MALICE AT THE PALACE
(AP The Detroit News, Clarence Tabb, Jr.)
It was equal-opportunity mayhem on the night of Nov. 19, 2004, as fans, spectators and players all mixed it up in a melee now generally singled out as the worst in U.S. sports history. At the center of much of it was then-Indiana Pacers star Ron Artest, who rushed the stands to squabble with a spectator after being doused with beer. By the time order was restored, nine players were banned, totaling suspensions of 146 games. Chief among the disciplined was Artest, who was banned some 86 games, cementing a bad-boy image of himself that remains prevalent even today.
David Harrison of the Indiana Pacers, left on floor, is seen in the stands during the brawl with fans in the final minute of the game against the Detroit Pistons in Auburn Hills, Mich. Friday night, Nov. 19, 2004. Officials stopped the game with 45.9 seconds remaining after pushing and shoving between the teams spilled into the stands once fans started throwing things at the players near the scorer’s table.
SPREWELL BEATDOWN
(AP The Detroit News, Clarence Tabb, Jr.)
Golden State star Latrell Sprewell and coach P.J. Carlesimo engaged in a “physical confrontation” during a practice in December of 1997, and the veteran coach long had the choke marks to prove it. In its aftermath, the League suspended Sprewell and the Warriors moved to terminate his contract. Eventually, an arbitrator overturned both edicts, allowing Sprewell to return to action five months earlier than originally mandated. Still, one can only wonder if all that baggage may have played a role in the four-time all-star’s premature forced retirement at age 35.
New York Knick’s Latrell Sprewell looks at his former coach, Golden State Warriors’ P.J. Carlesimo, in the fourth period Saturday, Nov. 20, 1999, in Oakland, Calif. This is Sprewell’s first appearance in Oakland against the Warriors since the infamous choking by Sprewell of Carlesimo in Dec. of 1997.
NYC vs. MIA
(AP Photo / Mark Lennihan)
Even NBA Commissioner David Stern probably chose to laugh to keep from crying after witnessing the sight of New York Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy hanging from the leg of Miami Heat center Alonzo Mourning during a 1998 brawl ignited by former Charlotte teammates Mourning and Larry Johnson. With less than two seconds remaining, no less, Johnson and Mourning threw down, prompting Van Gundy to rush from the bench in a peacemaker role that ended with him draped at Mourning’s feet and being dragged all across the court. Left with the biggest black eye of all were NBA execs who were forced to suspend two of their premiere talents at the very start of a playoff season.
Alonzo Mourning, right, of the Miami Heat, and New York Knicks Charles Oakley grapple during a fight in the closing seconds of Game 4 of the first round playoff series Thursday, April 30, 1998, at Madison Square Garden in New York. Mourning was ejected from the game. Holding on to Mourning’s left leg is Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy. The Knicks won 90-85 to force a fifth game.
LACK OF ROADSIDE MANNER
(AP Photo / Marcio Jose Sanchez)
How ironic that journeymen like Chris Mills and Bonzi Wells would square off in a skirmish that would become absolutely legendary? But alas, it was all for the wrong reasons as the two came face-to-face following Rasheed Wallace’s game-winning basket in a highly intense 2002 regular season battle. As the final horn sounded and the two teams began to exchange words, Warriors’ fans joined in, hurling bottles at Blazers players as they left the court and prompting Wells to chase after one culprit. Just as some semblance of peace began to be restored, Mills raised the ante by trying to get in the Blazers’ locker room and back at Wells. Thwarted in that attempt, Mills recruited a group of friends to box the Portland team bus in the parking lot, ultimately challenging anyone to step off for more warfare and more than assuring that his meager three-game suspension would be well earned.
Portland Trail Blazers forward Rasheed Wallace, at right, is restrained by head coach Maurice Cheeks as the Blazers brawled with the Golden State Warriors at the end game on Friday, Dec. 20, 2002 in Oakland, Calif. Portland won 113-111 on a last second shot from Wallace.
THE PUNCH
(AP Photo / NBC-TV)
L.A. Lakers forward Kermit Washington has long been seen as a trendsetter. Problem is, it’s been all the wrong reasons. Washington not only nearly ended the career, but the life of Houston’s Rudy Tomjanovich during a pre-Christmas brawl in December of 1977 that began with a skirmish between Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Kevin Kunnert. As teammates from both squads rushed the floor, an agitated and equally startled Washington turned and delivered a blow that broke practically every bone in Tomjanovich’s face and resulted in his around-the-clock hospital treatment for several weeks. But the impact of his actions would linger far beyond even that, as the playing careers of neither man would ever again be the same.
Los Angeles Lakers’ Kermit Washington, right, throws a punch to the jaw of Houston Rockets’ Rudy Tomjanovich during the game, Dec. 9, 1977. Los Angeles and Houston players scuffle at left as an official steps in to separate them. Tomjanovich was hospitalized from the injuries suffered from the blow. Picture was made from a TV monitor.
