The Brawl at the Palace of Auburn Hills

[fish7718]

The Brawl at the Palace of Auburn Hills

 

http://i.a.cnn.net/si/multimedia/photo_gallery/0610/gallery.memorable.brawls3/images/017026690.jpg

Ron Artest charging into the stands, about to punch the man (in the black shirt) who he believed threw the cup at him when actually John Green (the man in the blue shirt) threw the cup.

Video

 

Courtesy of Wikipedia:

 

The Pacers–Pistons brawl (colloquially known as The Malice at the Palace) was an altercation that occurred in a National Basketball Association game between the Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers on November 19, 2004, at The Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan.

 

With less than a minute left in the game, a fight broke out between players on the court. As the fight was being broken up, a cup of Diet Coke was thrown from the stands at then Pacer player Ron Artest, who entered the crowd sparking a massive brawl between players and fans.

 

The repercussions led to nine players being suspended without pay for a total of 146 games, which led to $10 million in salary being lost by the players. Five players were also charged with assault, and all five were eventually sentenced to a year on probation and community service. Five fans also faced criminal charges and banned from attending Pistons home games for life. The fight also led the NBA to increase security presence between players and fans, and to limit the sale of alcohol.

 

Before the brawl

 

The meeting between the two teams was a rematch of the previous season's heated Eastern Conference Finals, which the Pistons won in six games en route to their first NBA title since the days of the "Bad Boys" of the late 80s and early 90s. Because of this, the game received much hype from the media and fans. Having won two games in a row already, the Pacers came into the game with a 6–2 record, while the Pistons, the defending champions, began their season 4–3. The game was televised nationally on ESPN, as well as on the Pacers' and Pistons' local broadcast affiliates, Fox Sports Midwest and Fox Sports Detroit.

 

The game was, like many previous meetings between the two teams, dominated by defense. The Pacers got off to a quick start, opening up a 20-point lead with seven minutes to go before halftime. The Pistons managed to cut into the lead, trailing by 16 points by halftime. The Pistons opened the third quarter with a 9–2 run, but the Pacers ended it with a buzzer-beating three-pointer and a layup from Jamaal Tinsley heading into the fourth quarter. Richard Hamilton and Lindsey Hunter started the last quarter with consecutive three point field goals, as the Pistons cut into the lead again. But Stephen Jackson's back to back field goals pushed the lead back to 93–79 with 3:52 remaining, putting the Pistons away. Despite the lopsided score near the end of the game, most key players on both teams remained in the game.

 

The Pacers were led by the 24 point effort of Ron Artest, who scored 17 in the first quarter. Jermaine O'Neal scored a double-double with 20 points and 13 rebounds. Tinsley had 13 points, eight assists and a career-high eight steals. Hamilton led the Pistons with 20 points. Rasheed Wallace and Ben Wallace both recorded a double-double. Despite being outrebounded by the Pistons, the Pacers managed to shoot .414 from the field.

 

Altercation

 

The brawl began with 45.9 seconds remaining in the game, when Indiana led the game 97–82. Piston center/forward Ben Wallace was fouled from behind by Pacer forward Ron Artest during a dunk attempt. Wallace responded by shoving Artest in the chest, which led to a physical confrontation between several players from both teams. During the argument, Artest layed down on the scorer's table while putting on a headset to speak with radio broadcaster Mark Boyle (who was hurt later in the altercation). He also taunted Wallace which led Wallace to throw an armband at him. A spectator, John Green, then threw a cup of Diet Coke at Artest while he was lying on the table, which hit Artest in the chest.

 

Artest responded by running into the stands and punching a man whom he mistakenly believed was responsible. Artest's teammate Stephen Jackson also ran into the stands shortly after and threw punches at fans, and eventually players from both teams entered the stands while many fans spilled out on to the court to escape the altercation. Another melee started when Artest was confronted on the court by two fans, Alvin "A.J." Shackleford and Charlie Haddad. Artest punched Shackleford and knocked over Haddad in the process. Jermaine O'Neal intervened by punching Haddad in the jaw after a running start. The scene became chaotic and outnumbered arena security struggled to re-establish order.

 

The remaining seconds of the game were called off and the Pacers were awarded the 97–82 win. More beverages and debris were thrown at Pacer players and other personnel as they were escorted from the court, including a folding chair that was thrown across the crowd that had assembled on the court. No players from either team spoke to the media before leaving the arena. Nine spectators were injured, and two were taken to the hospital.[8] No players reported injuries due to the incident.

