Artest out for rest of the season
NEW YORK — Ron Artest was suspended for the rest of the season Sunday, and two of his Indiana Pacers teammates must miss a total of 55 games for fighting with fans during a melee that broke out at the end of a game against the Detroit Pistons.
Overall, the NBA issued some of the harshest penalties in its history by banning nine players for more than 140 games. Artest’s suspension is the strongest ever levied for a fight during a game.
“The line is drawn, and my guess is that won’t happen again — certainly not by anybody who wants to be associated with our league,” commissioner David Stern said.
Indiana’s Stephen Jackson was suspended for 30 games and Jermaine O’Neal for 25. Detroit’s Ben Wallace — whose shove of Artest after a foul led to the five-minute fracas — drew a six-game ban, while Pacers guard Anthony Johnson got five games.
“I’m sick about that for Indiana. I’m devastated for them,” Pistons coach Larry Brown said. “And we lost our heart and soul.”
Four players — Indiana’s Reggie Miller, and Detroit’s Chauncey Billups, Elden Campbell and Derrick Coleman — were suspended one game apiece for leaving the bench during the initial fracas.
All of the suspensions are without pay. Artest will lose approximately $5 million in salary, while O’Neal’s suspension will cost him nearly 25 percent of his $14.8 million salary for the current season.
Players union director Billy Hunter, calling the penalties excessive, said an appeal would be filed today.
“We have to make the point that there are boundaries in our games,” Stern said. “One of our boundaries, that has always been immutable, is the boundary that separate the fans from the court. Players cannot lose control and move into the stands.”
Artest, O’Neal and Jackson began serving their suspensions Saturday.
“I respect David Stern, but I don’t think that he has been fair with me in his situation,” Artest said in a statement released by the players’ union in which he also expressed his regrets.
Artest’s penalty was the most severe because of his checkered history. Artest being provoked into running into the stands by a fan who threw a drink did not appear to be a mitigating factor in Stern’s decision.
“It was unanimous, one to nothing,” Stern said. “I did not strike from my mind the fact that Ron Artest had been suspended on previous conditions for loss of self-control.”
The Pacers will be able to place Artest, O’Neal and Jackson on the suspended list and sign players to take their place. Limited to just six players Saturday, Indiana dropped an 86-83 decision to Orlando.