Photo Credit: ALLEN EINSTEIN/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

Stephen Jackson On What Really Happened In Malice At The Palace

ESPN’s NBA analyst and former NBA champion Stephen Jackson was on the Rich Eisen Show and shared his side of the story of the ‘Malace At The Palace’ happenings. He also reveals what Ron Artest said to him in the locker room and talks about the fear of their career’s possibly being over and getting banned from the NBA for life.

For those who don’t know what happened backe then: Malice at the Palace was “the most infamous brawl in NBA history. With less than a minute left in the game, a fight broke out on the court between several players. After the fight was broken up, a fan threw a drink from the stands at Pacers player Ron Artest while he was lying on the scorer’s table. Artest then entered the crowd and sparked a massive brawl between players and fans that stretched onto the court.

After the game, the NBA suspended nine players for a total of 146 games, which led to $11 million in salary being lost by the players. Five players were also charged with assault, and eventually sentenced to a year of probation and community service. Five fans also faced criminal charges and were banned from attending Pistons home games for life.

It is interesting to finally hear some insights about that day. Stephen Jackson is such a genuine guy, the Ron Artest locker room story is funny as hell.

 

“We all know Ron wasn’t in his right mind. He didn’t need a battery in his back to do something stupid, he did that on his own.”