Send Ron Shipping

It was disturbing, absolutely nerve wrecking for a true Pistons fan to hear.  Public address announcer, Mason, delivered the starting lineups for an afternoon matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers on Super Bowl Sunday.  He introduced Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant and the man who calls himself Metta World Peace.  That’s when I heard it.  Cheers.  Cheers for Ron Artest.  Cheers for him at the Palace of Auburn Hills.  Cheers for the guy who nearly a decade ago ran into the stands at that very arena, attacking the fans that now applauded and screamed for him.

Don’t get me wrong on this one.  I understand that when a team isn’t performing well, as the Pistons have been doing for 3 or 4 years now, the high-market teams are going to have plenty of fans present at road games.  But to see the man responsible for Malice at the Palace come back to Detroit and not be met with a flood of jeers is just plain shameful.

Eventually, the Pistons did their entrance and the crowd became quiet, then the game got underway.  Halftime neared and Ron Artest did what Ron Artest does best.  A scuffle occurred, whistles blew, referees reviewed the play and Artest was eventually assessed with a flagrant 1 foul.

After the game, Brandon Knight began making claims that Artest punched him in the face during the tangle-up.  Upon watching a replay, one would see that after tugging Knight at the waist and wrapping an arm around his neck, Artest did in fact strike Knight in the jaw.  To call it a full blown punch is an exaggeration; his fist was not closed and he hit him more with his wrist than anything else.  Regardless of that, he still grabbed his opponent by the neck and landed a blow on his face.

Today, the NBA announced that after looking at the play, Artest would serve a 1 game suspension.  For any other player, I would say this punishment was appropriate.  The problem though is that this is not any other player, it’s Ron Artest.  You’d be hard-pressed to find an athlete who has started as many fights as this guy.  Besides the infamous Palace brawl, here are a few more worth noting:

• ·      Elbow to the head of James Harden
• ·      Head lock on LeBron James
• ·      Pulling down Paul Pierce’s shorts
• ·      Striking Richard Hamilton (wearing a protective mask) in the face
• ·      Locking arms with Paul Pierce
• ·      Pushing Paul Pierce prior to tip-off
• ·      Striking JJ Barea in the face
• ·      Shoving Thabo Seflosha
• ·      Striking Amar’e Stoudemire in the face
• ·      Intimidating Kobe Bryant
• ·      Flagrant foul on Pau Gasol

Now the last foul above can be forgiven.  It was a bit excessive, but he was making a play towards the ball.  He gave some extra force to ensure that the bucket wouldn’t go down.  Sometimes a flagrant or technical is handed out, but it’s the NBA and sometimes that will happen.  It’s the same thing that Bill Laimbeer used to do during his playing days.

As for the rest of the incidents above, they’re ridiculous.  They don’t have any effect on the game, it’s just a player trying to rough up his opponents.  This is the NBA.  If you want to grapple, throw elbows, start a phony rap career and come up with silly little nicknames for yourself, go sign a contract with Vince McMahon.

The videos above aren’t the end of his craziness, either.  Check out this video to see Ron tackling Glenn Robinson, throwing a water bottle into the stands (Pistons fans didn’t start the drink throwing trend), fighting Raja Bell, destroying TV cameras and committing other senseless acts that are so unsportsmanlike, they make Kenny Powers look like Joe Dumars.  He also has admitted to drinking during halftime of games throughout his time with the Chicago Bulls.  Let’s not forget his various domestic dispute matters dating back to 2002, as well as having his dogs held in a pound for 77 days as a result of not taking proper care of them.

The sad part of all this is the fact that I could still point out several more flagrant and technical fouls throughout his career.  Quite simply, I don’t have time to list out every single offense he’s committed.

By no means am I against giving a person a second chance.  The problem I have with Ron Artest is that at this point, he’s on his fifty-second chance.  How many times do you give a person a warning?  How many times do you have to put disciplinary actions in place before you see results?  Ron Artest has had his chances, and it’s safe to say that he’s never going to learn his lesson.

The NBA needs to reconsider their disciplinary action towards Ron Artest.  Sure, this latest incident with Brandon Knight was just a minor one.  Artest has made it clear to us all though that he has no self-control, no respect for the rules and not a single care in the world when it comes to the safety of fellow NBA players.  Maybe it’s time for the league to crack down and stop letting the bad guy get his way.