Jump to content

Malice at the Palace

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 68.255.78.124 (talk) at 05:47, 18 November 2005 (→Similar Incidents Occurring the Same Week). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

File:PistonsPacers fight 21Nov2004.jpg
Ben Wallace of the Detroit Pistons and his teammates are kept apart from Ron Artest of the Indiana Pacers by Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle and official Tommy Nunez.

The Malice at The Palace is one of six names given to the on-court altercation at a NBA game between the Detroit Pistons and their arch-rivals, the Indiana Pacers on November 19, 2004 at The Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan which spread into the stands. This disturbance has led to serious repercussions for those involved from both the NBA and the legal authorities. This incident is also known as The Basket Brawl, The Palace Brawl, The NBA Brawl, The Throwdown in Motown, and The Motown Melee.

The Disturbance

The incident took place in a game that many had looked forward to for some time. Five months earlier, the Pistons had defeated the Pacers in an intense Eastern Conference Finals series on their way to the NBA title. The November 19 contest would be the first rematch between the two rivals, and emotions figured to run high on both sides.

The brawl began with 45.9 seconds remaining in the game, with Indiana winning 97-82. Piston forward/center Ben Wallace drove to the basket and was about to put up a shot when Pacers forward Ron Artest fouled him hard. Wallace, upset at being fouled hard when the game's outcome had effectively been decided, responded by shoving Artest. Several players from both teams joined the fray, resulting in an altercation.

The focus of the on-court scuffling gradually moved away from Artest, and he then climbed the scorer's table and laid down on it. Angered by Artest taunting him and pretending to give a radio interview while lying on the table, Wallace threw a towel at him. A spectator (John Green; he awaits trial) then threw a cup of beer at Artest. Artest responded by charging into the stands and confronting the man he believed responsible (which wasn't Green), triggering a violent response from dozens of spectators, as Pacers Stephen Jackson and David Harrison followed Artest into the stands to assist him. Several spectators were struck by Pacers players, while a few retaliated with punches of their own (including Green) and others threw cups of beer and soda at Pacers players. Two spectators angrily walked onto the court, and one of them confronted Artest, who was making his way back to the court. Artest punched him, starting another melee that eventually included several Pacer players, most notably Jermaine O'Neal, who was shown on video sucker punching the second fan, later identified as Charlie Haddad.

The game was abandoned with 45.9 seconds remaining, and the Pacers were awarded a 97-82 win. More beer, soda, ice, popcorn and a chair were thrown at Pacers players and other personnel as they were escorted from the court. No players from either team spoke to the media before leaving the arena.

It was estimated that nine spectators were injured, though none of the injuries were thought to be serious. Two of the injured were taken to a hospital.

Consequences

On November 21, the NBA announced the following suspensions:

The suspensions of Artest, Jackson and O'Neal were appealed by the NBA Players Association; only O'Neal's appeal was successful.

The league says it will review security procedures and alcohol policies at all arenas, and Commissioner David Stern has vowed to impose lifetime, leaguewide bans on spectators who cause trouble.

The Auburn Hills Police Department and Oakland County Prosecutor's Office were also investigating and were considering filing criminal charges against the players and spectators involved. In addition, legal actions may be filed in the civil courts; at least two injured spectators filed lawsuits claiming monetary damage. The final legal consequences of this incident for those involved may take months to determine.

On November 20, the Pistons announced they would increase the presence and visibility of security in their arena. The number of armed policemen was to be doubled to about 20, and the number of unarmed security was to be increased by 25 percent. In addition, a protective cover was to be added to the tunnel connecting the court to the dressing rooms. Pistons CEO Tom Wilson said his club was considering banning the spectators involved from the Palace, and revoking their season tickets.

On November 30, Oakland County Prosecutor David Gorcyca announced that he will seek charges against all players involved in the melee, "Whoever was involved in fisticuffs will be charged, regardless if they were wearing a jersey. It's obvious there were several Pacer players and fans that dealt blows." Pacers players have formally refused to cooperate with the investigation.

On December 2, Green and Haddad were permanently banned from all future events at the Palace, and Artest has filed restraining orders against both from Haddad and Green which rules that they can't be within 60 feet from each other, which is the believed distance from where Green threw the cup at Artest.

On December 8, five Pacers and seven Pistons fans were charged, O'Neal was charged with two counts of assault and battery; Artest, Harrison, Jackson, and Johnson were charged with one count each. Five of the fans received one count of the same charge; Bryant Jackson, a 35-year-old fan with prior criminal convictions, was charged with felony assault, for throwing a chair. The two fans that were on the court were charged for trespassing. Gorcyca showed the incident in a press conference, to explain why they were being charged.

