While Ron Artest was a member of the Pacers, then General Manager Larry Bird tried to defend the troubled player. But had to have been speechless on November 19th, 2004 when the Pacers were at Detroit, playing the Pistons. That was the fateful night that Artest climbed his way into the stands and attacked fans. Tempers had been boiling between the two teams, and this has been considered one of the worst moments in not only NBA history, but sports in general. Artest received an 86 game suspension, costing him about $5,000,000. Hit even harder was Jermaine O’Neil, losing out on nearly $15,000,000 for his involvement. There’s not doubt that ‘Ronnie’ had talent. Bird knew that and did his best to work with him. But what took place 17 years ago today was inexcusable. Period.
A documentary on Netflix was released earlier this summer, interviewing players who were there, including Ronnie. Here’s the trailer for it:
(source Netfllix via YouTube)
