10 year Anniversary of the “Malice at the Palace”

Your Sports Fact of the week:

On November 19, 2004, the “Malice at the Palace” took place. A brawl between the visiting Indiana Pacers and the Detroit Pistons. The two teams had faced off against each other at the end of the prior season in the Eastern Conference finals. From there, the Pistons would go on to beat the Lakers for the 2004 NBA title.

There was less than a minute left in the game when the fight that was the catalyst for mayhem started. With 45.9 seconds remaining in the game, and the Pacers up 97–82. Pistons’ center Ben Wallace received a hard foul from was fouled hard from Ron Artest – currently known as Metta World Peace or Panda if you’re in China. Wallace responded by shoving Artest in the face with both hands, players from both teams got involved in an attempt to keep Wallace and Artest separated.

During the confusion, Artest, being the clown he was at the time, laid down on the scorer’s table. Wallace, who threw a towel at Artest, and then a fan got involved by throwing a cup of soda on Artest.

From that point, it was ON. Artest ran into the stands. So did more of teammates. Stephen Jackson – probably the most “about that life NBAer on recent record – Jermaine O’Neal, Fred Jones were all involved in the brawl that saw players and fans slugging it out on TV.

The end result, nine players suspended for a total of 146 games,  $11 million in salary being lost by the players. Five players were also charged with assault, but eventually sentenced to a year of probation and community service. Five fans were also charged and banned from attending Pistons home games for life.

It also caused the NBA to rethink its security measures and limit the sale of alcohol towards the end of games. Today on Twitter, Metta World Peace said that was the worst day of his life.

 

 

Where were you when the “Malice at the Palace” broke out.