Later in December, the union's appeal of the longest suspensions went before a federal arbitrator. In a decision handed down on December 22, the arbitrator upheld the full length of all suspensions except that of O'Neal, which was reduced to 15 games. The NBA appealed to federal court; on December 24, a judge issued a temporary injunction allowing O'Neal to play before a full hearing on the NBA's appeal.

The Pistons and Pacers next played on December 25 at the Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, with the Pistons winning 98-93 without further incidents. Wallace played, as he had long since completed his suspension. O'Neal, who had already served 15 games of his suspension, also played due to the injunction. Artest and Jackson were still under suspension and unable to participate.

O'Neal played in two more games, against the New Orleans Hornets and Charlotte Bobcats, before the NBA's case was brought before the U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, New York on December 30. Judge George B. Daniels upheld the arbitrator's view, stating in his 21-page decision, "Fighting with or striking a fan has never been characterized as conduct on the playing court." The heart of the NBA's argument against O'Neal was that under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, Commissioner David Stern had absolute authority to pass out suspensions and hear appeals for all on-court incidents. But because O'Neal's behavior was classified by the arbitrator and the judge as an off-court incident, arbitration was allowed under the CBA, and thus the arbitrator was within his rights to hear the case.

While the Pacers therefore regained the services of O'Neal earlier than expected, no further appeals were made to reduce Artest's and Jackson's suspensions. The distinction cited by many was that while Artest and Jackson had entered the stands to fight, O'Neal had remained on the court. Jackson returned to the Pacers' lineup on January 26 2005.

It was later revealed that Auburn Hills police planned to charge additional fans, once they are positively identified.

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 that were aimed at the Pacers locker room. No explosive devices were found. Two of the key figures in the original incident missed the game, as Artest was still suspended and O'Neal had an injured shoulder.

On March 29, 2005, Bryant Jackson pleaded no contest to a felony assault charge for throwing the chair. On May 3, he was sentenced to two years probation.

In May 2005, the Pistons and Pacers met in the second round of the NBA Playoffs. The Pistons were heavy favorites, as the Pacers' status as serious title contenders was seen to have been erased by the absence of Artest. Indeed, the Pacers periodically had called for Stern to reconsider Artest's suspension during the season, despite a marked lack of receptivity by Stern, as the Pacers' play visibly suffered.

It is currently hoped that, by transpiring without any distracting incidents, the playoff series laid the controversy to rest. The Pistons fell behind 2 games to 1 early, but then clinched the series with three straight wins. The series was mostly memorable for the valiant exit of Pacers icon Reggie Miller, who scored 27 points in his final professional game as the Pacers were eliminated from the playoffs. The Pistons would advance to the NBA Finals, where they lost to the San Antonio Spurs in seven games.

Public Reaction

Commentators, and those familiar with the event outside the sports media, appear to be divided over the issues of who should primarily be blamed for the incident. A commonly-voiced opinion is that there is never any valid excuse for a player to go into the stands, no matter how intense the provocation may have been. Some have also articulated the view that the more physical (and arguably "dirty") style of play that prevails in the NBA's Eastern Conference (to which both the Pistons and Pacers belong), as opposed to the faster, "show-time" style favored by most Western Conference teams, may have been a contributing factor in the melee. The fans took a lot of heat. Most notably from the NBA correspondents for ESPN, with John Saunders calling them, "A bunch of punks." The correspondents later changed their opinions the next day.

Similar Incidents Occurring the Same Week

The day after the fight at The Palace, November 20, there were two fights between players in a college football game between the University of South Carolina and Clemson University—one before the game, and a massive 10-minute scrum during the 4th quarter in which state troopers had to get involved, but no fans entered the field. After the teams were separated, some South Carolina players began fighting each other. Though not related to what happened in Detroit the night before, Clemson head coach Tommy Bowden, son of Florida State University head coach Bobby Bowden, said his players had stayed up the night before, watching what had happened in Detroit. There are still questions as to if the two fights were somewhat inspired by the Detroit brawl. To make matters worse, the fights overshadowed the last game Lou Holtz participated in as South Carolina head coach, as he retired at the end of the season, and handed the coaching reins to Steve Spurrier. Clemson won the game 29-7.

The Atlantic Coast Conference, Clemson's conference, and the Southeastern Conference, South Carolina's conference, reviewed the tapes of both incidents before handing out proper punishments to players. However, both schools imposed a punishment of their own on November 22, by saying they would reject any invitation to a bowl game because of the fights. The SEC and ACC suspended six players from each school for their first games of the 2005-2006 season.

iFilm has a video of the USC-Clemson fight.

See also

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Malice_at_the_Palace&oldid=28650071"