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Ron Artest was
suspended for the rest of the
season Sunday and two of his Indiana Pacers teammates must miss a total of
55 games for fighting with fans in a melee that broke out at the end of a game
against the Detroit Pistons.
Overall, the NBA banned nine players for more than 140 games, some of
the harshest penalties ever issued. Artest is the first player to be
suspended for nearly an entire season for a fight during a game.
Indiana's Stephen Jackson was suspended for 30 games and Jermaine
O'Neal for 25. Detroit's Ben Wallace - whose shove of Artest after a foul
led to the 5-minute fracas -
drew a six-game ban, while Pacers guard Anthony Johnson got five games.
Four players were suspended for a game apiece: Indiana's Reggie Miller,
and Detroit's Chauncey Billups, Elden Campbell and Derrick Coleman.
All of the suspensions are without pay.
 "We have to make the point that there are boundaries in our
games," NBA commissioner David Stern said. "One of our boundaries, that
have always been immutable, is
the boundary that separate the fans from the court. Players cannot lose
control and move into the stands."
Artest, O'Neal and Jackson - who all threw punches at fans in the
stands or on the court at the end of the nationally televised
Pacers-Pistons game Friday night - began serving their suspensions
Saturday. Indiana, limited to just six players because of the suspensions
and injuries, dropped an 86-83 decision to Orlando.
The NBA also has to "redefine the bounds of acceptable conduct for fans
attending our games and resolve to permanently exclude those who overstep
those bounds," Stern said.
He added that security procedures in all NBA arenas will be reviewed
and rules need to be added to prevent a repeat of what happened at Auburn
Hills, Mich., on Friday.
For Sunday night's home game against the Charlotte Bobcats - Detroit's
first outing since the melee - the Pistons doubled the number of armed
police to about 20 in the arena and increased other arena security
personnel by about 25 percent.
When some spectators lined up to take pictures with Pistons guard
Lindsey Hunter on the court before the game, two police officers stood
just a few feet away.
 The brawl was particularly violent, with Artest and Jackson
bolting into the stands near center court and throwing punches at fans
after debris was tossed at the players. Later, fans who came onto the
court were punched in the face by Artest and O'Neal. Nine people were
treated for injuries, and police are investigating possible criminal
charges.
Wallace began the fracas by delivering a hard, two-handed shove to
Artest after Wallace was fouled on a drive to the basket with 45.9 seconds
remaining. After the fight ended, the referees called off the rest of the game.
The initial skirmish wasn't
all that bad, with Artest retreating to the scorer's table and lying atop
it after Wallace sent him reeling backward. But when a fan tossed a cup at
Artest, he stormed into the stands, throwing punches as he climbed over
seats.
Jackson joined Artest and threw punches at fans, who punched back. At
one point, a chair was tossed into the fray.
The most recent example of an NBA player going into the stands and
punching a fan came in February 1995, when Vernon Maxwell of the Houston
Rockets pummeled a spectator in Portland. The league suspended him for 10
games and fined him $20,000.
Among the harshest non-drug-related penalties in NBA history was a
one-year suspension of Latrell Sprewell - later reduced to 68 games - for
choking Golden State Warriors coach PJ Carlesimo at
practice.
(Agencies) | 
Updated: 2004-11-22 09:23