NBA or WWE you decide...

[Cory]

Originally Posted by BurningQuestion

But I think that a better way of dealing with this type of situation would be to limit the amount of alcohol consumption, but not ban it entirely. If a person looks like they are becoming intoxicated, then they shouldn't be served any more alcohol

I am fairly sure that this policy is already in effect at most sporting events.

The thing is, there's probably 20 or 30 places a person can get beer at any given NBA game, and I'm sure no matter how drunk someone is they'd manage to find one stand that would serve them.

Beer sales make vendors WAY too much money to stop doing it on account of something like this.

[Kyle Love]

One image that will stick in my mind about the fight...the little kid crying. That pretty much sums it all up. How could these "role models" do that to the little kids????

[MikeDubreuil]

This seems pretty simple to me: at sports games there are spectators and there are players. The plays are expected to engage other plays and never interact with spectators.

That's not to say that fans aren't accidentally hurt. Hockey is an excellent example, as a spectator in a hockey arena you enter knowing you could be hit with a puck. In fact, at a professional game you are usually told by the announcer about that possibility and your ticket usually indicates that as well.

This isn't the splash zone at a Sea World shumu show...I doubt any ticket or announcer, even at a WWE wrestling event, would say "fans, if you're seated within the first 10 rows you could become part of the action." The action? An athletic player barrels through the crowd with fists swinging hoping to land a punch to the face of any innocent person who's in front if him."

I hope that the NBA bans Artest and Jackson for going into the stands and fighting spectators. I feel the NBA should also push the state's prosecutor to aggressively prosecute Artest and Jackson- they are thugs and deserve jail time.

I bet you won't see this happen again if Artest and Jackson dump their salaries to fans at the same time they're prison buddies.

EDIT: Everyone seems to be making a big deal about the fans throwing stuff. I don't think they should do this, but please consider that nothing that the area provides can actually hurt someone. For instance, those beer bottles? At every large crowd event I have gone to in the past couple years the beer bottles are made out of plactic. Getting hit with one is the equivelant of getting hit with a plastic Coke bottle.

[Adam Y.]

Originally Posted by Wetzel

Artest should just be gone from the league. He keeps getting in trouble for foolish fouls, punished, and doing it again after he gets back. I guess the politics will just give him another 10 game suspension.

That punch as he was leaving was wild, and he should get charged with assault for that.

Wetzel

Yeah but if he does get the 10 game suspension his team is screwed. I heard on the news that his team barely had enough players to start with.

This isn't the splash zone at a Sea World shumu show...I doubt any ticket or announcer, even at a WWE wrestling event, would say "fans, if you're seated within the first 10 rows you could become part of the action." The action? An athletic player barrels through the crowd with fists swinging hoping to land a punch to the face of any innocent person who's in front if him."

Yeah.... I always wondered about the WWE and fan involvement. I mean they have to stage the parts where the wrestler attacks an audience member right??!!??

[Clark Gilbert]

Originally Posted by Adam Y.

Yeah but if he does get the 10 game suspension his team is screwed. I heard on the news that his team barely had enough players to start with.

The Pacers only had eight players in uniform for the game because the NBA requires it. Due to injures and suspensions this means that 1 injured player (Scott Pollard) had to dress for the game and sit. The Pacers players rallied together and played a hard game, holding a team that averages 99 points a game to only 86. When Scott Pollard, Reggie Miller, and Jamal Tensley are healty enough to play the team should be good till the other players are let off suspension (if they are).

I don't have much to say about the game other than I thought it was pretty stupid, although I see this as a good thing for the Pacers as the people who normally don't get a chance to play a whole lot will get their opportunity in the next weeks. If they can stand strong and win some games the team will become stronger in the end with the return of the suspended players. Hopefully they can pull it together and win the NBA title this year.

Originally Posted by Corey Balint

Ben Wallace got wayy to angry over a simple foul(even if he did get punched in the head, it happens)

Even though ben wallace was slapped in the shoulder....it wasnt even a flagrant foul...

1. Artest and Jackson were definately at fault for going into the stands, but honestly if you were in his place wouldnt you do the same thing? 99 out of 100 people would. I dont care what you say, you would do it.

