Ron Artest is crazy.
Bonafide crazy. Artest isn't just some cat who messes around and acts crazy from time to time. He's legit. What he did in running several rows deep can't be defended. Just want to get that out up front, because at times this column might sound like a defense of his actions. It is not. A player cannot, under any circumstances, run into the crowd and just start going after fans. Especially when he goes after the wrong guy.
That said, the league overreacted to what was an ugly incident that will likely be the most talked about moment of this season unless Ruben Patterson tries to get him some of the Staples Center fans. When the Pacers and the Pistons play again, the telecast will surely use video of the brawl to promote the game and to show how the rivalry has been moved to the next level.
Artest should not have been suspended for the entire season. You can send the same message by suspending him for 30 games. Missing 30 games isn't exactly light. Not to mention Stern is essentially saying, "provoke star players, maybe you won't see them in the playoffs."
The absolute worst part of all of this is that Stern is acting as if this was an epidemic. As if this is something that had been escalating for some time now and if he didn't step in and make an example out of Artest, that you would see more of this all across the NBA.
Nonsense. Complete and absolute nonsense.
Players have been hit with items in every sport. How often do you see them enter into the stands and go after the person that they think threw something at them? It just doesn't happen. To think that it will suddenly start happening on an increased basis is simply absurd. This was an emotional reaction from someone who needs help for his sickness.
This is an isolated incident. A very large black eye, but still, a rare incident. With a 20-game suspension, a 40-game suspension, or the entire season, you accomplish the same thing. You punish the player and you likely won't see an incident like this happen again. Stern made an example of Artest. Plain and simple. Yet you didn't need to make an example of Artest.
If Stern wanted to make an example of someone, go after Ben Wallace. Overreacting to fouls is an epidemic in the league, whereas players running into the stands is not. Give Wallace 10 games if you want to make a statement, seeing as it was his idiocy that led to Artest's idiocy to begin with.
Still, the problem with these suspensions comes in the precedent set by them. When Vernon Maxwell jumped into the crowd back in 1995 to confront a fan for verbal abuse, he was suspended for 10 games. If Artest jumps into the crowd and security pulls him away, instead of fans jumping on his back and then throwing punches, he comes out of this with anywhere from 10-to-20. Since the incident turned out that ugly, Artest suffers the brunt of it.
Not to mention that Stern's suspension of Jermaine O'Neal for 25 games was solid indication that Stern was simply handing out as many games as he thought he could get away with to give the appearance of handling the situation.
It's crazy to think that O'Neal deserves that many games for his part of the melee. He wasn't in the crowd. He didn't have a hand in starting anything. O'Neal is getting this many games for decking a fan that came down onto the basketball court. Onto the court, that's the big thing here. O'Neal didn't chase someone down. A fan came on the court looking for a piece of a player and he got it. End of story.
But it's indication that Stern is handing out punishment not based on what these players deserved to get, but because it's how the league will come off the best on CNN and the like.
Did the punishment fit the crime? Hardly. But, Stern has sound-bytes that claim his league is under control. The punishment certainly fit the backlash, but Stern has to look past that.
Maybe the problem isn't in the suspensions at all. At the end of the day, Artest did something really silly and simply can't make his way into the crowd.
Maybe the problem is just that Stern simply has no right to hand this punishment out.
Stern can't get off without blame in this incident. If this happened because the NBA is changing to a more prevailing "thug" mentality, you have to look at the man who has not only accepted it, but has embraced it. Stern's wanting to make an example out of anyone in this situation is rather hypocritical.
Why is it that Stern hasn't done anything to deter high school players and underclassmen from declaring for the NBA draft en masse?
Simply put, it would be bad business.
Sure, there is nothing that Stern can do about the likes of a LeBron James or a Carmelo Anthony. There are certain players that are sure lottery picks and it is hard to make a case to leave them out of the NBA. On the other hand, there are certain players who have declared for the draft on the off chance of being a first-round draft pick. These players have no options left and nowhere to go.
Of course Stern doesn't mind. A lot of talent has missed out on the college game over the past five years and the NBA has benefited from this. The college game is competition for the NBA. It hasn't always been that way, but with changes to the NBA game, this has become a reality.
If players come into the league without maturing, you cannot be surprised by things such as O'Neal and Stephen Jackson throwing haymakers at fans when they should have been playing peacemaker.
Unfortunately, there are also a lot of people coming out of this saying that if these incidents happened more often, they'd watch the NBA more.
David Stern, you've got a problem on your hands, but it isn't exactly just involving the players on the Indiana Pacers.
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