 

Charges/Suspensions

 

Player↓ Team↓ Suspension by the NBA↓ Salary lost↓

Artest, Ron | Pacers | Remainder of the season—86 games (73 regular season games and 13 playoff games) | $4,995,000

Jackson, Stephen | Pacers | 30 games | $1,700,000

O'Neal, Jermaine | Pacers | 15 games (originally suspended for 25 games, reduced to 15 upon appeal) | $4,111,000

Wallace, Ben | Pistons | 6 games | $400,000

Johnson, Anthony | Pacers | 5 games | $122,222

Miller, Reggie | Pacers | 1 game | $61,111

Billups, Chauncey | Pistons | 1 game | $60,611

Coleman, Derrick | Pistons | 1 game | $50,000

Campbell, Elden | Pistons | 1 game | $48,888

Harrison, David | Pacers | None | None

* indicate players who faced legal consequences; they all received similar sentences:

* One year probation

* $250 fine

* Community service (60 hours for Artest, Jackson, and O'Neal; 100 hours for Johnson; quantity unpublicized for Harrison)

* Anger management counseling

 

On November 20, 2004, the NBA suspended Artest, Jackson, O'Neal, and Wallace indefinitely until the lengths of their suspensions were officially decided, saying that their actions were "shocking, repulsive and inexcusable".

 

The following day, the NBA announced that nine players would be suspended for a total of what eventually became 146 games—137 games for Pacers players and nine games for Pistons players.[10] David Harrison was also seen fighting with fans, but the NBA stated that he wouldn't be suspended because "the incident occurred as the players were attempting to leave the floor."

 

Artest was given the longest suspension; he was suspended for the remainder of the 2004–05 NBA season, a suspension which eventually totaled 86 games (73 regular season and 13 subsequent playoff games), the longest suspension for an on-court incident in NBA history.[10] The players suspended also lost in excess of $11 million in salary due to the suspensions, with Artest alone losing almost $5 million.

 

In the week following the announcement of the suspensions, the players' union appealed the suspensions of Artest, Jackson, and O'Neal, saying they thought that David Stern had "exceeded his authority". A federal arbitrator upheld the full length of all suspensions, except that of O'Neal's, which was reduced to 15 games. However, the NBA appealed the decision of the arbitrator to reduce O'Neal's suspension in federal court, and on December 24, a judge issued a temporary injunction allowing O'Neal to play, until a full hearing was held on the NBA's appeal.

 

O'Neal played in two more games before the NBA's case was brought before the U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, New York on December 30. The NBA argued that under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, Commissioner David Stern had absolute authority to pass out suspensions and hear appeals for all on-court incidents. But the judge ruled that because O'Neal's behavior was an off-court incident, arbitration was allowed under the CBA, and thus the arbitrator was within his rights to reduce the suspension. Despite O'Neal's successful appeal, no further appeals were made to reduce Artest's and Jackson's suspensions.

 

Legal charges

 

On November 30, eleven days after the brawl, John Green and Charlie Haddad were banned indefinitely from attending any events at venues owned by Palace Sports and Entertainment (the owner of the Pistons), and had their season tickets revoked. Green had several previous criminal convictions, including counterfeiting, carrying a concealed weapon, felony assault and three drunken driving convictions, and he was on court-ordered probation from a DUI conviction at the time of the brawl.

 

On December 8, 2004, five Indiana players and five fans (John Green, William Paulson, John Ackerman, Bryant Jackson and David Wallace, the brother of Ben Wallace) were formally charged for assault and battery; Jermaine O'Neal and spectator John Green, who county prosecutor David Gorcyca said "single-handedly incited" the brawl by throwing a cup of liquid at Artest, were charged with two counts, and Artest, David Harrison, Stephen Jackson, and Anthony Johnson were charged with one count each. Three fans, including David Wallace, received one count of the same charge; two fans (Charlie Haddad and Alvin J. Shackleford) who entered the court during the fight were charged with trespassing, and Bryant Jackson, who had prior criminal convictions, was charged with felony assault for throwing a chair. All of the fans involved were banned from attending Pistons games.

 

On March 29, 2005, Bryant Jackson pleaded no contest to a felony assault charge for throwing the chair, and on May 3, 2005, he was sentenced to two years probation and ordered to pay $6,000 in restitution. David Wallace was also convicted, and sentenced to one year of probation and community service for punching Pacer guard Fred Jones from behind.

 

All five players who were legally charged pleaded no contest to the charges. On September 23, 2005, after pleading no contest to their assault charges, Artest, O'Neal and Jackson were all sentenced to one year on probation, 60 hours of community service, a $250 fine and anger management counseling. A week later, Harrison received the same sentence, and on October 7, 2005, Johnson, the last player to be charged, received a similar sentence (he was ordered to serve 100 hours of community service).

