I saw today is the 5th anniversary of the famous Pistons/Pacers brawl. I cannot believe it has already been 5 years since that happened. I just rewatched some of the footage and three things stood out to me that really escalated this whole situation that nobody talks about.

Here is a good video of the whole thing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qD9edGvksw

Some things I notice:
1. Ben Wallace completely overreated to a good clean foul. There was nothing dirty about the play. He created this tense situation and would not leave the floor after being ejected. Ron Artest was just sitting on the scorer's table and Big Ben wanted to get some.

2. Yes, Ron Artest ran into the crowd after having the drink thrown at him, and pushed the guy down who he thought threw the cup. He was then restrained by the crowd and I think the whole thing could have calmed down maybe. But a few seconds later Stephen Jackson comes running in and starts throwing haymakers at everyone, which completely sets off the rest of the brawl. Jackson is the one who throws the first punch. Not Artest.

3. The fat douche with the Pistons jersey and the towel deserved to get punched in the face.

After all of this, I still don't know why Artest gets all the blame in this whole thing. If it wasn't for Ben Wallace and Stephen Jackson completely going ballistic, this whole brawl probably doesn't happen. But their names are never really brought up when talking about the event.

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Becasue he was the first one to go into the stands. If he would have just let security eject the guy, none of this would have happened...

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Jermaine O'Neal decked somebody too I believe.

You're right man, it's hard to believe it's been five years already.

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Kid Cairo's Boers & Bernstein YouTube Channel

Kid Cairo: 2013 March Madness Tournament Winner!

"Cowabunga? Cowa fucking piece of dog shit! This game is diarrhea coming out of my dick!"

Arest deserves some of the blame, but it should be shared equally with Ben Wallace and Stephen Jackson.

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Maybe with Jackson, but not Wallace. You can be as big of a douche as you want to be on the court. Once you go into the stands, all bets are off.

Artest, Fan, Jackson...IMO.

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But if Wallace doesn't overreact to a clean foul, none of this happens. Even after being ejected he could have left the floor and none of this still happens. It is his fault that all the events happened after that. The drink would not have been thrown, Artest would not have gone into the stands, Jackson would not have done his Mike Tyson impression, and fat douche would not have been punched in the face.

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I can see both points...I agree with DB that Wallace was a complete and utter douche, that was a really hard shove for the foul that was given and that was what started everything, really, plus that he was loitering and wouldn't go away which caused it to escalate too. But Ivan is right too, if it was just contained on the court it would have resulted in some fines and 1 or 2 game suspensions rather than a pier 6 brawl

People overreact to fouls all the time, drink throwing does not automaticly follow.

Some idiot fans choose to throw things, players don't run into the stands after them.

Wallace was acting like a goof. Big deal. Happens all the time. The things that took place after that were not the norm...

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I found a picture of fat douche who also has the towel with him. Any big man who walks around with a towel deserves to get punched in the face. Im glad Artest got this parting shot in before leaving the floor.

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It was unquestionably one of the darkest moments for the NBA in the post-Jordan era. What appeared to be lost in the shuffle that night was that the Pacers appeared to be well on their way to beating the Pistons before the ugly brawl with about a minute to go in the basketball game.

yeah, because the results of a mid-November NBA game clearly need to be remembered 5 years later

I never saw that jackson punch before, he nailed that guy, it's nice to see an NBA player be able to throw a punch, albeit against a fan...

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team Mully & Hanley
team Meatpants

A couple of the punches thrown were just brutal.

During last nigt's Bulls game, it was mentioned that Artest will being having Lunch with the fan next week, and thatt all is forgiven.

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Second City Saint

I like that. That's good to hear.

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Kid Cairo's Boers & Bernstein YouTube Channel

Kid Cairo: 2013 March Madness Tournament Winner!

"Cowabunga? Cowa fucking piece of dog shit! This game is diarrhea coming out of my dick!"

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I was posting that picture at the same time. Don't be stealing my zings.

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Well it didn't take long for the racist comments to show up on the youtube page. Apparently this video has only been up for about half a day.

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It could be a video of ducks in a pond and it wouldn't take long for the racist comments to show up...

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team Mully & Hanley
team Meatpants

At least we know where Elmhurst Steve has gone.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

That might be the best part of the video. Fast forward to 2:25 in the video and watch about the next 15 seconds. Artest decks the douche with the towel, and O'Neal comes sliding in and lays out his friend.

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Top 5 holy shit sports moment ever. I remember where i was, playing poker and the highlight came on. I mustve watched the replay literally 100 times that weekend. S. Action Jackson was just throwin roundhouses all over the place. Thug League? I wouldnt have it any other way.

I missed one of the top sports holy shit moments of my lifetime because I was playing poker. I was playing during the Super Bowl with some friends of mine and had my back to TV. All of the sudden the guy sitting across the table from me was like, "Holy shit! I just saw Janet Jackson's Tit!". I thought he was messing with me and had no idea what had actually happened until I got home that night.

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Bagels, leave SHARK alone...FavreFan doesn't like it..

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That's when everyone found out Tivo can track you, ecause it was the most Tivo'd moment in their history.

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Second City Saint

you must hate a lot of steelers fans.