Quote:
Originally Posted by AllPurposeGamer
Seven games is what I expected given prior precedent for how the NBA handles their suspensions. If any of you thought there would be a lifetime ban, you weren't thinking realistically. And even a rest of the season ban wasn't realistic either. Plus, any suspension of 12+ games and the players association has the right to appeal to a grievance arbitrator and they would have definitely done that...and probably would have won the appeal and gotten it shorten.
To give you an idea, the only players to receive lifetime bans are for integrity of the league issues (e.g. CCNY point shaving scandal in 1951), and for violating the league's substance abuse policy a certain amount of times. And even with that, that's collectively bargained and spelled out explicitly in the CBA.
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I was thinking they could have just said he's done for the season, but I imagine the CBA states they have to specify a number of games. It does seem that Artest's history should have played a factor and given him a longer suspension; but perhaps the NBA didn't realize he's the same guy because of the name change.