Thoughts In The Aftermath

We are all probably getting tired of analysis of the Pistons/Pacers brawl. It's been three days of non-stop coverage with little new information. However, since I chose to avoid commenting on the T.O./Nicollette Monday Night Football open, and this incident occurred in my "backyard", forgive me if I rattle off some more observations in the aftermath of this mess.

* I can't take the stand, that in the same situation, I would not have acted as Ron Artest did. Maybe I would have done the same thing. The difference arises as I also realize that if I head into the stands, I've basically made this a bar fight. Which means, if I clock somebody, I may get arrested. I may get jail time. I may get sued.

I completely support the Oakland County prosecutor's attempt at pressing charges against all the fans involved. Again, if you are in a fight, remember this ain't kindergarten. You are not five years old. It doesn't, or shouldn't, matter whether you are a fan or player. Slug a fellow citizen on the street, in a bar, or at a basketball game and you subject yourself to the course of our criminal justice system.

Had Artest (or his pals Steven Jackson and Jermaine O'Neal) started trading blows with the Pistons their punishment would be totally in the hands of David Stern. However, once they headed off into the public, they opened Pandora's Litigation Box. Artest, Jackson and O'Neal better get good lawyers. The lawsuits could go on for quite a while.

* I thought David Stern had his finest moment as commissioner in dispensing the suspensions, regardless of whether you agreed with the length of the sentences. He came down hard, in part, because of the players behavior. The other part was because he knew this nightmare for the league will continue on long after Artest and company return.

* If I had any complaints about the suspensions, it was that Jackson got off light. Unlike Artest, who had something thrown at him, Jackson headed into the stands without provocation. He just wanted to beat someone up. He started throwing punches at everyone in sight. He encouraged fans to take him on. Jackson landed far more punches than anyone else. Had he opted to restrain or remove his teammate, instead of going Mike Tyson on everyone in sight, the fight ends sooner. I would have given Jackson much of the year off, as well.

* If this was cleared up in the Pacers' press conference today, I apologize in advance, but are any other Pistons' fans disappointed that ex-Detroit coach Rick Carlisle really hasn't said anything in defense of the tens of thousands of Pistons fans that didn't have anything to do with the brawl? This guy was supported by a majority of the community here and his firing went over like a lead balloon with Pistons fans. I'm amazed he hasn't said one thing positive about the fans here.

* Equally amazing, Steven A. Smith's apology of sorts. Smith, who spent a large portion of Friday night reminding viewers that this incident didn't happen in Philadelphia, immediately sided with Artest and the Pacers players. He blasted Detroit and the fans.

I wasn't at all surprised that Smith took the players' side. Outside the athletes, Smith probably gets yelled at more than anyone in sports. He's a lighting rod for controversy, which he enjoys. So, to find him snuggling up to the players' perspective isn't too shocking. However, upon further review, Smith has backed up a step or two.

Seems Smith was surprised to learn that an elderly fan was run over in the melee, that a child was upset by this riot and that Artest didn't actually tackle the guy who threw the beer at him originally.

I'm surprised Smith couldn't realize that innocent people would get runover, that children aren't really happy about being in the middle of a violent outburst, and that he didn't hear ESPN's Mike Breen's play-by-play of the fight, as Breen stated Artest didn't get the right guy as the fight was happening.

What it sounds like is Smith jumped to conclusions, never got the facts and got caught up in the emotion of the moment. All forgivable sins in my book. In fact, maybe he should take over this space of the blogsphere. Sounds like a perfect replacement.

* I was equally disappointed with Smith's ESPN studio cohorts. Tim Legler, Greg Anthony and John Saunders all went with the pro-player, anti-fan, anti-Detroit perspective. In fact, I would call their combined performance piling on. Balanced reporting went out the window. It was not their best night's work.

* I'm tired of Tom Wilson's "It's all Artest's fault" line. The Palace CEO needs to take a look in the mirror. In a post 9/11 world, I would have hoped men like Wilson would have taken stronger security measures. I don't doubt that The Palace security were as stunned as everyone else at what happened, slowing their reaction, but that doesn't excuse the Pistons front office from a degree of responsibility.

No, you can't hire 30,000 guards to control a riot. However, when something does break out, you better have trained people ready to take action. If they can't stop Artest from attacking a fan, how on Earth can they be prepared to take on more? The security in Auburn Hills is responsible for the safety of the fans and players. It's hard to give them a passing grade after Friday no matter what Wilson says.