 

On March 27, 2006, a jury found Green guilty on one count of assault and battery for punching Artest in the stands, but acquitted him of an assault charge for throwing the cup. On May 1, 2006, Green was sentenced to 30 days in jail and two years' probation. On November 7, 2006, the Pistons issued a letter to Green informing him that he was banned for life from attending any Pistons home games, on orders from the NBA. All other fans involved were also banned from Pistons home games for life.

 

Events after the brawl

 

The Pacers and Pistons played for the first time after the brawl on December 25 at the Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The Pistons won 98–93 without any incidents. Neither Artest nor Jackson played, due to their suspensions; O'Neal played in his first game back after the arbitrator reduced his suspension to 15 games. Three months later, on February 17, 2005, the NBA imposed new security guidelines for all NBA arenas. The new policies included a size limit of 700 mL (24 ounces) for alcohol purchases and a hard cap of two alcoholic beverage purchases for any individual person, as well as a ban of alcohol sales after the end of the third quarter. They also later ordered that each team put at least three security guards between the players and the fans.

 

On March 25, 2005, the Pacers played at The Palace for the first time since the brawl. The game was delayed 90 minutes after a series of bomb threats were aimed at the Pacers locker room, but the game eventually started after no explosives were found. Two of the key figures in the original incident missed the game, as Artest was still suspended and O'Neal had an injured shoulder. In the game, the Pacers stopped the Pistons' twelve game winning streak with a 94–81 win.

Ron Artest during in-game warm up

A year after the brawl, Ron Artest was traded to the Sacramento Kings.

 

In the playoffs, Detroit entered as the second seed of the Eastern Conference, and Indiana as the sixth. After the Pistons defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in five games, and the Pacers upset the third seed Boston Celtics in seven games, the two teams met in the second round. Although the Pacers went ahead two games to one,[40] the Pistons clinched the series in six games with three straight wins. After eliminating Indiana, Detroit advanced to the NBA Finals, where they lost to the San Antonio Spurs in seven games.

 

After serving his required suspension of the rest of the 2004–05 season, Ron Artest returned to the Pacers at the beginning of the 2005–06 season. But after playing only sixteen games, he demanded to be traded, and the Pacers put him on the injured list. The then-general manager of the Pacers Donnie Walsh said that Artest's demands were "the last straw", and after more than a month of inactivity, Indiana traded Artest to the Sacramento Kings for Peja Stojaković. Artest faced Ben Wallace for the first time after the fight in November 2006, and finally made his return to Detroit on January 2007. During the Kings' 91–74 loss to the Pistons, Artest was booed constantly, but there were no unusual incidents.

 

As of the 2009–10 season, only one of the nine players that were suspended after the brawl is still with his original team—Ben Wallace, who signed with the Chicago Bulls as a free agent in 2006, later traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers, and rejoined the Pistons on August 7, 2009. Five players—Billups, Artest, Jackson, O'Neal and Johnson—were traded to other teams, three players—Miller, Campbell, and Coleman—have retired. The Pistons advanced to four straight Eastern Conference Finals after the brawl, and six straight overall, making them the first team since the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1980s to advance to six straight conference finals though they only won the championship once in that streak. However, after losing to the Pistons in the 2005 playoffs, the Pacers have not finished above .500, and they have finished out of the playoffs in the last three seasons.

 

On November 19, 2009, John Green, one of the fans who sparked the brawl, appeared on ESPN First Take, where he talked about the incident and the changes he made since then. Green recounted that he had an alcohol problem at the time and has made effort to deal with that. He also said that Ron Artest apologized to him several months ago, and wished to work together in some type of community services in Detroit.

Edited November 20, 2010 by STATCity

[kingfish]

Best moment in NBA history. :glasses:

[N.1.A.K.]

ahhhhh the good old days!

[The Artesticle]

http://tonysports.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/ron.jpg

 

cool story bro

[Newman]

That brawl ruined Reggie Miller's last chance for a championship.

[Sun Tzu]

Wow, just watched the brawl again... can't believe it's been this long. I didn't really follow the NBA much back then though.

[Oliver P]

Well... Not a very pleasant memory lol...

 

When I think of Artest in Indiana I rather think of the Artest who almost made a quadruple double than the one who randomly beat everyone up in the crowd... Especially that this event hurt his career as he never really was the same player after that again. Probably the most ludicrous event in the history of the game, honestly.

[Guru]

Haha I remember watching this game live. Crazy [expletive].

The best was when JO knocked that fat dude though, it was hilarious.

[The Lone Granger]

We got screwed by Stern in this entire situation. How does Ben Wallace get such a light suspension? Yes Jackson and Artest deserved their suspensions, but O'Neal for 25 games simply because he punched a fan who was running on the court coming at him and his teammates with fists? Really? And Reggie even got suspended for breaking up a fight. Complete BS, and we've never fully recovered honestly until this year. Way to almost ruin an entire franchise.

