Even if you missed the Indianapolis Pacers and Detroit Pistons' basketball game last night, you will hear all about the melee that caused the referees to call the game with 45.9 seconds left. It started when Piston's Ben Wallace shoved Pacers' player Ron Artest by the throat, after he took exception to what he believed was a hard foul. Cool heads did not prevail. Pacers' Stephen Jackson threatened to fight other Pistons by having his fist balled ready to fight. Ben Wallace had to be restrained, which is definitely not his normal character.

Ron Artest laid down on the scorers' table trying to stay calm, while the NBA referees tried to restore order. Yet a Pistons fan threw a drink at Artest, and he jumped up and went after the fan in the stands, and one of the ugliest moments in sports history began. Stephan Jackson and Ron Artest fought with several fans, a fan suckered punched Pacers' Fred Jones, and even Pistons Rasheed Wallace leaped into the crowd trying to stop the incident from getting worse. Unfortunately it got worse, before it got better. Artest also confronted a fan on the basketball court and punched him, while teammate Jermaine O'Neal gave a fan shot to the jaw when he got off of the floor. Pacers' Reggie Miller made sure no further harm came to Ron Artest, who was about to be pepper sprayed by a police officer at the game. After Artest, Reggie Miller, and an assistant left the court, someone threw a chair hitting several people in the direction of O'Neal. As Jermaine O'Neal attempted to leave the basketball court, fans threw beer bottles, poured drinks on him, and tossed their cups. I wonder if those Detroit Pistons' fans thought he might get hurt from the objects themselves or slip and fall?

This is truly one of the worst incidents in history. Thank goodness no one was seriously injured as far as we know. People are going to blame the Pacers players for overreacting, however the fans who participated in the melee need to take some responsibility as well. Sure Jackson, Artest, O'Neal, and Wallace will be suspended for some extended period of time, but the NBA need to address this situation, so that never happens again. Alcohol could have played a role in the incident, and there will probably be a batch of evidence to support it. Maybe from now on Detroit and the rest of the league stop selling alcohol after halftime or something. Hopefully the children who witnessed the brawl do not think this how grow ups should deal with their disagreements.

Basketball Articles

Sport Article Sections