Green also sentenced to two years' probation

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ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. -- The man accused of throwing the cup that sparked a 2004 brawl between the Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons fans was sentenced Monday to 30 days in jail on an assault and battery charge.

John Green also was sentenced to two years' probation. The 41-year-old Green was convicted in March of one count of assault and battery for punching former Pacers player Ron Artest during the brawl at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Green was found not guilty of a second count of throwing the cup before Artest charged into the stands.

Judge Lisa Asadoorian ordered Green to attend anger management classes and Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and stay away from the Palace while he is on probation.

Green's attorney, Shawn P. Smith, said he would seek a stay of the sentence while it's appealed.

"In light of everything else, everything everyone else got, it was not fair," Smith told the Detroit Free Press.

Others charged with assault and battery in the same brawl, including Artest, were sentenced to probation and fined but received no jail time. Green, however, was the only one to take his case to trial.

Green, whose image was caught on video during the melee, said he was innocent because he hit Artest in defense of himself and his fellow fans. He also argued that he merely lobbed the cup into the air and never meant to hit anyone with it.

Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press

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