For my paper on violence I want to focus on a basketball game that was played by the Indiana Pacers and the Detroit Pistons on November 19, 2004. The location of the game was in at The Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The Pacers–Pistons brawl also known as The Malice at the Palace; it was an altercation that occurred in a National Basketball Association (NBA) game between the Pistons and Pacers. ESPN's Jim Gray reported late Saturday that, “Detroit's Ben Wallace, whose shove of Artest sparked the melee, felt bad about the circumstances Artest now finds himself in and had contacted Artest through an intermediary to apologize. Officials stopped the game with 45.9 seconds remaining after pushing and shoving between the teams” The fighting began on the court and then extended into the stands after a plastic cup with beer was thrown at then-Pacer player Ron Artest. The consequence 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 were also legally charged, and John Green, who threw the cup at Artest, received a lifetime ban from attending Pistons games. The fight also led the NBA to mandate increased security presence between players and fans, and to ban the sale of alcohol after the third quarter.
After the brawl there were many players and coaches that said they felt they were fighting for the lives out there. At the time Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said, "I felt like I was fighting for my life out there," and he later added on, "I'm sorry the game had to end this way." To feel that you life is begin threaten out there like that during a basketball is very intense situation. Some of the reactions of fans and announcers were:
Several NBA players and coaches said the brawl was the worst fight they had ever seen, and 83% of fans who voted in a SportsNation poll on ESPN.com said that the fight was the "ugliest incident of fan-player violence" they had seen. Initially, Piston fans were blamed for the incident, as John Saunders referred to the them as "a bunch of punks" and Tim Legler said that "the fans crossed the line." Radio host Rush Limbaugh called Detroit "New Fallujah", after the Iraqi city, and 46% of the voters in the SportsNation poll said that the fans were to blame for incident. However, others said that Artest and the other players involved were to blame.” (ESPN.com)
Some of the reactions of players around the league were that it must have been a extreme situation for a player to react like that. Quentin Richardson of the Phoenix Suns watched the brawl on TV, and said "I have never seen a fight like that in a game since I was in high school," he said. "Man, there are going to be some lawsuits. You don't think some of those fans aren't going to want some NBA money?" (NBA.com). Also the Lakers' Lamar Odom saw it for the first time as he was being interviewed. "Whoooo. When you see things like that, just think about what it takes for NBA players to go into a crowd," Odom said. "Sometimes fans get kind of out of hand, but it must have taken a lot for NBA players to go into a crowd and start a fight."(NBA.com)
There has been situations like this over seas like in England and other European countries were soccer matches end up in some time of violence and carrying on to the field. Soccer fans are very devoted to their teams, fights start in the stands and then some lead into riots. But this violence happens all the time here in the U.S. as well almost every time there team wins some sort of championship the city then has to move the police officers into riot mode. Such incident happened in 2001, in Los Angeles when the Los Angeles Lakers won their first championship in 12 years. Fans riot the streets burned down polices car and smashed shop windows and ran off with televisions, computers and furniture. The riots were compared to the Rodney King riots. Philip Delves Broughton said that “The violence was reminiscent of that which followed the acquittal of a police officer who beat up the black motorist Rodney King in 1992.”(Telegraph.com) Violence in sports always around, sports can be very intense and can carry into violence. Especially when you have died hard fans that support their team to the fullest the bleed there team color.
One of the key factors that help Artest to get to this level to jump into the coward was the action of the fan. The fan is a key person to look at because with out the fans there is no leagues or sports, with there money they can afford players salaries building stadiums and so on, so a team can function. One way that a fan can enjoy the game and release some of there stress is thru the consumption of alcohol beverages. Many people use alcohol in form to become another person. Some use it to make them into something there not and help them become out going in a situation while begin sober would not let them react that way. Some fans like to create situation that will cause problems for people near them and result into an argument and some time fights. The fan that threw the beer at a NBA player had to been drinking in order to attempt this act that he did. Obviously he was drinking because his beer was full and able to throw it a Artest. He was probably not thinking about the actions that he might be causing because one you are under the influence of a substance it does not let you think things thru and make bad judgment calls that you might not do when you are sober. The problem of selling alcohol at sporting events is not the issue because not at people consume enough alcohol where they do not know what they are doing. Some stadiums and arenas let you tail gate in the parking lot, where you can camp out and cook some food and can consume alcohol beverages. So, some of these fans are already coming into the event intoxicated or wasted. Some police officers look the other way when you are walking down the event drink an alcohol beverage and not tell you to get rid of it. Even the banning of sales would not help people to act a certain way. An experience that I have seen going to a sporting event is that some people sneak in some type of alcohol that they could put into there soda, so this person could have been a minor drinking, that can lead into more problems that a person can get into trouble. It also hard not to want to get a beer or a alcohol beverage when almost all sporting events just club you over the head with advertisement with there product. Every where you turn there is a sign for beer or a good looking person having a alcohol beverage, they are just like cigarette advertisement so or later you are tempted to want to have a beer or something. So it is team and sporting events fault at time for fans to be acting the way they do. If teams or sporting events denied the use of sponsor form alcohol companies then maybe teams would not have fans that act in such a manner that they would need to act in such a behavior that affects the outcome of a sporting event.
