"Malice at the Palace" was a fight involving players and fans during a National Basketball Association (NBA) game between the Indiana Pacers and the defending champion Detroit Pistons on November 19, 2004, at the Palace in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The Associated Press called it "the most infamous brawl in NBA history".
Pistons center Ben Wallace attempted a layup shot during the final minute but was fouled from behind by Pacers small forward Ron Artest. A furious Wallace then shoved Artest, and a fight broke out on the court between players from both teams. The players had been separated, game officials were discussing consequences, and Artest was lying on the scorer's table pending an interview when a Pistons fan named John Green hit him with a drink thrown from several rows up in the stands.
Artest angrily charged into the crowd and grabbed another fan, Michael Ryan, who he mistakenly identified as the culprit who had thrown the drink. Several Pacers teammates followed, more drinks and punches were thrown randomly, and the incident quickly escalated into a large brawl that spread from the stands to the court and involved fans and players from both teams. The game was abandoned and never completed, as a massive police presence was called to the venue to restore order and, later, to allow the visiting Pacers to safely leave the building.
After the game, the NBA suspended nine players, including Artest and Wallace, for a total of 146 games, leading to the players losing a collective $11 million in salary. Five players were charged with assault, and were eventually sentenced to a year of probation and community service. Five fans also faced assault charges and were banned from attending Pistons home games for life. The fight also led the NBA to increase security between players and fans and limit the sale of alcohol at games.
Background
The Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons had not met since the previous season's Eastern Conference Finals, which the Pistons won in six games en route to their first NBA title since the "Bad Boys" era of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Coming off a two-game winning streak, the Pacers held a 6–2 record, while the defending champion Pistons had begun their season 4–3. The game was televised nationally on ESPN along with both teams' local broadcast affiliates, FSN Midwest (Indiana) and WDIV-TV (Detroit).
The Pacers got off to a quick start, opening up a 20-point lead with seven minutes to go before halftime. The Pistons managed to cut into the lead, trailing by 16 points by halftime. The Pistons opened the third quarter with a 9–2 run, but the Pacers ended it with a buzzer-beating three-pointer and a layup from Jamaal Tinsley heading into the fourth quarter.
Richard Hamilton and Lindsey Hunter started the fourth quarter with consecutive three-point field goals, as the Pistons cut into the lead again, but Stephen Jackson's back-to-back field goals gave the Pacers a 93–79 lead with 3:52 remaining, and essentially putting the game away. Despite the lopsided score near the end of the game, most key players on both teams remained in the game.
The Pacers were led by the 24-point effort of small forward Ron Artest, who scored 17 in the first quarter. Jermaine O'Neal notched a double-double with 20 points and 13 rebounds. Tinsley had 13 points, eight assists and a career-high eight steals. Hamilton led the Pistons with 20 points. Rasheed Wallace and Ben Wallace both recorded a double-double.
Fight
The brawl began with 45.9 seconds remaining in the final quarter of the game, when the Pacers led 97–82. Pistons center Ben Wallace was fouled from behind by Artest, who slapped him across the back of the head during a layup attempt. Wallace later said that Artest had warned that if they fought him he would be hit. Wallace responded by shoving Artest in the face with both hands, causing players from both teams to quickly get in between them as they attempted to keep the two separated.
Pistons coach Larry Brown later said he was initially not concerned, because when altercations occur in NBA games, they usually last a few seconds. After breaking up the confrontation, the referees discussed fouls and ejections before the game resumed. Sportscaster Mike Breen, calling the game for ESPN, believed Wallace would be ejected, while Bill Walton was of the opinion that Stephen Jackson should be ejected as well for shouting at the Pistons players and aggravating the situation. Breen expressed concern that, if Wallace got ejected, he would have to walk past the Pacers bench, which could have caused another incident.
As the referees huddled to discuss penalties, Artest went to the scorer's table and lay down on it, putting on a headset to speak with Pacers radio broadcaster Mark Boyle, though the broadcast team did not activate his microphone. Boyle recalled that the broadcasting team knew Artest's personality and "there was no way we were going to put an open mic in front of Ron Artest in that situation". Pacers president Donnie Walsh later stated that Artest was following advice he had received on how to calm down and avoid trouble in a volatile situation.
Ninety seconds after Wallace shoved Artest, most of both teams' players and coaches were huddled at midcourt, attempting to calm down Wallace. Tayshaun Prince was the only player on either team who did not leave the bench during the entire incident. Others became automatically eligible for one-game suspensions. While Artest was lying on the table, Wallace threw a towel at him, causing Artest to briefly stand up before he was held back by coaches and teammate Reggie Miller. A spectator, John Green, then threw a plastic cup of Diet Coke at Artest, hitting him in the chest.
Artest immediately reacted to this by jumping off the table, charging into the stands, and grabbing another spectator, Michael Ryan, whom he mistakenly believed was responsible. Artest shouted at Ryan, "Did you do it?", to which Ryan replied, "No, man. No!" Pacers play-by-play announcer Mark Boyle stood from his chair at the broadcast table in an attempt to hold back Artest and was knocked backwards and stepped on, suffering five fractured vertebrae and a gouge on his head. Afterwards, Artest apologized to Boyle and said he had not realized he had trampled him.
Jackson followed Artest into the stands and punched a fan, William Paulson, in the face in retaliation for the man throwing another drink in Artest's face while he was being restrained by other spectators. Pacers players Eddie Gill, David Harrison, Reggie Miller (who did not play because of an injury), Fred Jones, and Jamaal Tinsley, the Pistons' Rasheed Wallace, and numerous personnel (including Pistons radio analyst and former player Rick Mahorn) also quickly entered the stands to get Artest and Jackson, and to break up the fighting. Green punched Artest twice in the head from behind, as did Ben Wallace's brother, David. By this point, the incident had already spiraled out of control. More fans then began throwing drinks, food, and other objects into the melee and some fans went on the court in the confusion.
