Well you have come to many wrong conclusions. I have friends that are professional athletes(I played with and finished school with Javon Walker of the Green Bay Packers, friend of Gil Meche of the Seattle Mariners shops with me when he is home for the off season, and I grew up with quite a few other now professional athletes while I was an aspiring athlete myself.) You say a fan should get beat down bad for throwing a glass of liquid at someone. Give me a break. The punishment has to fit the crime. Let's start cutting peoples hands off for shoplifting a pack of gum. Also, you state that I don't know anything about being a team mate. I think anyone that has participated in any sport or in fact anyone that has spent a lot of time working towards something together knows what being a team mate is about. I agree you need to stand up for and protect team mates and just friends/family in general, but if they aren't in danger you don't go along with a stupid idea. You get between them and make them realize that they are doing something they shouldn't. I didn't mention professional athlete's salaries because it gives them advantages. I mentioned it because these large salaries make them targets whenever they do something questionable. I can understand a broke man doing what he did more than someone that has too much going for them to risk losing money, and going to jail, and even getting hurt. You say I'm a hypocrite if I think it what happened to the two men that did pose a threat to a fellow teammate/coach then I think you need to reconsider it. They are two totally different scenarios; one is a cup full of liquid that didn't pose any harmful threat, the other are two lunatics beating up an old man. Yes I think they deserved to to be taken off the first base coach with force and sent to jail. Like I said this isn't comparing apples to apples, it's comparing apples to oranges. They are totally different. I do believe an athlete is entitled to defend himself if someone comes onto their playing field because that is the fan crossing a line and posing a real threat. As for the sueing, the fans are plain and simple getting paid. This is the most ridiculiuos sports incidence I can remember. There was no reason for all of this and the athletes that hit nonthreatening fans should be punished. OH and the tickets I won't be buying won't be given to the next in line because I live in Louisiana and Hornets tickets don't exactly sell out.
Throwing beer on athletes is nothing new. This has been going on for decades. Ron Artest is a gansta punk and needs to be charged for assault and battery. Beyond that, I hope to never see him in a NBA uniform again. This isn't his first time on the police blotter, and if Stern is smart, it will be his last while representing a NBA franchise.
Im wondering if the fan that Artest went after is really the one that threw the beer anyway, it looked like he had a drink in his hand when Artest ran up there. . I guess he could have had 2 but Artest probably just went after the first guy he saw. There is also a story going around that those fans on the court that got beatdown were ballboys working for the Pistons. Not sure if that is true but if it is then Artest is really in for a world of trouble, he'll be lucky if he has a pair of sneakers left after all the lawsuits.
I think if someone threw a cup of beer at me i would probably react by smacking them so i agree with you. But i guarantee that i would be the one going to jail too. No questions asked? The only way you can get away with beating up somebody is if it was self defense and theres no way a jury is going to believe that a plastic cup was a threat to you.
Same reason you are told not to throw pencils in the classroom throughout high school. The cup could take his eye out.
Damn, that is a huge suspension. Hopefully Lakers can grab a victory or two out of it while they are gone
Not enough. Artest deserves to have his contract ripped up and a lifetime ban. He didn't even want to play the first half of the season because he was soooo tired from promoting his rap album. This is exactly what he wanted!
Can someone post a link to this incident? I caught just the tail end on the news last night. I would like to watch it in it's entirety.
Jon I totally agree. He just found a way to get what he wanted here. It disgusts me how selfish his actions have been.
That earlier report was just a rumor. ESPN is now reporting that Artest has been suspended for the rest of the season, Stephen Jackson gets 30 games and Jermaine Oneal gets 25. Guess Indiana's season is toast. Good job by the NBA for coming down hard.
That is an oustanding job by the league to suspend Artest for the whole year. What he did was ridiculous and totally uncalled for. I cannot see how you guys could possibly try to back up his actions. If he had come down tot he floor to start somehting with Artest then fine he deserves to get a little beating like those idiots who attacked that frist base coach last year. Jon is 100 % bang on with his statement about him getting exactly what he wanted. I do hope with the year suspension his salary would be taken away from him as he does not deserve it at all. I still think O'Neal should have received more games. I mean he clocked a guy from the side who was not even doing anything to anybody around them.
No he only wanted a month off not the whole season. The pacers are more than likely toast though this season. Losing three starters two of them top tier players for a majority of the season will most certainly cripple them.
what about BIG BEN??? what is his suspension be??? and socal in your statement "Same reason you are told not to throw pencils in the classroom throughout high school. The cup could take his eye out." how on earth can you take someones eye out by a plastic cup??? i dont get it....
