Posted on 11/22/2004 6:51:01 PM PST by jdm
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Indiana Pacers (news) forward Ron Artest (news) has admitted that he regrets charging into the stands to fight Detroit Pistons (news) fans last Friday, sparking an ugly brawl that led to his suspension for the rest of the season.
In an interview published in People magazine on Monday, Artest said: "I just wish the situation hadn't turned out the way it turned out. I hope some of the Detroit fans I was interacting with before the game could come to my defense.
"(I'd) just like people to know how much I appreciate fans. You know, you've got fans, and 99.9 percent of them are great and 0.1 percent are jerks."
Artest made the comments a day after NBA commissioner David Stern gave the forward a 73-game suspension that is expected to cost the player close to $5 million in lost salary.
Several other players were suspended but none were penalized as severely as Artest.
The fight broke out when the 25-year-old Artest fouled Detroit's Ben Wallace (news) with less than a minute to go in the game.
An angry Wallace retaliated and the benches cleared before Artest waded into the stands after a plastic cup thrown by a spectator struck his head.
Asked how he explained the situation to his children, Artest said: "They don't really know what happened."
Meanwhile, Artest is promoting his record label, Truwarier, and said that with his other career endeavors he was trying to make his life more positive.
"Having a record company and putting out my own CD. There's clothes and shoes. There's also an upcoming book deal that I'm trying to do," he said.
"I'm trying to be positive. I'm a big fan of the Nobel Peace Prize."
Huh?!
Arafat won the Nobel Peace Prize, so Artest should be a shoo-in in 30 or 40 years.
Well, if he said he is sorry, then all should be forgiven. That's the rule, damnit!
"I just wish the situation hadn't turned out the way it turned out"
Translation - it wasn't my fault.
What an ass.
"I'm trying to be positive. I'm a big fan of the Nobel Peace Prize."
Say what?
Speaking of the "Nobel Peace Prize" (what a hoot!) is Gunnar Berge's leg still in traction?
He's sorry all right, sorry they took away his 5 mill...
I hope that fan that he popped first, the one who didn't throw that cup or anything else takes even more of his $.
That idiot never in a million years thought he'd lose a whole season. I bet he was thinking 5 games at most.
Kudos to the NBA commish!
Sports stars are above the law. Period. Laws for assault and battery don't apply to them. They are special.
Just like the players...
Kudos to the NBA commish!
I bet the NBA woud lost much more in ticket sales and other revenues if they hadn't come down hard on these thugs. Their revenues have been declining steadily since Michael Jordan ritired from the Bulls.
Anyone who'd pay for courtside seats to be close to 2 dozen sweaty, stinkin', overpaid egos NEEDS his brains beat in. Pro sports are a total waste of time and money.
Anyone involved should do time. Why should it be tolerated because "athletes" are involved?
Since this even happened roughly 72 hours ago, how did it get into People that fast? Was it print or just online?
LOL! I'm sure he's a big fan of Grand Theft Auto too.
Another example of how the hip-hop/rap culture has risen it's ugly head. We see it every time more than 6 of these thugs get together. Remember the Vibe Awards, someone got stabbed? This should be great for sales of Artests new cd! He asked for a month off to promote it, now he has the rest of the season. The ONLY suitable punishment for him should have been lifetime ban from the game.
Personally, I'd have been looking for the person or people responsible. And I'd have also gone in to help my teammate if he was in the middle of a handful of hostile people.
The suspensions are too long, particularly the one for Jermaine O'Neal. He never went into the stands, and the only thing he did was KO a clown who came down on the court and was accosting Artest.
I'm not a big fan of sports figures in general, and of most NBA players in particular, but I honestly don't think too many people would have reacted all that differently to being attacked. It's either fight or flight, and with the adrenaline already at a pretty high level from what had just happened on the court, flight just wasn't really an option.
Translation: "I'm disappointed that my color ain't got me off the hook yet - anybody got OJ's lawyer's phone numbers?"
I don't see how the NBA loses ticket sales over this. People aren't spending $50+ to see millionaires shoot 50% from the free throw line. They're paying the money to see a show. They want it to be outrageous, they want to see lots of "attitude" and "in your face" match-ups. This game provided a show they won't soon forget!
I assume tickets for their December rematch are already being scalped over on ebay. That will be a very tough ticket to get. And the network will no doubt be looking at playoff type ratings for that game.
We're all having fun wringing our hands and acting shocked about the horror of it all, but we'll get over it. It's an expensive lesson (in the short term) for Artest and friends but the NBA can't be too distraught about this. When was the last time anybody talked about the NBA before the playoff season?
I'm guessin' that the Nobel Peace Prize isn't a big fan of Ron Artest.
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