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Prosecutor: Pacers players to be charged for brawl
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-12-01 09:27
Indiana Pacers players will be charged for fighting with fans during the Nov.
19 brawl at the end of a game against the Detroit Pistons, Oakland County
Prosecutor David Gorcyca told The Detroit News.
An unidentified fan
holds a sign referring to the season-long suspension of Indiana Pacers'
Ron Artest during a game in Seattle between the Pacers and the Seattle
SuperSonics Sunday, Nov. 28, 2004, at Key Arena in Seattle.
[AP] |
"Whoever was involved in fisticuffs
will be charged, regardless if they were wearing a jersey. It's obvious there
were several Pacer players and fans that dealt blows," Gorcyca said, the
newspaper reported Tuesday.
The prosecutor declined to say which players would be charged or what the
charges might be.
Auburn Hills police Lt. James Manning told the newspaper that he expects four
members of the Pacers to face assault and battery charges.
Manning said at a news conference Monday that a lawyer for the Pacers told
detectives that none of the players would agree to be interviewed by police.
Prosecutors could get the police report by the beginning of next week, Manning
said.
The fight between spectators and players broke out near the end of the game
after an on-court dispute over a foul. A fan hurled a drink at Pacers forward
Ron Artest, who charged into the stands, followed by teammates.
Artest was suspended without pay for the rest of the season by the NBA;
Stephen Jackson was suspended for 30 games, Jermaine O'Neal for 25. The players'
union appealed those punishments.
Police determined that a fourth member of the Pacers, reserve center David
Harrison, was involved in the brawl, too, but the NBA didn't suspend him.
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