2. Ben Wallace knew what he was doing by continuing to go after Artest, he knew how the fans would react...Detroits fans (in all sports) have a history of being "barbarians" The fact of the matter is that Ben Wallace started an unecessary riot.

3. The Palace of Auburn Hills is at fault for not prroviding enough security....they had 1 cop with a can of mace behind the Pacers bench. After everything had started, the ESPN crew only counted 2 cops on the floor until the riot squad came in several minutes later.

4A. Fan behavior was ridiculous...dumping beer all over the players, hitting referees with beer bottles, tresspassing on the court....(in my opinions the ones who came on the court deserved what they got...they shouldn't have been there in the first place), throwing folding chairs at players and security...just sick. After Shaq's game that night he was asked what he thought and he said "I dont blame Artest, I would have done the same thing." Could you imagine that beast coming at you like Artest did? Good god, he would remind me of Donkey Kong trying to pound you into the ground.

4B. Anyone who saw that video saw after Ron Artest went after the fan shows another fan, not breaking up the fight, but going up behind him and throwing a haymaker right into the side of his head.

If I were handing out the punishments, Ben Wallace would get 10 games. Ron Artest would get [edit] 5...he hit the wrong fan when he went up into the crowd[/edit], Jermaine O'neal would get off the hook (all he did was knock down a fan who came on the court after probably Artest) and Stephen Jackson should get 10 for trying to start the players riot back up (before the fans got involved) and then following Artest into the stands, not to get him out of there, but help beat them up.

The Detroit organization is who I place at fault here for not providing enough security....if they would have provided better security (1 cop behind each bench doesn't cut it...) nothing outside Ben Wallace getting in Artests face (where Artest didnt even do anything, he was behaving himself). I just hope Detroits fans grow up and realize what they did to the children in the arena at the time.

[Jaine Perotti]

Originally Posted by Cory

I am fairly sure that this policy is already in effect at most sporting events.

The thing is, there's probably 20 or 30 places a person can get beer at any given NBA game, and I'm sure no matter how drunk someone is they'd manage to find one stand that would serve them.

Beer sales make vendors WAY too much money to stop doing it on account of something like this.

You are probably right.

I had an idea... I don't know if it would work or not, and I am sure that the system would be abused anyway... but maybe not to the extent that it is now.

Maybe a way that someone could keep track of how much a person has been drinking would be to have a little chart on the back of each person's ticket stub, and each time they bought a drink, they would be required to have the back of their ticket stub stamped. They could have a maximum amount of times that their ticket stub could be stamped... giving them a maximum number of times that they could buy a drink.

I can see where this system would fail if someone used someone else's ticket stub after theirs had already been filled up. I think that along with their ticket stub, people should also present a form of personal identification, such as a driver's license. That form of identification would be linked to their ticket stub within a database, and if their ticket stub didn't match with their ID card, then they wouldn't be allowed to buy another drink. I know it sounds a little bit complicated, but heres the scenario as I see it.

A person walks up to beer vendor and asks to buy a drink. Vendor says, "Can I see your ticket stub and an ID?" Vendor uses some sort of a handheld ticket scanner to scan a bar code that is located on the ticket stub. If the ID on the scanner for the stub matches the identification that is presented, and the person hasn't exceeded the maximum amount of drinks they are allowed... then the person is allowed to buy a drink. Then the vendor stamps the back of the person's ticket.

I know it's all a bit complicated, but this is a complicated issue. I think that the problem is common enough to merit action on the part of sports areas to eliminate excessive consumption of alcohol. There are probably some loopholes in the idea presented above... and if you can point them out... thats fine. Perhaps it will get other people thinking about other ways to solve the problem that might be even better. If there is a simpler way, I hope that someone can come up with it.

As for my feelings on taking no action at all... see my signature for a better idea of the way that I feel.

[Corey Balint]

Originally Posted by D.J. Fluck

Even though ben wallace was slapped in the shoulder....it wasnt even a flagrant foul...

1. Artest and Jackson were definately at fault for going into the stands, but honestly if you were in his place wouldnt you do the same thing? 99 out of 100 people would. I dont care what you say, you would do it.

2. Ben Wallace knew what he was doing by continuing to go after Artest, he knew how the fans would react...Detroits fans (in all sports) have a history of being "barbarians" The fact of the matter is that Ben Wallace started an unecessary riot.

