Actually, he did. And he was about to punch that innocent fan until someone got ahold of his arm (which was clearly cocked back and ready to come forward).
If someone attacked me like that in a trashy bar for something someone else did, I'd sue the hell out of him. The only factor money plays here is that you can't get blood out of a turnip... and Artest is not a turnip. Some posters here are overzealous in their defense of Artest. The guy that Artest originally attacked actually did nothing to provoke an attack. He's going to sue and he's going to win money, and he should win money. That doesn't mean Artest wasn't wronged as well. But, he can't file suit on Artest's behalf, he can only do it for himself. Mitigating circumstances will be considered in court for all the suits. Don't worry about Artest; he's going to have the best lawyer of the bunch.
I guess we differ, because if you purposly throw a cup of anything on me, I am going to hit you. That, and spitting on someone, are very disrespectful acts.
I guess Carmelo should not have hit this dude either. I mean, there is nothing wrong with me spitting my drink on your girlfriend. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=1930660 NEW YORK -- Three men were arrested Tuesday night for trying to extort $3 million from Denver Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony. Joubert Santos and Jason Pabon of the Bronx, and Rodrigo Sanchez of South Orange, N.J., had a videotape that showed Anthony fighting at a Manhattan nightclub in September with a man known as Sugar Ray, police said. The fight broke out after Ray spit a drink on Anthony's girlfriend, MTV host La La Vasquez, said Jane Yin, a spokeswoman for Anthony's agent, Calvin Andrews. Ray and Vasquez were once engaged. Authorities said Ray had no relation whatsoever to a band of the same name, nor to its lead singer, who also co-hosts the syndicated television entertainment program "Extra." No one was hurt in the fight, but the three men demanded $3 million from Anthony in exchange for the tape. A meeting was set up Tuesday night near Central Park with an undercover police detective posing as a representative for Anthony, said Sgt. Michele Irizarry, a police spokeswoman. A check was handed over, and Santos, 29, Pabon, 26, and Sanchez, 36, were arrested and charged with grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property. "I just found out today that they were arrested. So I'm happy the police handled it the best that they could," Anthony said after the Nuggets beat New Jersey 90-88 Tuesday night. The second-year forward acknowledged he had been worried about the situation. "It would be something anybody would think about. It is a lot to handle. Things happen for a reason," he said. Andrews issued a statement Tuesday night saying the suspects were "ill-intentioned" and "trying to cash in" on the taped altercation. "That incident was a private matter between two individuals, and it has been completely resolved," Andrews said. "When these individuals who had absolutely nothing to do with that incident demanded money, Carmelo chose not to give in to these demands and we turned the matter over to authorities." Last week, a Chicago man was charged with attempting to blackmail New York Yankees slugger Gary Sheffield and his wife with a purported sex videotape. A federal judge refused to dismiss the charges against 38-year-old Derrick Mosley, a self-styled community activist, and ordered him held in jail.
the multi-millionaire players will give the guys suing some nice checks and they'll all go on their way. Unless the police press charges I bet the lawsuits all get settled before any trial
I think there's a pretty marked difference between someone walking up to you in a bar and throwing a drink (or spitting) in your face, and a random fan tossing a cup from the stands. One's a direct challenge...the other's just a mark of stupidity. Unfortunately, the latter happens too often -- yet players don't charge into the stands. Get too lippy in a bar, and you're likely to get slugged. Yet heckle all you want at the game...not grounds for a fight. Trying to draw a parallel between how you would react in a general situation, to how Attest should have acted then is just silly. He messed up. Just can't justify it...no matter how much you massage the situation.
I just don't get how people go on defending artest with the term, "wronged". I mean, he's a professional, heckling is part of his job's hazards, and some hazard.. It coincides with his career of an entertainer... He was thrown a paper/plastic cup, PAPER/PLASTIC cup and suddenly he's "wronged", poor professional was justified to charge into the stands with full steam, arm cocked..? Comparing to bar brawls? Average drunks, to a millionare professional in a strictly entertainment business having a PAPER/PLASTIC cup thrown at them by a FAN as a form of HECKLING? I just don't see it.. Where's this, "wrong" action inflicted on Artest's person? Where's the possible HARM induced by a paper/plastic cup, which is already light as a feather, fluttering as it's tossed and hardly landing on his body? Disrespect? That I'll buy, of course it's disrespect.. BUT, he gets paid well more than enough for those inconviniences that come with the job description, such as heckling which most often than not, is meant to be disrespectful to get under the player's skin and distract his focus. If the player isn't in risk of being hurt physically, or being hurt emotionally, such as MadMax's case of a fan saying something distasteful of his deceased daughter, now THAT is completely out of line, there is ACTUAL harm being done there. Then they've no right nor are justified in charging the stands. And comparing ourselves or any other person not involved in the same type of atmosphere and job description, is moot. I repeat, HECKLING, is part of the game and in no way does a tossed paper/plastic cup promote "danger", or an act of being "wronged". For god's sake, people, let's get in touch with reality here.
Artest was wronged for getting suspended, without pay, for a year. He's a professional, yes. This isn't the first time he's been heckled and not the first time something has been thrown at him. Enough is enough, fans get away with a lot of crap, and finally Artest did something that will get something changed. People are passing out drunk off their a$$ at the games and saying the most insulting things ever and these players have to deal with it day in and day out. Ron had many other chances to do this but has refrained.. this was his final straw. FREE ARTEST.
Heckling... I understand. stuff getting thrown at you is plain WRONG! no matter what is thrown at you. Crowd screaming, "You suck" or "My grandma can guard you" is heckling. The kind of heckling all players must learn to tolerate... it's not personal, it simply shows a fan's devotion to his team and his hatred towards their opponents. getting ANYTHING thrown at you is simply disrespectful and NOT heckling. this was the 3rd incident Artest had something thrown at him by fans during a game.. what should he wait for? someone to throw something that will actually hurt him before he does something? if someone keeps throwing pebbles at you, are you going to wait for a rock to finally say "Stop?". and PLEASE... review the tape. review it in slow motion... Artest didn't throw ONE punch until the guy that come onto the court. he held the guy down with his left arm, and yes, he did threaten to punch him with his fist cocked back, but he NEVER did. Artest asked the guy "if it was him"... and if the guy said 'yes', then he was going to get his lights punched out. but once again... he didn't throw a punch. after Artest was sucker punched from behind, and he was pulled apart from the fans, he walked away and didn't look back at them on his own. i don't applaud artest for his actions... but i believe the fans were at wrong more than Artest.
yep...Artest didn't throw a punch. Clearly he stormed into the stands for a little chat. He charged into the stands! Have you ever seen that NOT result in a brawl??? Third time it happened. To him. At different places. So maybe he shouldn't have been quite so outraged and surprised...certainly to the degree that he loses control and incites a brawl. If it's happened twice before, in different arenas. it's probably not the same guy throwing the stuff. Doubtful there's a spectator ring out there orchestrating this. So how are the other two incidents relevant, except to demonstrate that this goofball fan's action wasn't completely unprecedented. Yet Artest's action was. I happen to think Artest's punishment was too severe. 20-25 games sounded right to me. And the fan should be fined $5,000. In fact, they should announce at the start of any game that throwing stuff will result in an automatic $5,000 fine. Whether you hit Artest or not. Fans were certainly wrong. But Artest was more wrong. He doesn't just have to 'take it.' He can demand security remove and charge the fan. His team can refuse to play until they do. I'm assuming other players have been hit by stuff and haven't run into the stands. Or is it just Ron who's pelted with debris?
