Artest calls season suspension too harsh
By Steve Herman, AP Sports Writer | November 23, 2004
INDIANAPOLIS -- Indiana Pacers forward Ron Artest said Tuesday he wishes he hadn't gotten into a fight with fans but feels his season-ending suspension was too harsh.
"I don't think it was fair -- that many games," Artest said in an interview with NBC's "Today" show. "I respect (NBA Commissioner) David Stern's decisions, but I don't think I should have been out for the whole season."
It was Artest's first national interview since he was suspended for charging into the stands and fighting with fans late in Friday night's game against the Detroit Pistons in Auburn Hills, a Detroit suburb. The suspension amounts to 72 games in an 82-game season, and means he will lose about $5 million.
Four other Pacers players were suspended for shorter periods, including Stephen Jackson (30 games) and Jermaine O'Neal (25 games).
Artest bolted into the stands after being hit by a cup thrown by a spectator, touching off a brawl in which players exchanged punches with fans, who also doused the Pacers with drinks, popcorn, a chair and other debris.
"I wish that situation never happened," Artest said. "It wasn't good at all, for anybody."
"This is the third time that I've been hit with something out of the crowd," said Artest, who claimed he had been struck previously in Detroit and in Cleveland.
No charges had been filed in the brawl, but if any are they most likely would be misdemeanor assault and battery, Oakland County, Mich., prosecutor David Gorcyca said Monday.
The only possible felony charge under consideration would be against the unidentified person who hurled a chair into the crowd, Gorcyca said. Authorities asked the public to help identify that person.
After repeatedly watching footage of the brawl, the prosecutor personally identified John Green -- a former neighbor of Gorcyca -- as the fan who threw a cup that hit Artest.
Once Artest was in the stands, Green grabbed him from behind and sucker-punched him, the prosecutor said.
Green, 39, a contractor, told reporters Monday that it may have looked like he threw the cup, but he didn't.
"I wish the whole thing didn't happen," he said. "It was awful, it was ugly."
Green's attorney, Shawn Smith, said his client became involved in the brawl only when he saw Artest hitting a smaller man.
"We have no comment on who threw the cup, it's irrelevant," Smith said. He said fans shouldn't throw things, "but is it a criminal offense? I don't think so."
During an appearance Tuesday on ABC's "Good Morning America," Green described himself as a respected businessman with a wife and two children. He said he was not drinking Friday night.
"I don't go around breaking the law," he said. "If they have found that I broke the law, I'll pay the price."
But Gorcyca said Green was on probation for his third offense of driving under the influence. Green's record also includes convictions for carrying a concealed weapon and check fraud, according to the Michigan Department of Corrections' database.
Pistons chief executive Tom Wilson said Green is a season-ticket holder and will be banned from The Palace.
Auburn Hills Police Chief Doreen Olko said her office had spoken to nine people who said they were injured in the fight, but that the injuries were relatively minor.
Artest had not yet been interviewed by Michigan authorities, the chief said.
During the "Today" interview, simulcast with Indianapolis radio station WNOU, Artest plugged his new CD and wore a T-shirt and hat emblazoned with the logo of his record label -- TruWarier Records.
Later, Artest began a promotional tour to plug the CD he produced for an R&B group. Dozens of fans, many carrying signs, were there to show support.
"What would you do? You've got fans acting crazy, throwing stuff at you. You can only take so much. I understand he's a public figure and all, but the whole season, that's extreme," said James Grable.
Artest said he had no ill will toward Detroit's Ben Wallace, who got things started when he shoved Artest after a foul late in the game.
"Wallace just had a death in the family, so I'm understanding," he said Monday night on WHHH radio in Indianapolis.