3. The Palace of Auburn Hills is at fault for not prroviding enough security....they had 1 cop with a can of mace behind the Pacers bench. After everything had started, the ESPN crew only counted 2 cops on the floor until the riot squad came in several minutes later.

4A. Fan behavior was ridiculous...dumping beer all over the players, hitting referees with beer bottles, tresspassing on the court....(in my opinions the ones who came on the court deserved what they got...they shouldn't have been there in the first place), throwing folding chairs at players and security...just sick. After Shaq's game that night he was asked what he thought and he said "I dont blame Artest, I would have done the same thing." Could you imagine that beast coming at you like Artest did? Good god, he would remind me of Donkey Kong trying to pound you into the ground.

4B. Anyone who saw that video saw after Ron Artest went after the fan shows another fan, not breaking up the fight, but going up behind him and throwing a haymaker right into the side of his head.

If I were handing out the punishments, Ben Wallace would get 10 games. Ron Artest would get 3, Jermaine O'neal would get off the hook (all he did was knock down a fan who came on the court after probably Artest) and Stephen Jackson should get 10 for trying to start the players riot back up (before the fans got involved) and then following Artest into the stands, not to get him out of there, but help beat them up.

The Detroit organization is who I place at fault here for not providing enough security....if they would have provided better security (1 cop behind each bench doesn't cut it...) nothing outside Ben Wallace getting in Artests face (where Artest didnt even do anything, he was behaving himself). I just hope Detroits fans grow up and realize what they did to the children in the arena at the time.

Thats exactly it. The thing is though, the NBA is gonna make a stupid ruling, its bound to happen. They will only look at the charging into the stands and suspend people for that. I know Artest and Jackson are gonna miss a ton of games. The coverage ive heard so far, expects each to miss at least 15(that was the lowest i've heard). Wallace will end up with 4, maybe. O'Neal will get probably 1 or 2 less then wallace.

I'd hope that none of the players would get more then 10, the fans are the ones to blame, but i know it will happen and hopefully not ruin the Pacers run for the title.

And i agree with the DET org and fans being at fault. If the organization provided more security this never wouldve happenend.

[Swan217]

The Detroit organization is who I place at fault here for not providing enough security

Originally Posted by Corey Balint

the fans are the ones to blame, but i know it will happen and hopefully not ruin the Pacers run for the title.

And i agree with the DET org and fans being at fault. If the organization provided more security this never wouldve happenend.

I am sick and tired of hearing how bad Detroit Sports fans are. The misconception is that we're violent, stupid, and have no respect for sportsmanship. Nothing could be farther from the truth. How many other cities have had riots and bad fans, and the national media has given it little to no coverage? There were some scrums in Boston after the Sox won the Pennant and later the World Series, but where was the media attention? The small sound bytes that were made implied that these were just small, isolated incidents. Which is EXACTLY WHAT THIS WAS - AN ISOLATED INCIDENT! A few fans got out of control and a huge debacle insues.
People say, "Well, how typical of Detroit." But it's NOT just Detroit! Denver's Mile High Stadium has had their scraps with fans. So has LA, Cleveland, and practically everywhere else you could mention. What about baseball? There are always incidents of fans breaking onto the field, some seriously hurting baseball players. In 2001, Tie Domi on the Toronto Maple Leafs beat up a fan who was leaning into the penalty box in Philly. According to the logic I've seen against Detroit, that must mean that ALL Philly fans are evil and stupid and don't deserve to have a hockey team.
How about that baseball fan who got too excited and caught a fly ball which ended up scoring runs for the home team? Does that mean that ALL fans are like that, liable to do anything so that their team can win?
Since Detroit fans are sooooo bad at ALL sporting events, is this what you expect when you come to town for the Great Lakes Regional or Detroit Regional? Do you think that the people there are going to all spontaniously riot? OF COURSE NOT! Don't let the example of a few bad eggs ruin the reputation of an entire city.

And you never hear ANYTHING about how the fans of Detroit celebrated PEACEFULLY without a hitch in 1997, 1998, and 2002 when the Red Wings won the Cup! You never hear anything about how Detroit was calm and peaceful when the Pistons won the championship this year. All people care about is when Detroit does something bad, which just perpetuates the myth that Detroit is a lawless broken town like in RoboCop or something. We've had our bad breaks - 1984 Tigers, 1990 Pistons, the fireworks shooting, and most recently on Friday. But how many OTHER cities have had the same problems without HALF as much media attention as what is on Detroit?