[fish7718]

We got screwed by Stern in this entire situation. How does Ben Wallace get such a light suspension? Yes Jackson and Artest deserved their suspensions, but O'Neal for 25 games simply because he punched a fan who was running on the court coming at him and his teammates with fists? Really? And Reggie even got suspended for breaking up a fight. Complete BS, and we've never fully recovered honestly until this year. Way to almost ruin an entire franchise.

The Pacers were unfortunate in that they were the first team to have this type of brawl to happen to them. Stern really made an example out of th, especially Artest. I felt his suspension was a little ridiculous considering he was provoked. I think a 50 game suspension would have been acceptable but to kill the Pacers season because of that I think is veryyyy rough.

[Real Deal]

Especially that this event hurt his career as he never really was the same player after that again.

He won a championship by being a defensive beast against guys like Pierce and Durant. That's much more than what he ever did anywhere else in his career.

 

He actually put up good numbers in Sacramento as a primary option, and shot better than he ever did in his career. Nearly reached career highs in steals and assists, averaged over his career average in rebounds.

 

That fight didn't change the player, it changed the person. Age and injuries have changed the player.

[Oliver P]

Yes he still had quite a very good career nonetheless and brought a lot to LA, that's true. I didn't say that it destroyed his career, I said that it hurt it. Not the same thing...

 

And it's true that he had some good years in Sac Town but it wasn't the same thing. In Sac Town he was too lonely, there was no great player around him (except Bibby) so it was easier to average good stats. While in Indiana he was surrounded by players like Jermaine, Reggie, Stephen Jax, I mean it was not only a way better team overall but contrary to Sac Town it was a defensive minded team. And it's in his Pacers days that Artest played the basketball of his career. The year The Brawl happened he was on his way to have his best season ever, he was at his best. This incident put a stop to that.

 

Of course he managed to get back to business and to have a very good career nonetheless, but if this event never happened I'm sure that he would have become an even better player.

[Big Penny]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rn0WrpLyaCU&feature=related

 

S-Jax needs to grow his hair back.

[Real Deal]

That was just seven games. I don't take a seven-game season into consideration, really. Richard Hamilton was averaging 30+ for a few games to start the year two or three seasons ago, looked like an MVP candidate. I doubt Ron would've maintained those numbers, especially the 49-50% shooting.

[Real Deal]

By the way, I do have to admit that I absolutely hated Ron, Jermaine and S-Jax after that incident. I thought the fan was stupid for throwing the beer, but as an athlete, you have no reason to go into the stands like that.

 

Everyone was putting out that rumor that he was going to be dealt to the Lakers, and I wanted it...but that was a couple of years later, and I was over what happened (maybe because I wasn't a Pistons fan, haha).

[Check my Stats]

This was just around the time I was starting to get into basketball heavily. Isn't this when Ron tried to start his whole rap thing? I remember an interview with him being like [expletive] it this gives me time to work on my records, or something like that.

[*Swish*]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMvklU8dd08

 

I never saw that before but that's pretty crazy

[The Regime]

I still think Jermaine O'Neal would have probably broken the dudes neck had he not slipped on that haymaker.

 

Pretty crazy how a foul, which wasn't even a flagrant, blew up to something big like this. Ben Wallace should have never overreacted, but then again Ron Artest should have never gone into the stands. Honestly though Ron Artest has come a long way since that incident, he has really learned to control his emotions.

[ChosenOne]

I still think Jermaine O'Neal would have probably broken the dudes neck had he not slipped on that haymaker.

 

Hell yeah, O'Neal would have killed the dude had he not slipped lol.

 

Artest has gone miles and miles in the right direction from the day this happened.

[Finch23]

Captain Jack!!!!!!! Man I cant believe it's been 6 years, that ish was crazy.

[EastCoastNiner]

Ron Artest had every right to go into the stands looking for the person that threw a beer at him. It's different if it was verbal abuse, but he was assaulted and I wish he went to town on the guy.

 

Just in case you guys didn't know, athletes are people too.

[Real Deal]

Ron Artest had every right to go into the stands looking for the person that threw a beer at him. It's different if it was verbal abuse, but he was assaulted and I wish he went to town on the guy.

 

Just in case you guys didn't know, athletes are people too.

Artest going nuts endangered other innocent people in the stands. If there was a little girl in his path, she would've gotten trucked because he was unconscious once that beer hit him. Him diving into the stands caused for others to go up there, once again making things dangerous.

 

Athletes are supposed to be role models. Some little boy, with a Ron Artest jersey, holding a Pacers foam finger, doesn't need to see Ron punching someone in the face and looking like he's going to kill anyone near him.