Thoughts on the Pistons-Pacers Brawl: I plan to think about this more in the next few days, but I wanted to put in some initial thoughts on the despicable scene that happened last night at the end of the Pistons-Pacers game in Detroit. You can watch the video on ESPN Motion or one of the countless times it will be shown on TV today.



To summarize, in the game's final minute and with Indiana holding a big lead, Ron Artest fouled Ben Wallace as he went in for a basket. The foul did not appear to be overly flagrant, but it was from behind and came with the Pacers holding an insurmountable lead. Wallace, obviously angry, responded by shoving Artest in the face. And while Artest initially walked away, this led to a fight between the teams, with benches clearing and fists flying.



This part of the altercation should result in no legal liability. This was part of the game and involved only players of the two teams. I am certain that NBA sanctions will be handed down, especially for the players that (1) left the bench and (2) threw punches. This scene hearkened back to the days of the 1970s, when the 'B' in NBA stood for brawl and fights among entire teams were common. The NBA cracked down hard after the horrific Rudy T incident (for those interested in learning more, I recommend John Feinstein's The Punch). Ever since, the NBA has leveled serious fines and suspensions for fighting, including mandatory suspensions for players leaving the bench.



But what happened next was even uglier. The brawl between the players died down and the teams looked ready to go back in and finish the last 45 seconds of the game. But, as Artest was lying on the scorer's table waiting for the action to resume, he was hit by a cup of beer thrown from the stands. He immediately leapt up and into the stands, throwing punches as he went. His teammate Stephen Jackson followed, also throwing punches. A number of other players leapt into the stands, most trying to break up the fight. After the players returned to the court, a fan came up to Artest, screaming at him. Artest punched the man in the face, knocking him down. When the man got up and charged at Artest, Pacer teammate Jermaine O'Neal punched the man again. Finally, as the Pacers left the floor, they were belted with beer, ice, popcorn and a chair.



Unreal. I don't even know where to begin.



I think I will start with the ESPN NBA announcers, including John Saunders, a man I have a good deal of respect for. I believe that their reaction to this situation, summarized here by Tim Legler, was repugnant. They immediately blamed the fans, calling them "punks" on multiple occasions. Yes, I agree that the behavior of fans was despicable and should lead, where applicable, to criminal charges and loss of season tickets. But not once did I hear the cardinal rule of professional sports: PLAYERS DO NOT GO INTO THE STANDS. There is a line between these million-dollar athletes and the fans that pay their salaries, and this line should never be crossed. It was juvenile and even dangerous for the fan to throw a cup at Ron Artest. And he had every right to be livid. But he had no right to go into the stands. Move to the center of the court to avoid getting hit. Call over the arena security and have the man arrested. Yell at him and say some choice words about his mother. But DO NOT go into the stands.



The reasons for this are almost too many to name. NBA players are some of the biggest and strongest men in the world -- they could do some serious damage to the person responsible, or more likely, an innocent bystander. That is what happened to Rudy T -- he was running in to break up the fight and he ended up paying for it with his career. From the other angle, security at arenas is incredibly lax. Who knows what weapon -- a switchblade or even a gun -- some drunk fan has in the stands? Players are safe on the court; they are not safe surrounded by a bunch of drunk fans not in their right state of mind. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the line between player and fan must not be crossed. Fans must remain in the stands, players must remain on the court. And heavy punishments is the only way to ensure that this happens.



For Artest, Jackson and any other player who went into the stands and threw a punch, the league suspension should be among the longest in history. The suspensions should be unpaid. And the league should make perfectly clear that any other player who goes into the stands will be suspended for at least a month, if not longer. Send a message.



The league must act now, or it runs the great risk of an even more horrible situation occurring. If the only response is a slap on the wrist, this will happen again. And the next time, a fan could be crippled. Or a player could be stabbed. Someone could even be killed. Sadly, in many instances it takes a major injury of some sort for changes to be made -- again, see the Rudy T tragedy. But the league should know better, and should act now so that this never happens again. Other leagues should issue similar statements, especially baseball, which recently faced the Frank Francisco incident and is the only other professional sport where fans are so close to players.



From the team side, the Pistons should follow the example of the New York Giants a few years back. In what became a famous game, Giants fans responded to bad calls and some questionable hits by throwing snowballs, some containing rocks or batteries, down on the field at the opposing team. The team not only had fans arrested, but cancelled the season tickets of any fan caught on camera throwing a snow ball. With the lengthy waiting list for Giants season tickets, this proved to be a tough, and appropriate, punishment. The Pistons front office should do the same. Any fan caught on camera throwing something at a player or any fan that came onto the court should have their season tickets cancelled and, if possible, should be banned from the arena for the rest of the year. And, of course, the Pistons should step up their security at all future games.



So what about legal liability? I plan to look further into past cases of fan vs. player. In the most recent case, charges were not pressed against Rangers pitcher Frank Francisco, who threw a chair at an Oakland fan. But this does not mean that they could not have and I believe the civil lawsuit is still ongoing.



The players have the most to lose. As fellow NBA player Quentin Richardson said, "Man there are going to be some lawsuits. You don't think some of those fans aren't going to want some NBA money?" I expect civil lawsuits to be filed against any fan that was struck in the melee. And these cases have some merit, especially for those fans in the stands. You cannot punch another person merely for throwing a cup of beer at you. There was no way Artest was in any danger on the court or had to act in self-defense. Obviously, the judge or jury will look to laws of contributory or comparative negligence (I will check on Michigan tort law) when assessing liability, but some fans may have a case.



Even the fan that was punched on the court might have a case. His is tougher because (1) he was criminally trespassing and (2) he was going after Artest. But Artest will have a tough time claiming self-defense. From all reports, the man was not running at Artest, brandishing any type of weapon or physically threatening the player. Artest is 6' 7" and weighs 250 pounds -- he will have trouble convincing many that he was fearful of bodily injury. The fan may have a tougher case against O'Neal, who seems to have been protecting his teammate from the now charging fan. But again, the fact that the fan was on the court will severely hurt his case.



Criminally, this fan should be charged with trespassing. Just as the league must keep players out of the stands, fans must remain off the court. Criminal charges could also be filed against the fans throwing objects or throwing punches. But, if any fans are charged for their participation in the brawl, so too should the players. They are just as culpable and were just as involved. If this was a bar, citations would have been handed out. I see no reason why they should not be handed out here.



I think I have covered most of the legal bases -- but I will be thinking about this more and possibly adding more thoughts.



There are a number of different avenues the league, the team and the arena can take in this matter -- both legally and internally. Unlike in the past, I hope that all act with extreme prejudice and hand out punishments that will deter anything like this from happening ever again. Because the next fight could have results much more tragic than just a few black eyes.

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