It was one of the darkest moments in NBA history, but would the punishments have been different had it happened today?
With 49 seconds remaining in a November 2004 game between the Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers, Pistons center Ben Wallace went up for a layup, but was fouled by Pacers small forward Ron Artest. Furious at being fouled when the game had already been decided, Wallace pushed Artest, and a fight broke out on the court between several players. After the fight was broken up, a fan threw a drink from the stands at Artest while he was lying on the scorer’s table. Artest immediately charged after the fan, but ended up attacking the wrong fan. This led to a massive brawl between players and spectators that stretched from the seats down to the court and lasted several minutes.
After the game, the NBA suspended nine players for a total of 146 games, leading to the players losing $11 million in salary. Five players were charged with assault, and eventually sentenced to a year of probation and community service. Five fans also faced criminal charges and were banned from attending Pistons home games for life. The fight also led the NBA to increase security between players and fans and limit the sale of alcohol in games.
For Stephen Jackson, who followed Artest into the stands, he was suspended 30 games and forffighted $1.7 million in salary.
“The only incident I had was when they threw a beer on my teammate. And yeah, they was supposed to get their ass whipped because they shouldn’t be throwing stuff on players,” Jackson said in a clip released to Audacy by Portal A. “And I don’t regret hitting that fan at all. I regret losing $3 million behind it. But if that happened today, they wouldn’t have took our money, and we wouldn’t have gotten suspended with all the stuff going on today. But I didn’t mind it. Because I played the game with that passion.”
According to Jackson, his past mistakes have shaped who he is now.
“We all make mistakes,” he said. “Even with being on probation and violating probation and having to do seven days in jail while in the NBA. Look at me now: I don’t smoke, I don’t drink, I’m a Muslim now. All those things made me and perfected me to be the man I am today. I don’t regret any of it. I embraced my journey, I embrace everything I’ve been through. It wasn’t a mistake. … As long as you evolve, then who cares?”
– – Quotes via Audacy Link – –
