Doling out some of the harshest penalties ever issued by the NBA, Commissioner David Stern banned nine players for a combined 143 games following a brawl in Michigan that embarrassed fans, players and officials alike.
The penalties were levied Sunday on players from the Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons. The most severe was on Indiana forward Ron Artest, who is out for the rest of the season.
"The line is drawn, and my guess is that won't happen again -- certainly not by anybody who wants to be associated with our league," Stern said Sunday at a news conference at Madison Square Garden.
While coming down hard on the players, Stern also announced the league would review several procedures, from in-game security to alcohol sales, in order to establish a safer arena environment.
"There is an element out there that thinks they can take certain liberties. That didn't used to be the case," Stern said. "We have to really begin anew to determine what that covenant of civil behavior in our arenas is going to be all about."
Pushing and shoving among players at Friday's game escalated into one of the worst fights in US professional sports history when a fan threw a drink at Artest and he jumped into the stands, throwing punches.
Nine people were treated for injuries, and police are investigating possible criminal charges.
Indiana's Stephen Jackson was suspended for 30 games and Jermaine O'Neal for 25. Both players also threw punches at fans in the stands or on the court at the end of the nationally televised game at Auburn Hills, Michigan.
Detroit's Ben Wallace -- whose shove of Artest after a foul led to the five-minute fracas -- drew a six-game ban, while Pacers guard Anthony Johnson got five games. Four others drew one-game suspensions.
All the suspensions are without pay. Artest will lose approximately US$5 million in salary, while O'Neal's suspension will cost him nearly 25 percent of his US$14.8 million salary for the current season.
Reaction to the suspensions came quickly: Players union director Billy Hunter said the penalties were unduly harsh and vowed an appeal Monday. Artest issued a contrite statement in which he also questioned the length of his suspension. And O'Neal's agent released an angry missive accusing the league of singling out O'Neal without taking into concern the fear for their own safety that the players were feeling.
Pacers co-owner Herb Simon said he did not condone the fight, but "we do consider the action taken Sunday by the National Basketball Association to be unprecedented and inappropriate based on the circumstances."
Stern said that Friday night's fracas represented "the worst" of the 20,000 to 25,000 games he has presided over in his more than two decades as commissioner. "To watch the out-of-control fans in the stands was disgusting, but it doesn't excuse our players going into the stands," Stern said.
For Detroit's game Sunday against Charlotte -- its first outing since the fracas -- the team doubled the number of armed police to about 20 in the arena and increased other arena security personnel by about 25 percent.
When both the Pistons and Bobcats went to the locker room and returned to the court, they were escorted by police.
Pistons CEO Tom Wilson said there's a good chance that tickets would be revoked from any season-ticket holder who was involved in the fight. He also hoped the franchise sent a message about how serious it was about preventing safety problems in the future.
The US’ bid for a fourth consecutive CONCACAF Nations League title came to a stunning end as they fell 1-0 to Panama after a stoppage-time goal from Cecilio Waterman on Thursday in Inglewood, California. Despite dominating possession, the US struggled to break down a resilient Panama side for long periods. Panama spent the bulk of the match defending, but pounced on a giveaway by the US before substitute forward Waterman sent a shot from the right side of the area to the bottom left corner late in stoppage time. Up next for Panama in tomorrow’s final is to be Mexico, who beat
DOMINATION: McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris took the first two spots as Mercedes’ George Russell and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen followed them Australian Oscar Piastri yesterday roared back from season-opening disappointment in his home race by winning the Formula One Chinese Grand Prix from pole position in a McLaren one-two with championship-leading teammate Lando Norris. George Russell finished third for Mercedes, ahead of Red Bull’s reigning champion Max Verstappen with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Saturday’s sprint winner Lewis Hamilton fifth and sixth respectively. Piastri’s win denied Norris a third victory in a row, including last year’s Abu Dhabi season-ender, but left champions McLaren unbeaten in two races so far this year. “Mega job guys. The car was very, very lovely,” Piastri said
TO FINAL FOUR: France had 22 chances and scored two goals, while Croatia could not manage a single shot on target in 120 minutes. Les Bleus won 5-4 on penalties France on Sunday overturned a two-goal deficit to qualify for the UEFA Nations League Final Four by eliminating Croatia 5-4 on penalties after a 2-0 victory in their quarter-final second leg at the Stade de France. Dayot Upamecano scored the winning spot kick in a nail-biting shootout in which France keeper Mike Maignan made two saves, sending Les Bleus into the semi-finals against Spain. Michael Olise opened the scoring and Ousmane Dembele doubled their lead 10 minutes from time to send the tie into extra time after their 2-0 loss in Split, Croatia, on Thursday. France had a total of
BRING THE NOISE: Brazil’s Fonseca attracted a boisterous crowd that brought such dominant soccer-style energy the referee switched to Portuguese to ask for quiet Australia’s Alex de Minaur on Monday put an end to Brazilian talent Joao Fonseca’s challenge at the Miami Open, outlasting the 18-year-old 5-7, 7-5, 6-3 in an enthralling contest. Attendance on stadium court had been sparse throughout the day, but the Hard Rock Stadium turned into a mini-Maracana Stadium for Fonseca’s match, complete with Brazilian flags and soccer-style chanting. Fonseca brought his energetic brand of ultra-attacking tennis, but De Minaur was up to the challenge, coping with blistering forehands and a partisan crowd. Such was the dominance of Fonseca’s raucous support that the referee switched to Portuguese for his appeals for quiet. However, De
RSS