heavy handed suspensions and I hope the local police follow-up and press assault charges on all involved.

The invisible line was crossed by both parties and professional sports is worse off for it.

[Sandcrab]

As one in ten million as a professional in any sports making over a million a year and making bad plays should just stand and take a bottle or anything being thrown. Out of thousands of fans at each game, you always have one or two idiots that drink to much and want to start something.

[krygny]

You know, in all the replays I saw of the melee, I don't recall seeing a single uniformed cop or security guard. All I saw was some guys in sports jackets that seemed to be trying to take control, but for all I know, they may have been assistant coaches. But I guess it's understandable, in a quiet little town like Detroit.

I go to sporting events and I see police everywhere, especially close to the field or court. Now, it will be even worse - every sporting event will become a militarized zone. This sucks on so many levels.

On a similar note, there was another melee wherever/whomever Lou Holtz and SC were playing this weekend. I saw what looked like dozens of State Troopers all over the field, but fat lotta good it did. They couldn't do a thing to control those 300 pound monsters, short of shooting them, and I'm not convinced that would've worked.

[N_Jay]

Originally posted by krygny
. . . . They couldn't do a thing to control those 300 pound monsters, short of shooting them, and I'm not convinced that would've worked.

Oh, don't do that !

It just makes em mad!

[dgipalo]

Originally posted by Skate22
Well the suspensions have been handed down. The rest of the season for Artest, not enough in my opinion. Well maybe he can promote his rap album now... without interruption.

He will be probably be handing out "lay-off" notices to his entourage and crying on TV how "I can't feed my family".

The fans involved will be dealt with to I'm sure. I agree that the NBA is in a downward spiral that they may never recover from. I used to be a faithful Laker fan in the days of Kareem, Magic and the likes, the last 5 years they are lucky if I watch the finals.

Selfish, rich, egomaniac's, although not all of them but they are the ones getting all the attention. I've heard it said for years, "you can take the boy out of the hood but not the hood out of the boy" I think that point was proven.

I applaud the commissioner on his heavy handed suspensions and I hope the local police follow-up and press assault charges on all involved.

The invisible line was crossed by both parties and professional sports is worse off for it.

At the risk of pointing out the (obvious) 6th man factor:

If you're a rabid fan, and want to help your team get further ahead than the current talent would warrant, what better way to do that than to get the starting line-up of your division rival banned for the better part of the season. All it costs you is a misdemeanor probation and a couple of loose fillings you may be able to milk for a settlement in the 7 figures..

The player committed the most serious mental error in playing on the road: he let the opposing fans get him out of control. Sounds like the 'anger management' classes (not to mention decent coaching) didn't take. The incident should be a 'training film' for any HS and beyond team: if you don't control your emotions, your cost and the team loss will be severe.

[RedWingJohn]

Since this topic is titled "Did Ben Wallace go too far?", I just want to defend a player who, IMHO, is a class act and a standout among professional players today. Ben Wallace is a hard working, selfless team player who, along with the rest of the Pistons, proved that team play will trump individual showboating every time. I hate to see his name even mentioned in the same sentence as Ron Artest.

All Ben Wallace did in this incident is react to a flagrant foul committed by - you guessed it - Ron Artest in the closing seconds of a game whose outcome was already decided. Should Ben have pushed Artest? Probably not, but we see that kind of response all the time in every sport and every city (and, IMHO, Artest had it coming).

Anyway, the whole incident should have ended there, but Artest continued to taunt and mock Wallace while he laid there on the press table. Still, Ben kept his cool. Artest did not, and exploded when the fan tossed the bottle. You know the rest. Ben Wallace has stated publicly that he will not appeal his 6-game suspension. I'll bet we see an appeal from Artest - after he's had time to promote his rap album, that is.

BTW, the local police have identified the player who threw the bottle - he has a prior felony assault conviction and some DUI's. The Palace will be suspending his season tickets and I'm sure we'll see charges filed within a few days.

[RedWingJohn]

Originally posted by RedWingJohn
BTW, the local police have identified the player who threw the bottle - he has a prior felony assault conviction and some DUI's. The Palace will be suspending his season tickets and I'm sure we'll see charges filed within a few days.

Oops - I meant the FAN who threw the bottle.

[Titans Fan]

Originally posted by RedWingJohn
.... I'll bet we see an appeal from Artest - after he's had time to promote his rap album, that is.....

You must be a prophet! Artest was on one of the network newsertainment shows this morning, apologizing and saying how he didn't mean for it to turn out like it did... and he held up his rap CD and got a plug in.
I couldn't tell exactly what was written on his shirt, but it said something like "warrior". Great choice when you're trying to show remorse.

[rhcraig]

Of course Ben Wallace went too far. A true professional would have gone to the line and made the free throws. The fact of the matter is that had he done that, that would have been the end of it.

Having said all that, I would be in favor of a lifetime suspension for Artest and the remainder of the season for Jackson and O'Neal.

Unfortunately, this was an event just waiting to happen given the attitudes and behavior of many of today's fans and a significant portion of today's professional athletes, particularly in the NBA. As others have indicated, for the most part, true basketball has been missing from the NBA for many years now. Ironically, as RedWingJohn stated, the Pistons were one of the very few teams to have shown anything close to a team approach to basketball (which, despite SportsCenter, etc. is still a team game.)

[FLPilot]

Talking about these money hungry players destoying America's past time.....this came to mind.