A Stern warning...Part One - by Apollo

It's now been confirmed that wongoz has returned from his Asian escapades. While this would normally mean we'll hear from him in about another month, hopefully recent events in the sports world will draw him out to actually post sometime soon. For further details on his Asian travels, you can of course check out his website.

This past weekend, Indiana Pacers forward Ron Artest was involved in an ugly incident near the end of his team's victory over the defending NBA Champion Detroit Pistons. After a hard foul and subsequent melee with Pistons centre Ben Wallace, Artest was calmly lying on the scorer's table waiting for the foul situation to be ironed out. The referees had called the game with less than a minute left and the players were going to be dispersed to their respective locker rooms. We'll have to wonder "What If" for quite some time about how the evening would have ended if the Pacers had only been able to reach their lockers earlier.

In a strange and sad chain of events, a brilliant Pistons fan decided to throw a drink at Artest, hitting him squarely in the stomach. In addition to being covered with ice and beer, Artest lost it completely and ventured into the stands after the genius who launched what was probably his 10th drink of the night. Rather than scramble out of his way and evacuate, the good citizens of Michigan decided it was time to fight back against the oncoming NBA millionaire and punches began flying. The lax security was not enough to stop other players, including Pacers teammates Stephen Jackson, and coaches from going after Artest. Some tried to restrain him and bring him back to the floor, others helped him against a growing wave of unruly, inebriated fans who fought back, and the riot blew up. Later, with angry fans now on the court, Pacers star Jermaine O'Neal punched another fan in the face who had confronted Artest. The Pacers were eventually evacuated under a rain of drinks, ice and debris that flew onto them from fans around the court. At one point, a chair was thrown directly at O'Neal's head.

NBA Commissioner David Stern wasted no time in handing out severe suspensions yesterday. Artest was banished for the rest of the season. O'Neal received 25 games while Jackson received 30. While the suspensions effectively kill Indiana's playoff and championship hopes pending appeal by the NBA Players' Association, Stern said very little about the behaviour of the Detroit fans, which he called "disgusting" but focused all of his wrath on Artest, a repeat offender for other league violations, and his teammates, who's behaviour Stern called "inexcusable".

While I find it very difficult to defend the extreme behaviour of the Pacers players, the suspensions by Stern reek of catering to the whims of advertisers and television networks, not to mention suburban American fans who Stern relies on for money. Very little has been mentioned about the danger of the situation caused by Detroit fans, nor the fact that the security provided by the Palace of Auburn Hills staff was severely lacking for such a situation. Pacers coaches and players have commented that they literally felt as if they were "fighting for their lives" during the melee. Stern's suspensions, which he himself decided without a vote of any other executive or board, is in essence his way of telling the conservative fans who go to games and the advertising companies who contribute to league revenues "Don't worry about that, it's an isolated incident. I'll make sure my crazy black basketball players don't ruin your entertainment and stay on the court where they belong".

While hopefully race had very little to do with the suspensions, Stern has carefully avoided singling out the Pistons, the Michigan fans or the security for any blame whatsoever in this incident when clearly they all must share some of it. Artest may have been the one to venture into the stands, but Pistons fans were just as guilty of escalating the situation even further out of control. With coaches and staff trying to steer players off the court, fans took the opportunity to provoke the players even further and grew increasingly confident that no retaliation would come and that the crowd's sheer number would protect their anonymity.

In many ways, Stern's hand was forced. With potential criminal charges pending from the police investigation of the incidents, Stern had to show that the league was taking the entire situation very seriously. His hope is that the authorities will support his punishment and respect the NBA's autonomy as a league and essentially leave them alone. With Artest and his bizarre antics gone for the season, advertisers and network executives won't have to worry about any further "incidents" and can continue to pay for the broadcast of basketball without reservation. It is sad then that Artest, who has done a lot of weird and crazy things in his short career, is essentially being made the scapegoat in this affair. Some argue that Artest as a high paid NBA millionaire overreacted and that there is some unwritten rule about never entering the stands.

In my view, how much a person is paid is absolutely irrelevant to what behaviour they should be forced to endure. Last time I checked, there was no specific agreement that buying a ticket entitles a fan to heckle and essentially do whatever they want to players. Society seems to accept that a high priced athlete should turn the other cheek and take whatever insults or criticism is directed at him as a small token of appreciation for the wealthy lifestyle that their salaries afford. I've never understood that, particularly since athletes are paid as revenue-generating elements - they help make owners and the leauge money. Their salaries don't include "danger pay" or any kind of compensation for enduring abuse.

The fans who caused this entire problem in the first place will most likely never be located and never be charged with anything whatsoever. We'll never hear about them unless they of course bring some civil lawsuit against Artest and others, looking for additional compensation. These fans will happily remain unpunished and anonymous, and no doubt start crafting the next incident to mar the reputation of Detroit and its fans. Meanwhile, the Pacers will start losing, Artest and his suspended teammates will not be paid and Stern will continue his well oiled money making machine without further interruption. In many ways, Stern's response was his only logical choice, but that does not make his decision the right one. In any event, when dealing with an issue that draws so much passion and opinion, the only "right" decision for Stern was to sacrifice his players to protect his wallet.