Another key topic that Mike Lopresti writes for Gannett News Service was that he talks about, “It was the shot of a terrified little boy fighting back tears, comforted by an adult, who presumably then had to explain why a basketball game had turned into a street fight” how do you explain this to a little boy that wants to be one of these NBA player that this is not how you are suppose to act. Many boys and girls dream to be athletes when they grow up. Although Artest is not one of the know best player in the league he still needs to set a example for the youth that watch and models themselves based on these athletes behavior. There was a Nike campaign that includes Charles Barkley in which he said that I am not remodel, and you should look at your parents or the other examples that he uses to be remodel for these kids. But in during this era there was a Gatorade commercial that talks about wanting to be like Mike, which referred to be like Michael Jordan. Jordan was the poster person of the NBA he was face of the league, almost every body want to be like him, he was one of the few athletes that carry himself well and did not get in to trouble publicly, and if he did or ever got into trouble you never heard about it. In sports there is a saying that you give the torch to a player that was good and is about to pass him prime give it to the next great young star. Jordan thus gave this torch to a player named Kobe Bryant he was a young 18 year old player when he came into the league. He then committed a crime with a young girl that ruined his image and thus lost many of his sponsors and his creditability form the league. In Lopresti article, Detroit melee latest black eye to degenerating NBA he talks about Kobe actions in that:
“the Los Angeles Lakers, turned into a pack of carnivores, eating one another in print or on tape. Kobe Bryant, faced with a felony, tried to sell out his teammate as a diversionary tactic at the first squeeze. We still don't know if he is guilty of sexual assault. But he is the face of the Lakers, cheered nightly for his point totals, his broken sense of team forgotten. The quintessential all-for-one and one-for-himself. A true me-firster. The essence of today's NBA.”
But after a few years later I guess people and fans forgot the crime that he did. Since he is such a good player people forget about what he did. At first the Lakers try not to make him the face of the franchise and use all the other players on the team. After the years past and Kobe begin such a good player he started to become the face of the league again. People quickly forgot about his act, he changed his basketball number and his basketball jersey top the NBA in sales. People are always quick to forgive someone. He is currently the face of the NBA he now plays a key role in a program that the NBA created called NBA Cares that helps people and kids that need help also since the playoff has started the have used Kobe image to prompt the playoffs and using him to get ratings and prompt this event for the NBA. Kobe is doing a great job of re-establishing his image but it as fan should we not forget or is it ok for players to act like this as long as they are good? We are not prefect and we all do like to give people second chances to try to prove themselves. Ron Artest is a perfect example of this that his actions caused him lots of troubles but able to come back from that.
What I do not understand is why that people do not understand Artest action to leap into the crowd and act like this. Lopresti argues that:
“A couple inanely suggested going into the stands is a perfectly respectable response to being provoked. Is that where we are now? Some idiot — deserving of arrest — hurls a plastic cup of beer, and a 6-7, 246-pound professional basketball player feels so threatened to go charging into the stands, with the inevitable bedlam to follow? It was a macho reaction, blind with rage and blinder to common sense. An athlete puts himself in immeasurably more danger leaving the court and attacking the stands. The beer was not going to hurt Ron Artest. But some drunken fool in the seats might.”