As Artest walked out of the stands, he was confronted by two more fans, Alvin "A.J." Shackleford and Charlie Haddad, who had gone down to the court. Artest punched Shackleford in the face, causing Haddad to intervene by pushing away Artest, before both fans fell over. While Haddad was on the floor, Anthony Johnson struck him in the back of the head. As Haddad stood up, Jermaine O'Neal punched him in the jaw after a running start, while slipping in liquid and falling backwards, causing witnesses Scot Pollard, ESPN sideline reporter Jim Gray, and Pistons executive Tom Wilson to briefly fear that O'Neal would kill Haddad.
William Wesley pulled Artest away from the fans, and Brown tried to calm Wallace. The scene became more chaotic as additional fans went onto the court and additional items were thrown, overwhelming arena security personnel as they tried to reestablish order. Although Auburn Hills police had plans to handle many types of disorder, and had three officers in the arena, they were unprepared for the possibility of players entering the stands or masses of fans going onto the court.
Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said, "I felt like I was fighting for my life out there." One reporter who attempted to stop Tinsley from entering the stands recalled that the player "went through me like I was butter", and NBA Commissioner David Stern, watching the game on television, recalled that he said, "Holy shit." O'Neal later said, "As bad as it looked on TV, it was at least 20 times worse in person." Pacers assistant coach Chuck Person compared the situation to being "trapped in a gladiator-type scene where the fans were the lions and we were just trying to escape with our lives. That's how it felt. That there was no exit. That you had to fight your way out." Players' children and others in the audience cried from fear and shock. Fearful fans tried to flee. Derrick Coleman stood near Brown and Brown's ball boy son to protect them.
Referees ended the game with 45.9 seconds remaining, and awarded the Pacers a 97–82 win. Pistons fans booed the Pacers players as they were escorted from the court by officials and security, and continued to throw beverages, popcorn and other objects (including a steel folding chair that nearly hit O'Neal) at them as they walked under the tunnel to the locker room. Brown tried to talk to the fans over the loudspeaker of the arena in an attempt to stop the chaos, but his pleas availed nothing, and he threw down the microphone in exasperation.
Pistons public address announcer John Mason implored the remaining crowd to leave the court and arena because the game was over, and pleaded with fans to not throw any objects or engage in fighting. No players from either team spoke to the media before leaving the arena. Eventually, police officers swarmed the arena, threatening to handcuff those who would not leave. Nine spectators were injured, and two were hospitalized.
In the Pacers' locker room, O'Neal and Carlisle nearly got into a fight, as O'Neal was upset that some coaches had tried to restrain players while they were defending themselves out on the court. After everyone calmed down, Artest asked Jackson, "Jack, you think we going to get in trouble?" Jackson replied, "Are you serious, bro? Trouble? Ron, we'll be lucky if we still have a fucking job!" The conversation convinced an amazed Jackson and Pollard that Artest "wasn't in his right mind, to ask that question".
Auburn Hills police entered the locker room to make arrests, but the team rushed Artest onto the bus and refused to take him off. The police decided to protect the Pacers as they left the arena, delaying decisions about criminal charges and arrests until after reviewing videos of the incident. By the time the Pacers' team bus departed, dozens of police cruisers were stationed in the parking lot and lined the surrounding road.
Charges
Suspensions
On November 20, 2004, the day after the brawl, the NBA suspended Artest, Jackson, O'Neal, and Wallace indefinitely, saying that their actions were "shocking, repulsive, and inexcusable". The following day, the NBA announced that nine players would be suspended for a total of what eventually became 146 games: 137 games for Pacers players and nine games for Pistons players. David Harrison was also seen fighting with fans, but the NBA stated that he would not be suspended because "the incident occurred as the players were attempting to leave the floor".
Artest was given the longest suspension; he was suspended for the remainder of the 2004–05 NBA season, a suspension that eventually totaled 86 games (73 regular season and 13 subsequent playoff games), the longest suspension for an on-court incident in NBA history, surpassing the 68-game suspension given to Latrell Sprewell after he assaulted his team’s coach in 1997, and the 26-game suspension given to Kermit Washington after he punched Rudy Tomjanovich in 1977. The players suspended also lost in excess of US$11 million in salary due to the suspensions, with Artest alone losing almost US$5 million.
In the week following the announcement of the suspensions, the players' union appealed the suspensions of Artest, Jackson, and O'Neal, saying they thought that commissioner Stern had "exceeded his authority". Jackson felt that despite losing millions the players were fortunate, as Stern could have expelled them from the league entirely.
A federal arbitrator upheld the full length of all suspensions, except that of O'Neal, which was reduced to 15 games. The NBA appealed the decision of the arbitrator to reduce O'Neal's suspension in federal court, and on December 24, a judge issued a temporary injunction allowing O'Neal to play until a full hearing was held on the NBA's appeal.
O'Neal played in two more games before the NBA's case was brought before the U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, New York, on December 30. The NBA argued that under the terms of the league's Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), Stern had absolute authority to hand out suspensions and hear appeals for all on-court incidents. The judge ruled that because O'Neal's behavior was an off-court incident, arbitration was allowed under the CBA and thus the arbitrator was within his rights to reduce the suspension. Despite O'Neal's successful appeal, no further appeals were made to reduce Artest's and Jackson's suspensions.