Motown Melee

What the hell happened? I'm still in disbelief that something like this happened. In this day and age when we're bombarded by terror alerts, and security concerns have been heightened to arguable all-time highs, how could this have happened? That's the question some people are asking, but that's not my question. There's not much you can do with an unforeseen event like this where no (traditional) weapons were pulled. What I question here is the very human condition. What transpired last night was ugly and utterly despicable. What possesses people to do something so entirely foolish and hateful?

For those of you who don't know, there was a riot in the Palace of Auburn Hills last night. With an already hotly contested game going on between the Pistons and the Pacers, Ron Artest decides to give a hard, provocative foul to Ben Wallace in the final minute when the game was already all but decided in his team's favor. Wallace then decides he's had enough out of the rival Pacers and gives Artest a shove so hard that he almost falls over backward. From there, the two teams start shoving each other and the situation escalates into some serious business. Funnily enough, Artest, of all people, manages to slink away from the fracas and decides to lie down on top of the scorer's table (!) waiting out the course. Now here comes the defining moment of the night: an idiotic fan apparently decides to have some fun and tosses his drink with dead aim perfectly onto Artest's upturned face. Uh oh.

Now, we all know that Artest has been a real knucklehead all his career... I'm not even going to get into his most recent episode before last night -- that whole "I need a month off to promote my rap album" nonsense. I know that you know just how Ron is going to react here: by charging into the stands and taking no prisoners, punching the lights out of everyone in his way. Somewhere along the way, his teammate Stephen Jackson (didn't he learn anything from his time spent with David Robinson and the Spurs?) decides to join Artest and take out a sucker or two himself. All the while, players from both teams are still going at it on the floor, leaving the coaching staffs, arena personnel, and security at a total loss as to how to control the situation.

Fans across the arena go ballistic at the sight of visiting players crossing that invisible boundary, and some even decide to do the same by making their way on-court to challenge the Indiana players. After a good struggle away from the stands, Artest starts for the locker room, where he's approached by yet another Detroit fan who managed to make his way past security in the confusion (and promptly takes a good licking from Ron). More fans begin to crowd the floor and yet another Pacer, Jermaine O'Neal, throws some punches, too. As the Pacers team finally makes their way to the courtside exit hall, fans rush to the overhanging seats and douse the team in drinks and food. By now, fans are running amok, tossing whatever they can; beer, cups, popcorn, trays, you name it. I don't know how the authorities eventually managed to control this riot but it must have taken some time, especially given the amount of people that had to be drunk that late in the game (and thus that late in the night).

Who do I blame for this turn of events? Nearly everyone involved. Who do I believe shoulders the brunt of the blame? The Detroit fans. No, Detroit mob is more like it. Heckling, i.e. verbal sparring, has always been an accepted form of "fighting" between players and fans; even that has gone too far in recent years, with racial slurs and personal attacks on players' family members being called out. But everyone knows that heckling is as far as it goes. Everyone knows the unwritten rule that fans are over here and players are over there. Physical contact is never part of the equation in a game experience. Detroit's always had a reputation for unruly crowds but even they had never so blatantly crossed the rubicon as they did last night.

Yes, I do agree with anyone who says that the players are also responsible because they never should have taken a step into the stands, an action that was sure to flare up the crowd. But there's hardly any accounting for actions taken in the heat of the moment. It was regrettable, for sure -- a cooler head would have prevailed and allowed security to punish the offender -- but it was understandable. Let me put it this way: I'm not even a fan of Ron Artest in any way, but when I saw him going into the stands after getting hit by the drink, I almost felt myself cheering for him to knock that sucker out. So if I found myself feeling that way, I can only imagine how vengeful Artest must have felt in that moment.

I can't say that I side with anyone in this widespread altercation, but I will definitely say again that I believe the fans were more responsible than anyone else. It'd be easy to side with the "common man" here, especially since I feel like so many NBA players nowadays are spoiled, delusional manchildren, with Ron Artest a prime example of that specimen. But I'm not going to take the easy way out on the issue. Right now, the NBA head office's statements seem to indicate remorse for lack of fans' safety. Well, what about the players? The NBA cannot simply reprimand its players (Artest, Jackson, O'Neal, and Wallace have all been suspended indefinitely) and call it a day. There were players there that night who did not have anything to do with the main conflict, but whose lives were every bit as in danger as those who instigated the brawl. When an incident like last night sparks, the players will certainly be the main targets in the arena, not random fans! The NBA must seek out and install stricter security measures that ensure the protection of both fans and players.

I could say a whole lot more on this and cover the spectrum of the issue, but Ray Ratto at ESPN has spoken well enough on the topic to finish my post here. There's no need for me to say anything further when a real sportswriter has written an article that sits with my final point of view. All I have to say is: there's got to be a reckoning...

Make sure to watch this video clip of the brawl with analysis.