Originally posted by Hicks
<!--plsfield:headline-->Pacers Cannot Shake Brawl Stigma<!--plsfield:stop-->
<!--plsfield:byline-->By Greg Sandoval
<!--plsfield:credit-->Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, February 8, 2005; 1:31 PM
<!--plsfield:description--> <nitf>No matter what they do or where they go, the melee in Auburn Hills, Mich., follows Indiana Pacers swingman Stephen Jackson and forward Jermaine O'Neal.</nitf>
<nitf>Following the Pacers' 108-104 loss to the Washington Wizards last night, both players reflected on how the Nov. 19 brawl, in which five Pacers fought with Pistons fans, has caused havoc with their team's season and how the incident continues to hound them personally.</nitf>
<nitf>Everywhere they play, the two are surrounded by reporters with questions about that night. Jackson noted the irony of how little attention he received before the brawl.</nitf>
<nitf>"It's crazy," Jackson said. "I won a championship [with the San Antonio Spurs]. I didn't get in any trouble and I didn't get no publicity. That's crazy. I guess you got to do something bad to get publicity."</nitf>
<nitf>O'Neal said that he believed that the Pacers received more than their share of the blame for the fisticuffs that broke out following the game against the Pistons. For the first time, he pointed a finger at Detroit center-forward Ben Wallace.</nitf>
<nitf>"If anybody should be blamed, it's Ben Wallace," said O'Neal.</nitf>
<nitf> It was Wallace, who after being fouled by Pacers' forward Ron Artest late in the Nov. 19 game, retaliated by pushing Artest in the face. After Artest laid down on the scorer's table, Wallace flung a towel at him. Moments later, a man in the crowd, who authorities have identified as 39-year-old John Green, threw a cup that hit Artest in the face. That prompted Artest and Jackson to charge into the crowd and begin exchanging blows with fans. </nitf>
<nitf>Prosecutors have blamed Green for igniting the brawl, but O'Neal suggested that Green and the numerous other fans who began pelting the Pacers with trash and beverages were embolden by Wallace's actions.</nitf>
<nitf>"Because nobody threw a cup until he was throwing stuff at Ron. Where was the blame on him? The emphasis was put on [Artest] because of his past. But he's paid the penalty for his past already ... [Wallace's] push to Ron's face was worse than the foul ... If you take your hand to somebody's face and push ... is that a foul or is that an assault?"</nitf>
<nitf>The NBA suspended Wallace for six games. Jackson and O'Neal received 30 and 25 game suspensions respectively -- although O'Neal's punishment was reduced to 15 games on appeal. Artest was banned an unprecedented 73 games. </nitf>
<nitf>O'Neal said he continues to speak out because he cares about the league's reputation as much as he does his own. </nitf>
<nitf>"People need to really take time out to evaluate this league," O'Neal said. "There's a lot of positive things going on in this league. We have good players in this league. We have people who take care of people who need things, of families that need things. That one situation [in Detroit] should be judged for that one situation." ."
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<nitf>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...b8.html?sub=AR
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