Posted by BRIGGS:
wow. that was unbelievable. i dont blame any nba player for going into the crowd or protecting his right for self-defense. this whole incident would not have happened if it wasnt for that guy who threw the beer on artest. he got pegged by the cup right in the head--where the F is security???????? somehow, someone needed to grab artest right there, but i dont blame ron for doing what he did. thats like saying if i threw a bottle at Nolad's wife, he's going to sit there and smile? no, hes likely to bum rush me in self defense. the bad thing is artest got the wrong cat at first. fred jones took a cheap shot to the side of the face from a big dude and then some fat spanish 21-22 yr olds came out of nowehere to throw down with artest--which was f funny and artest politley flattened him but oneal came in and really jacked him at point blank range
then i thought it was the ugliest part of the incident when oneal wa trying to get out--someone hocks a chair and they pelt him with everything
i know there are going to be some suspensions, but if i am artest jackson jones and oneal--if im given something ludicrous where i lose substatially money, i would go get a court order to have any action stayed. i think if there are suspensions for what happened prior to the bottle OK, but after that, IMHO it's more a matter for the criminal just system than nBA JURISDICTION. THAT WAS SELF-DEFENSE
i really believe that the fans-- the detroit ownership who obtained the security and perhaps the nBA themselves have to take the hit here. once that pelted him in the face, he had the right to protect himself.
I like to fight as much as anyone (maybe more), but from a legal perspective, Artest's (and especially O'Neal's) reactions exceeded the bounds self-defense. Self-defense must be reasonable and proportional. Getting hit with a plastic bottle doesn't permit someone to start beating the crap out of the wrong guy, and O'Neal blind-sided a guy. From an emotional standpoint, I understand and support it, but there is no legal right to do it.
Stern has handed out long suspensions for less.