Also, I've heard no discussion on the brilliant questions of meaubry. The officials made a rookie mistake of not breaking up Wallace and Artest and the rest immediately. They let it escalate for nearly a minute before a fan saw a perfect (perfectly stupid, albeit) shot at Artest sleeping on the scoring table.
What was Artest thinking being so casually flippant that close to upset fans? If I had just ticked off an entire arena, I'd want to put as much distance between me and the fans as possible, not stick my head in the lions den. He was asking for trouble that way, but I'm not defending the drunken fans. Artest did break the cardinal rule of sports though, going into the crown and beating up (THE WRONG) fan.

Where was security? With 50 seconds left where do you THINK that they were?!?!?! Controlling traffic out in the parking lot, of course. Who expects a riot with less than a minute to go? Most of the fans were gone, trying to beat the traffic onto I-75.

Don't blame Detroit, and don't blame the Pistons. It was an accident that got out of control, and the blame should be placed on the INDIVIDUALS responsible. The Palace has no less security than any other basketball team. In fact, I think the security is great. They were just caught with their pants down on this one. Would you expect anything more from any other stadium in this circumstance?

Incedently, I don't even like or care about basketball. I'm a hockey fan, myself. Maybe Hockey is too blame. No hockey season, then people actually GO to Pistons games. Something to think about...

[Kyle Love]

Suspensions
Artest-rest of season
O'Neil- 25
Jackson-30
Wallace-6
Johnson-5
others were suspended just not sure who, I heard miller got one game.

[Corey Balint]

Im not saying just because they are detroit fans this happened, im saying it was there stupid behavior that caused this.

Unofficial suspensions are out(and i hope they are complete bulldunky)
Artest-gone for season
O'Neal-25 games
Jackson-30
Wallace-6
Anth Johnson-4
and reports of another 4 with one gamers.
Miller-Billups-Coleman-Campbell.


I think its complete nonsense that the person who started it all gets 5 games. It was pointless for him to fight back-i hope the NBA rethinks there decision and gives him something worse.

Stern said he was going to give a punishment to make a point....well I think he pushed it too far...

The National Basketball Association
Attn: Fan Services
645 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10022

Send them a piece of your mind...I know I will

[Corey Balint]

Originally Posted by D.J. Fluck

Stern said he was going to give a punishment to make a point....well I think he pushed it too far...

The National Basketball Association
Attn: Fan Services
645 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10022

Send them a piece of your mind...I know I will

Im with ya. The NBA has gone wayyy overboard in this punishment, its time to punish them.

I hope someone sues these fans or some of them get arrested, or more morons like them will start to do these things, and really ruin the game.

[Koko Ed]

Originally Posted by Corey Balint

Im with ya. The NBA has gone wayyy overboard in this punishment, its time to punish them.

I hope someone sues these fans or some of them get arrested, or more morons like them will start to do these things, and really ruin the game.

Oh don't worry. They'll be getting their in the comming weeks. You can bet on that.

[David Kelly]

Originally Posted by Corey Balint

Im with ya. The NBA has gone wayyy overboard in this punishment, its time to punish them.

I hope someone sues these fans or some of them get arrested, or more morons like them will start to do these things, and really ruin the game.

The Pacers had a really good chance of making another Championship run this season, but it's over for us now. 3 of our players best are now out for half the season. That means we (Indianapolis and Indiana) are going to be losing out on a lot of revenue generated from the games. Nobody will want to go to games this year because we are going to suck. Artest did deserve to get a severe punishment but the rest of the season is a little much. Another way to send a severe message would have been to fine them. I think something like a 30 games with a $500,000 - $1,000,000 fine would have sent a very harsh message. I hope that they identify some of the "fans" who sat behind the bench in Detroit will lose their season tickets or be banned from coming to games. They don't deserve to be in the stadium with their rude and immature attitudes.

But the biggest losers in this whole thing are the fans. Last night's game against Orlando was pretty exciting but our fans will only support these young guys for so long. Having 6-10 very young players eligible players can only keep up so long.