If somebody was to do something like that to me I would have the same reaction as Artest, although it might not be right it just seem like it would be the right thing to do, somebody there trying to challenge me needs to know that provoking somebody that should expect that something bad could happened. Artest has had some histories of problems in the NBA he has:
“Artest has been involved in some bizarre situations and has been suspended frequently, but his latest antics topped them all. Earlier that month, he was benched for two games for asking Coach Carlisle for time off because of a busy schedule that included promoting a soon-to-be-released rap album. Artest also destroyed TV monitors at Madison Square Garden and missed the team flight to Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals at Detroit one season.”
Also, another thing to look at is the upbringing of Artest; this might be reason why he might have reacted this way. “Artest was born and raised in the Queens Bridge projects in Queens, New York. He played high school basketball at La Salle Academy and college basketball at St. John's University from 1997–1999.” (TruWarier.com) He was brought up in a tough area were you are taught to defend yourself. The Queens Bridge project is one of the hardest places to grow up in the U.S. He did attend college but he was only there for two years and was not able to finish his education and maybe helping him with the decision he made that day so that he could maybe avoid that situation a d walk away from that. Many African American youth look at sports to try to get out of the ghetto and try to take care of there own, I think Artest had the same idea and try to get out of school early and support himself and his family. Leave College early could have been a mistake for him because maybe if he stayed in school he could have gotten a better education and maybe had made a different choice for the night of the brawl.
In addition, the act that Artest was a bad situation for both fan and athletes, they both need to carry themselves in different ways. There are rules that fans need to follow and not break, but what Lopresti wants to do is:
“The first thing the Pistons should do is end beer sales at halftime. The second thing they should do is overhaul their security operation. But the issue is not one night of uncivilized behavior. It is what this league is in danger of becoming. So frantic to be trendy, so eager to make stars. A place where, in the headlong pursuit of individual glory and glitter, there is no place for moderation and decorum is a concept for yesterday. An atmosphere where a man does what he wants to do, be it player or customer. Even if it leaves frightened kids weeping.”
This idea would not work because fans would find a ways to bother athletes even if they stop alcohol sales. The increase of security idea would be good because it would to watch the fans and not do a criminal act. At Dodger Stadium they have Los Angeles Police officers scrutiny the stadium and they are very quick to reply to a situation occurring in the fans sections
In conclusion, Artest actions are shocking to see but many people would react the same way. It might be macho or a “man thing” but it hard not to fight back if something is thrown at you. People would get into fight just because somebody step on there shoes, in a movie called Do the Right Thing a situation like this happened were there about to get into a fight over a small matter that is blown up into a bigger situation. The NBA promotes this behavior the let the TNT channel prompt the playoffs with a slogan called “We Know Drama” to sit here and say we do not like then why would so many people watch it? In the 2009 playoffs there is a series between the Chicago Bulls and Boston Celtics and promoting by saying how much a battle and fight that the series is having and replaying all the images with people bleeding and shoving and pushing each other. After the Detroit Mayhem 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. In the ESPN article it stayed that, “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.” (ESPN.com) so the games did contained but that first time the pacers came to Detroit was a very situation what they had to go thru. Artest lose approximately $5 million in salary due to his actions and beginning suspended doing the thing he loves. Recently after a playoff win Artest joked with the media and his teammate Yao Ming by saying that, “After showing his vast reservoir of guile in the press, the NBA's Most Notorious celebrated this Rockets milestone by downplaying the whole thing, and making a warm-hearted joke about the Auburn Hills brawl.” (SPORTINGNEWS,com) people have moved on from the brawl and hopefully athletes can control themselves and not cause further violence to a situation and maybe control it, I know it hard for them with all this emotion and energy going thru them it hard to think about what your doing, but athletes are on a whole different level and have to develop tough skin because they are measured thru a different light.
Work Cited
Artest, Ron “NBA Funhouse” 2009
Artest, Ron TruWarier.com 2009
ESPN.com news services “Artest, Jackson charge Palace stands” November 19, 2004
ESPN.com news services “Suspensions without pay, won't be staggered” November 22,
2004< http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=1928540>
Lopresti, Mike “Detroit melee latest black eye to degenerating NBA” USA Today From
The Press Box 11/20/2004
2004-11-20- lopresti-brawl_x.htm>
NBA.com Player Profile 2009
Shoals, Bethlehem “Ron Artest Redemption Tour Rolls Onward”www.sportingnews.com
May 01, 2009
/23691/ron_artest_redemption_tour_rolls_onward>
TNT.com 2009 < http://www.tnt.tv/>
Artest, Ron TruWarier.com 2009
