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Malice at the Palace

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On November 19, 2004 at the The Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan, an on-court altercation at a National Basketball Association match between the Detroit Pistons and their arch-rivals, the Indiana Pacers spread into the stands. This disturbance has led to serious repercussions for those involved from both the NBA and the legal authorities. This event is also known as The Basket Brawl, The Malice at the Palace, The Palace Brawl and the Motown Melee.

The disturbance

The brawl began with less than a minute remaining in the game and Indiana winning 97-82. Piston's center Ben Wallace made a hard foul on Ron Artest at the Pacer's end of the floor; the referees made no call. As Pistons center Ben Wallace was attempting to put up a shot, Ron Artest fouled him hard. Wallace responded by shoving Artest, resulting in an altercation.

Artest avoided most of the on-court altercation by lying down on the scorer's table. Ben Wallace, who refused to leave the floor after being called for a second technical foul was ejected from the game. A spectator named John Green reacted to Ben Wallace's actions by throwing a cup of liquid (probably beer or a soft drink) at Artest. Artest responded by entering the stands and confronting the man he believed responsible, triggering a violent response from dozens of spectators, as Pacers Stephen Jackson and David Harrison followed Artest to assist him. Several spectators were struck by Pacers players, while a few retaliated with punches of their own (including John Green) and others threw cups of beer and soda at Pacers players. Some spectators angrily charged onto the court, where they were struck by Artest and other Pacers personnel, most notably Jermaine O'Neal, who was shown on video punching a fan. It wasn't the fan that Artest had punched. It was the friend of the fan that Artest had punched.

The game was abandoned with 45.9 seconds remaining, and the Pacers were awarded a 97-82 win by default. More beer, soda, ice, popcorn and at least one chair were thrown at Pacers players and other personnel as they were escorted from the court. No players from either team spoke to the media before leaving the arena.

It was estimated that nine spectators were injured, though none of the injuries were thought to be serious. Two of the injured were taken to a hospital.

Consequences

On November 21, the NBA announced the following suspensions:

The suspensions of Artest, Jackson and O'Neal were appealed by the NBA Players Association. The union has succeeded in reducing long bans in the past, such as the one year suspension initially given to Latrell Sprewell.

The league says it will review security procedures and alcohol policies at all arenas, and Commissioner David Stern has vowed to impose lifetime, leaguewide bans on spectators who cause trouble.

The Auburn Hills Police Department and Oakland County Prosecutor's Office are also investigating and are considering filing criminal charges against the players and spectators involved. In addition, legal actions may be filed in the civil courts; at least two injured spectators filed lawsuits claiming monetary damage. The final legal consequences of this incident for those involved may take months to determine.

On November 20, the Pistons announced they would increase the presence and visibility of security in their arena. The number of armed policemen was to be doubled to about 20, and the number of unarmed security was to be increased by 25 percent. In addition, a protective cover was to be be added to the tunnel connecting the court to the dressing rooms. Pistons CEO Tom Wilson said his club was considering banning the spectators involved from the Palace, and revoking their season tickets.

On November 30, Oakland County Prosecutor David Gorcyca announced that he will seek charges against all players involved in the melee, "Whoever was involved in fisticuffs will be charged, regardless if they were wearing a jersey. It's obvious there were several Pacer players and fans that dealt blows." Pacers players have formally refused to cooperate with the investigation.

On December 8, five Pacers and seven Pistons fans were charged, O'Neal was charged with two counts of assault and battery; Artest, Harrison, Jackson, and Johnson were charged with one count each. Five of the fans received one count of the same charge; Bryant Jackson, a 35-year-old fan with prior criminal convictions, was also charged with felony assault, allegedly for throwing a chair. The two fans that were on the court, also were charged for being on the court.

The Pistons and Pacers will play each other again on December 25 at the Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Wallace has completed his suspension, but Artest, O'Neal, and Jackson will still be unable to participate.

Public reaction

Commentators, and those familiar with the event outside the sports media, appear to be divided over the issues of who should primarily be blamed for instigating the incident, and what sanctions they should receive. A commonly-voiced opinion is that there is never any valid excuse for a player to go into the stands, no matter how intense the provocation may have been. Some have also articulated the view that the more physical - and arguably "dirty" - style of play that prevails in the NBA's Eastern Conference (to which both the Pistons and Pacers belong), as opposed to the faster, "show-time" style favored by most Western Conference teams, may have been a contributing factor in the melee.

Similar incidents occurring the same week

The Sunday before the fight at The Palace, November 14, the National Football League's Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts played each other at the RCA Dome, the latter team's home field. Late in the third quarter with the Colts leading 35-7, Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning threw an 80-yard touchdown pass to tight end Dallas Clark (attempting long passes with that large a lead that late in a game is generally regarded as a violation of the sport's informal code of etiquette, which frowns upon one team intentionally humiliating another). Then, with less than two minutes remaining in the game, Colts cornerback Von Hutchins intercepted a pass thrown by Texans quarterback David Carr and returned it 77 yards for a touchdown to make the score 49-14 (which turned out to be the final score of the game). Upon reaching the goal line, Hutchins taunted the Texans players, whereupon both benches emptied and a mass altercation resulted (due to the nature of the equipment worn by American football players, however, serious injuries during clashes of this sort are very rare, and none occurred in this one). Unlike at The Palace, however, there was no inappropriate behavior by any of the fans, more than likely because the game took place at the home stadium of the team that initiated the incident. (The same two teams played again on December 12 at Houston, and there was no trouble in that game, won by the Colts 23-14).

The day after the fight at The Palace, November 20, there were two fights (only between players, though) in a college football game between the University of South Carolina and Clemson University—one before the game, and a massive 10-minute scrum during the 4th quarter in which state troopers had to get involved, but no fans got onto the field. Though not directly related to what happened in Detroit the night before, Clemson head coach Tommy Bowden, son of Florida State University head coach Bobby Bowden, said his players had stayed up the night before, watching what had happened in Detroit. There are still questions as to if the two fights were somewhat inspired by the Detroit brawl. To make matters worse, the fights overshadowed the last game Lou Holtz participated in as South Carolina head coach, as he is retiring after this season, and handing the coaching reins to Steve Spurrier. Clemson won the game 29-7.

The Atlantic Coast Conference, the conference Clemson plays in, and the Southeastern Conference, the conference South Carolina plays in, are said to be reviewing the tapes of both incidents before handing out proper punishments to players. However, both schools imposed a punishment of their own on November 22, by saying they would reject any invitation to a bowl game because of the fights. The SEC and ACC have since suspended six players from each school for their first games of the 2005-2006 season.

http://www.prweek.com/news/news_story_free.cfm?ID=229891&site=3

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