How did Ron Artest escape judicial action and prison for the Palace brawl?

Question

I find it absolutely astounding that man did not serve any time for his part in the Palace incident. If that were anyone else, they would be serving time for years! He started it and fanned the damn flames! I know he lost millions in pay, but that's nothing to a star player like him with a supersized income.

Our legal system is warped.

He instigated a riot and fueled it, which in my mind constitutes a serious offense. He's lucky no one was seriously injured or killed, or he would've had to face prosecution!

This sends a bad message to people. Some kids might not realize that while Ron Artest can get away with that, they will not!

Answer 1

Artest didn't instigate the brawl, the guy who tossed the cup at him, after the initial incident had already cooled down, instigated it. Prosecutors even considered him to be the instigator of the brawl, and of all those charged, he was the only one who received any jail time.

Also, saying he "escaped judicial action" implies no criminal action was taken against Artest. Criminal charges were filed against him, he pled no contest to assault and battery charges and was sentenced to a year of probation, community service, anger management counseling and paid a fine. Not what you would call a stiff sentence, but he certainly didn't "escape judicial action."

Answer 2

Why should he have done jail time? Please allow me teach you and the rest of these plebians a little about the law since your ignorance is obvious, you decadent miscreant of an individual. He wasn't the only person that did anything wrong, and in a court of law, the jury must find the defendant(s) guilty beyond a reasonable doubt; that is, to believe that, with the burdens of proof and persuasion both falling on the plaintiff(s), there is reasonable evidence which proves beyond a 50% chance that the proposition that Ron Artest and the Indiana Pacers were the sole reason for the brawl having taken place is true. Obviously, the jury couldn't because Ron Artest was not the only one to blame for the incident.

-Event security was to blame for letting a fan throw anything onto the basketball court. They are responsible for the safety of the fans and players, and for there to be a breach of security like this was unacceptable. They had a reputation for being among the worst in terms of security, and while the Palace is usually a hostile crowd, they should always be in control of the crowd. Those fans throwing things should have been immediately ejected, and under no circumstances should the players have been allowed by security to go into the stands. It was in their juridiction to use some kind of force to prevent the situation from getting out of hand, but they didn't.

-The venue itself, the Palace at Auburn Hills, is to blame. There was no limit to the amount of alcohol one could consume at one of these games, and even if there wasn't, common sense would dictate that vendors should use their own discretion when selling more beer to people who have already been drinking, not just because these people could get rowdy at the game, but because a lot of them have to drive home that night. Their irresponsibility puts lives in danger, plain and simple, as it did here. I'm not saying every fan there was drunk that night, as I'm sure many people probably weren't even drinking at all, but I'm not saying everyone was sober, either.

-The fans that were throwing drinks, running onto the court and trying to trade punches with the players were to blame. If that drink wasn't thrown and didn't land on Ron Artest, these problems would not have started in the first place. The problem with sports nowadays is that fans believe they have a right to say and do anything they want to do, so long as they've paid a ticket. Wrong! Fans must still conduct themselves in a reasonably civilized manner instead of behaving like a bunch of wild idiots, even if your team is getting it handed to them by their division rival on their own home floor. They behaved like a bunch of thuggish, disgusting, undomesticated animals who belong behind bars themselves. Take your pick as to whether I'm referring to these fans belonging in a zoo or in jail; both fit in this instance.

-The players are to blame, for sure, and not just Ron Artest, Stephen Jackson or any of the others involed in the brawl. Remember, the tensions were heightened because of a play that happened before that drink was thrown. Ben Wallace was the one who shoved Artest right before the brawl started after a hard foul. Now, there were only about 45 seconds left in the game and Indiana was up by 15 points. Wallace drove to the basket and was fouled hard by Artest, took exception to it and shoved him. That was when the players got into it, as the benches cleared. Artest walked away and sat down on the scorers table. After Wallace threw a towel at him, the fan threw the drink at Artest, he ran into the stands and then the brawl ensued. I don't need to go into what happened here, since we all know.

In this instance, justice was served. With all of these extenuating factors coming into play, there was no way that he or anybody else was going to jail. Fines and suspensions are justified punishments, as were community service and probation. It was an ugly incident and sent the wrong message to children, no different than a brawl during a baseball game. And if you're a good parent, you explain to your child that this is unacceptable behavior, no matter what the circumstances. To say that a player who had a drink thrown on him is responsible for starting a brawl and fanning the flames is wrong, and you cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he was the sole cause of the fight. Therefore, you cannot give him jail time, as the crime would not have fit the punishment.

Answer 3

Hmm, I don't know what you possibly saw in the video evidence to come up with your theory. Ron Artest was clearly an innocent man, defending himself against thousands of people the best way he knew how. Plus the fat guy he decked was wearing a jersey from the opposite team, clearly meant to egg on Mr. Artest.

Answer 4

wtf are you talking about? you would not go to jail for years if you throw a bunch or two. once someone threw that bottle at him, it's fair game. hell he didn't even deserve to lose playint time. that's fair game. if some throws **** at you, like a bottle, you have all rights to defend yourself, and he didnt know who it was, im sure if he did, he would have punched the one that threw it.


you cant tell me if that were u, u wouldnt do that.

Answer 5

he said he was defending himself plus some moronic detroit fan threw a chair at him first

Answer 6

He's rich and backed by the Pacers' lawyers.

Answer 7

They were just throwing blows...Whats the big deal?