Basketball News - Suspensions Handed Out to Players Involved in Pacers/Pistons Fiasco




In result of the brawl between the Pacers/Pistons/Fans, 9 players were suspended without pay today by NBA Commissioner David Stern.

In announcing the suspensions, Stern issued the following statements:

“The penalties issued today deal only with one aspect of this incident – that of player misconduct. The actions of the players involved wildly exceeded the professionalism and self-control that should fairly be expected from NBA players. We must affirm that the NBA will strive to exemplify the best that can be offered by professional sports, and not allow our sport to be debased by what seem to be declining expectations for behavior of fans and athletes alike.

“There are other issues that the NBA must urgently focus on at this time. First, we must redefine the bounds of acceptable conduct for fans attending our games and resolve to permanently exclude those who overstep those bounds. Participants in and around the court must be assured complete protection from unacceptable fan behavior. Second, we must re-examine the adequacy of our current security procedures in Detroit and our other 28 arenas. The actions at Friday’s game, though unprecedented, must now be factored into all efforts to guarantee the well-being of our fans. Third, we must develop and implement new NBA rules to assure that the unavoidable confrontations likely to occur in the heat of competition are not allowed to escalate to the level we witnessed on Friday even prior to the egregious behavior by individuals in the stands.”

Overall, the suspensions equal 143 games. This includes Ron Artest's suspension that will last for the rest of the season. Artest is the first player to be suspended for the rest of the season after a fight.

Indiana's Stephen Jackson was suspended for 30 games and Jermaine O'Neal for 25. Detroit's Ben Wallace, whose shove of Artest after a foul led to the 5-minute brawl, drew a six-game ban. Pacers guard Anthony Johnson received a five game vacation.

Four players were suspended for a game apiece: Indiana's Reggie Miller, and Detroit's Chauncey Billups, Derrick Coleman and Elden Campbell.

Artest, O'Neal and Jackson, who all threw punches at fans in the stands or on the court at the end of the nationally televised Pacers/Pistons game Friday night, began serving their suspensions Saturday. The Pacers are now limited to six players due to the suspensions and previous injuries.

The brawl was particularly violent, with Artest and Jackson racing into the stands near center court and throwing punches at fans after items were thrown at the players. Later, fans who came onto the court were punched in the face by Artest and O'Neal. Nine people were treated for injuries, and the police are investing for any possible criminal charges.

Wallace began the fray by delivering a hard shove to Artest after he was fouled from behind on a drive to the basket with 45.9 seconds remaining. After the fight ended, the referees called off the game and the score at the time -- Pacers 97, Pistons - 82 -- went down as the final score.













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