Indianapolis ? Scot Pollard, who has been out of action the last two weeks with a back injury, was on the Indianapolis Pacers’ bench dressed in a nifty black sports jacket instead of a jersey Friday night.
That’s when all heck broke loose on the court and in the stands at the Pacers-Pistons NBA game in Detroit.
Pollard, a former Kansas University forward, is sure he would not have joined Ron Artest, Stephen Jackson and Jermaine O’Neal punching fans on the court and in the stands in the last minute of a victory over Detroit. He had a perfect view of the action.
“It was such a surreal scene,” Pollard said. “I just watched with disgust. I’m just glad I can tell my kids I didn’t participate. The lack of security. The way we acted. The way they acted. There were a lot of poor decisions made in the heat of battle. It was just ugly. It didn’t have to go that way. For everybody’s sake I hope it doesn’t ever have to go that way again.”
Artest, O’Neal, Jackson and Ben Wallace of the Pistons, who started the melee by pushing Artest in the face with less than a minute to play, all were suspended by the NBA on Sunday for their roles in the brawl. Artest is out for the rest of the season, while Jackson will miss 30 games, O’Neal 25, Wallace six games and Indiana’s Anthony Johnson five. Four players were suspended for a game apiece.
Pollard said he was dismayed players and fans sparred violently.
“One of the special things about basketball is the fans are right there,” Pollard said. “As a fan, we have a chance to interact in our sport unlike any other sport. There are no pads, no walls of glass. Our courtside seats are courtside seats, and that’s what attracts people to basketball.
“The intimacy and fan interactions, that’s something special. And I would hope something like this wouldn’t change that. If people stop buying tickets, the league’s going to suffer,” Pollard added. “If people stop watching, the league will suffer.”
Another person with Kansas ties, former KU coach Larry Brown, coach of the Pistons, said the brawl was the low point of his career.
He grabbed the microphone to ask fans to stop throwing beer and punching Pacers’ players, but the microphone didn’t work. He threw it down in disgust on the scorer’s table and limped away. Brown is recovering from hip surgery.
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“We have a responsibility to act the right way all the time,” he said. “I never buy this thing that we’re not role models. I’ve said numerous times that some of the things I do on the bench-I go home shaking my head and feel bad about it because the fact that young people are watching you.”
As far as Pollard’s injury, he dressed for Saturday’s home loss to Orlando, but didn’t play. He was injured during a fall against Minnesota on Nov. 9.
“When I fell, it was more than just a tweak,” he said. “I knew I hurt something, because my left leg went numb. That’s why it took me awhile to get up and I was just sitting there with a dazed look on my face.”
“I didn’t do a thing for seven days,” Pollard added. “I doubt I have any conditioning.”
For more on violence in sports, see the 6News story at 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Sunflower Broadband’s Channel 6 and pick up a copy of Tuesday’s Journal-World.
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NBA suspends Artest for rest of season