Artest attacked the wrong guy.

[blindzebra]

Pay attention Rut.

Just had it on ESPN, they had video from behind the basket that shows a guy in a white hat and a blue Wallace shirt throwing the cup. Artest runs right past this guy and attacked the guy holding the cup.

The guy that threw it is the guy that sucker punches Artest after he gets pulled off of the guy he attacked.

[JRutledge]

No you need to pay attention BZ, I do not care!! Fans have not business throwing things. That action started the fire.

I do not care if Artest went after the wrong guy. A fan had not business throwing anything on the court. Nothing Artest did warrant that action. I do not care that he was lying on the table. No one has the right to throw an object that hits him in the face. No one!!! That person wanted a reaction and got one. This individual that threw the beer or beverage was also a convicted felon and had 3 DUI convictions. He also started gave a cheap shot to Artest when he was not going after him.

You can come here with your holler than thou attitude and tell us what Artest should have done. But if I throw something at a person I am going to expect they are going to come back at me or react in a violent way, PERIOD. If they go after the wrong person, I would still be at fault for starting the riot. Artest has been punished and should have been punished.

This is also not the first fight during a sporting event. This happens all over the country at youth games or HS events and spectators behave in the vilest ways you can imagine. This particular incident just took place at a professional sporting event. I am not condoning Artest behavior, but he was provoked. You cannot say or do anything to someone and expect no one is going to react to you.

Peace

[Nevadaref]

Originally posted by blindzebra
Pay attention Rut.

Just had it on ESPN, they had video from behind the basket that shows a guy in a white hat and a blue Wallace shirt throwing the cup. Artest runs right past this guy and attacked the guy holding the cup.

The guy that threw it is the guy that sucker punches Artest after he gets pulled off of the guy he attacked.

We knew this over the weekend. One of the reports on a highlight clip I saw already said that he went after the wrong guy.

[rwest]

Suppose a similar incident happened at our place of employment. Suppose someone threw a beer in my face and then I mistakenly attacked the wrong person. What would happen? I would probably be arrested and fired.

JR, you say you don't care that the wrong fan was attacked. I do! That fan did nothing to deserve being hit.

I don't condone what the fans did. It was a disgrace and criminal. Charges should be as severe as the law allows. However, our society has gotten more violent. In our culture today, if someone disrespects you, people take that as a right to fight. When I was growing up, I was taught to walk away from a conflict before it broke nto a fight. Don't get me wrong. I believe you have a right to defend yourself. But Artest should never have gone up into the stands.

JR, just because someone says something to you that you don't like, does not give you the license to beat the snot out of him. Nor does being hit by a cup of beer. The reponse must be proportional. Beer in the face = Fists in the face. I don't think so. Artest went way overboard.

Just my opinion.

[bob jenkins]

We don't need multiple threads on this situation.


Let's keep all this crap in the "Ron Artest" thread.