Union director suggests 35-game maximum
NEW YORK -- The NBA players' union filed an appeal Tuesday on behalf of Indiana Pacers Ron Artest, Stephen Jackson and Jermaine O'Neal, who were suspended for their roles in a brawl with Detroit Pistons fans last week.
The union asked that an arbitrator decide whether there should be reductions in the suspensions handed out Sunday: Artest was banned for the season, Jackson for 30 games and O'Neal for 25.
Union director Billy Hunter has called the penalties excessive, saying a suspension of about 35 games would have been more appropriate for Artest.
Commissioner David Stern, who issued the suspensions, has sole discretion under collective bargaining rules over penalties for on-court behavior, and all appeals go through him, too.
Such discretion was reflected in a statement the league released on the decision not to penalize Pacers reserve center David Harrison:
"ESPN provided the NBA with all footage from the broadcast and it was reviewed by the league office prior to Commissioner Stern's determination of penalties. The decision was made not to suspend David Harrison because of the circumstances in the vomitorium [the exit area from the arena floor] at the time the incident occurred as the players were attempting to leave the floor."
Harrison, however, was shown in video footage throwing a punch in the stands as he and other players headed toward the locker room.
The union asked, in its one-page appeal, that the case go to arbitrator Roger Kaplan.
"The action taken by the commissioner sets a new high-water mark in terms of the kind of discipline he feels he can impose," Hunter said in a telephone interview. "I think he has exceeded his authority and should be subject to review and challenge.
Stern would normally have 20 days to rule on an appeal of an on-court discipline matter, and it was unclear whether the union's appeal strategy would put this case under that timetable.
"The players association's efforts to bring this matter before an arbitrator ignores the plain language of the collective bargaining agreement and the consistent past practice of the parties and will ultimately fail," NBA spokesman Brian McIntyre said.
The brawl, and the severity of the suspensions leveled by Stern, continued to be a matter of national debate.
"I think David Stern is trying his best to preserve the integrity of the game and his industry, but due process must be honored, and all the mitigating factors must be included on a final decision," said Jesse Jackson, who said he spoke with Stern by telephone on Monday.
In other developments:
Pacers at forefront of brawl |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Games out | Salary lost | Team's loss | |
| Artest | 73 | $5M | $684K |
| Jackson | 30 | $1.7M | $566K |
| O'Neal | 25 | $4.11M | $1.64M |
The players' union was contemplating taking its case to federal court. A similar strategy failed in 1997 when the union contested the suspensions handed out to four members of the New York Knicks for leaving the bench during a fight in a playoff game against the Miami Heat.
In that case, U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff cited article XXXI, section 8 of the league's collective bargaining agreement establishing the commissioner as the complete and final authority on discipline for what happens on the court.
The language, the judge said, is "so plain, so clear, so unequivocal, so on-point to the dispute that underlies this controversy."
"In that case we were seeking an injunction. We may not pursue an injunction if we pursue this in federal court," Hunter said, adding the the union will argue that since some of the punishable behavior happened in the stands, it should not fall under the definition of "on-court behavior."
"We think the court is limited to the court itself, the 90-by-50 piece of hardwood, and the benches," Hunter said.
In 1998, the union successfully appealed the one-year suspension Stern gave to Latrell Sprewell, then with the Golden State Warriors, for attacking coach P.J. Carlesimo at practice. It was reduced by an arbitrator to 68 games.
The difference between Sprewell's case and the current one is that Sprewell's attack on Carlesimo happened at practice, so it was not considered on-court behavior and was subject to the arbitration provisions of the collective bargaining agreement.
The suspensions also could be contested by the Pacers, who have the right under NBA bylaws to appeal the commissioner's decision to the league's Board of Governors.
No NBA team has ever made such an appeal, according to the league.
Pacers spokesman David Benner said the team had not yet decided if or how it might contest the penalties.
Artest bolted into the stands after being hit by a cup thrown by a fan, touching off a brawl in which players exchanged punches with fans, who also threw drinks, popcorn, and other debris at the Pacers.
"This is the third time that I've been hit with something out of the crowd," said Artest, who claimed he had been struck previously in Detroit and in Cleveland.
Jackson also went into the stands and exchanged punches with fans, while O'Neal hit a fan who ran onto the court.
The Detroit fan who authorities say threw the cup that hit Artest described the player as a "thug." John Green, a 39-year-old contractor, made the comments during an appearance on ABC's "Good Morning America."
Green also appeared on CNN's "Larry King Live" with his attorney, Shawn Patrick Smith, on Tuesday night. Both avoided answering King's question about whether Green threw the cup, while replays were being shown during the interview.
"The fight broke out when a cup that came from our direction landed on Ron Artest," Green told King. "A blue cup or something hit him in the chest," Green said.
"He [Artest] kicked me from behind, like mule-kicked me into the shin. That's when I reacted," Green said while video footage of Friday's incident continued.
"I don't even remember the whole thing. The tape pretty much speaks for itself, Larry," Green said to King.
The union's appeal also contests the brawl-related suspensions of Ben Wallace (six games) Anthony Johnson (five games), Reggie Miller, Chauncey Billups, Elden Campbell and Derrick Coleman (one game each).
The four players who received one-game suspensions were penalized for leaving the bench area during the initial confrontation between Artest and Wallace.
"In their cases, there was such pandemonium it was only a natural reaction. Some of them were moving out of fear," Hunter said. "We want to review them all."
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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