BARKLEY’S NOT A ROLE MODEL
(AP Photo/Jeff Zelevansky)
The most intense brawl Charles Barkley ever took part in came in 1990 when he and Detroit Pistons bad-boy Bill Laimbeer threw down in the midst of a playoff game that ultimately netted each fines of $20,000 – the largest to-date in NBA history. But that one incident hardly highlights the extent of Barkley’s career follies. About a year later, he spit at a heckler sitting courtside in New Jersey who had been spraying him with racial insults all night – only to hit a young girl instead. If ever Sir Charles’ “I’m not a role model” crusade were to gain traction, this would seem the time.
TOO MUCH ACTION FROM JACKSON?
(AP Photo / Carlos Osorio)
Just two years removed from being tagged with a 30-game ban for his part in the “Malice at The Palace” melee, Stephen Jackson was suspended seven games after firing a revolver in a strip club parking lot during a fight for which he initially faced felony battery charges. Jackson told authorities he only fired his weapon in the air after a battle broke out with another group of party-goers during which they attempted to run him over with their vehicle. Is it just me, or does trouble seem to perpetually follow Mr. Jackson?
Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Jackson, left, listens to attorney James Voyles during a court hearing in Rochester Hills, Mich., Friday, Jan. 25, 2007. Jackson violated his probation in Michigan when Indiana prosecutors charged him with firing a gun outside a strip club, a judge ruled Friday. Jackson was serving probation after pleading no contest to misdemeanor assault and battery charges in September 2005 for his role in a 2004 brawl between Indiana Pacers players and fans at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
WEST OF THE LAW
(Sipa via AP Images)
Cleveland’s Delonte West was collared just four months ago on a series of weapons charges after a search during a routine traffic stop turned up a 9mm Beretta pistol at his waist, a .357 Ruger strapped to his leg, and a shotgun in a guitar case slung over his back. West has previously missed time along with LeBron James & Co. to seek treatment for depression and a “mood disorder” he’s battled his entire life. But what could be any sadder than this?
21 March 2009 – New York, NY – Delonte West, LeBron James and Mo Williams. LeBron James Gotham Magazine party at Greenhouse. Photo Credit: Nick Papananias /Sipa Press
RODMAN’S RAMPAGE
(AP Photo / St. Paul Pioneer Press, Scott Takushi)
Perennial bad-boy Dennis Rodman netted his comeuppance in the form of an 11-game suspension and up to $1 million in lost wages after he kicked a photographer who dared to attempt to do his job by standing along the baseline and snapping away as the Chicago Bulls forward dived out of bounds in pursuit of a loose ball during the 1997 season. After becoming entangled with photog Eugene Amos, Rodman kicked him in the groin area as he regained his footing and prepared to sprint back up court. Just how bad Amos was actually hurt has long been a source of contention in NBA circles, but what does it say of Rodman that he would even put himself in the position for such chicanery to hold any weight?
Chicago Bulls forward Dennis Rodman stands over camerman Eugene Amos after kicking him in the groin during the third quarter of the Bulls’ game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Target Center in Minneapolis on Wednesday night, Jan. 15, 1997. While chasing a rebound, Rodman stumbled out of bounds and fell over a photographer. Amos turned his camera on him, and was kicked for his efforts.
NOT SO SWEET COMPETE MOMENT
(AP Photo / Rusty Kennedy)
The tussle between Top 50 Greatest of All Time teammates Julius Erving and Larry Bird rates not so much based on any level of harm that was inflicted on either party, but simply based on the aura of the two men seeking to administer it. In November of 1984, the hardwood legends faced off in more ways than one as a heated exchange between the two up-until-then friendly rivals spiraled into a bench-emptying slugfest after the two no-nonsense vets exchanged blows which would eventually net each of them fines of $7,500.
Boston Celtics Larry Bird, foreground, and Philadelphia 76ers Julius Erving take to the air in pursuit of a loose ball during an NBA playoff game, Friday, May 22, 1982, Philadelphia, Pa. The Celtics won 88-75 to tie the best-of-seven series 3-3.
Ostracized as he may now be, Gilbert Arenas is not alone. All the harebrained moves perpetrated by the All-Star guard over the last several days that have left him squarely in the crosshairs of NBA execs and D.C. cops alike are merely the latest in a career of such bonehead transgressions committed by star athletes in general and NBA players in particular.
With his decision to bring as many as four pistols into the Washington Wizards locker room, does Gil Arenas now instantly become all-time captain of team fallibility? That would be a call most assuredly left in the eyes of the beholder, just know that such infamous distinction won’t come without formidable competition.
From Artest to Barkley to Rodman to Sprewell, the lowlight reel runs deep. Ultimately, however, it may be Arenas’ lack of aftermath contrition – at least in any sincere way – that separates him from even all those that have stumbled before him. For him, hubris seems to have come before and even after the fall.
