On this day in history, November 19, 2004, the infamous “Malice at the Palace” brawl between the Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons occurred on live TV. A brawl that led to five players being charged with assault, nine players receiving suspensions, and five fans facing criminal charges and a lifetime ban from attending Pistons home games.
Metta World Peace, then known as Ron Artest, received the most severe punishment (73 regular-season games and 13 playoff games), resulting in nearly $5 million in lost salary. Teammate Stephen Jackson had the second-biggest suspension (30 games) for going into the crowd and punching a fan. Jermaine O’Neal received a 15-game suspension for his sliding punch at Turtle from ENTOURAGE (obviously a joke).
THE SUSPENSIONS
— John Brisker (@JohnBrisker2021) August 13, 2021
In the video above, Stephen Jackson said when the Pacers were up 15 with a minute left in the game, Jamaal Tinsley told Artest, “You can get your foul now.”
What makes this so interesting is that if Tinsley hadn’t said this to Artest, the event would never have happened. And he ended up escaping without a day of suspension.
THE DEEP REWIND
Back in 2013, Jackson spoke with ESPN’s Dan Le Batard about the incident and shared a humorous story about Artest not fully understanding the seriousness of the brawl.
“I don’t think [Artest] was thinking at the time,” Jackson said. “Me and Jamaal Tinsley every time I see him we laugh at this. Right after the brawl, we’re in the locker room. And this is why I said [Artest] never said ‘thanks.’ So we’re in the locker room, legs all scratched up from hopping over the bleachers, our adrenaline pumping, we laid a couple people out, like we did something, know what I mean? We all sit back, and Ron Artest aka Metta World Peace, leans back and looks at Jamaal Tinsley and asks us, ‘do you think we’re going to get in trouble?’ I said ‘Ron, in trouble?! We’re lucky if we still have a job!’ That was the funniest thing ever. Trouble? We’re lucky we have a job Ron.”
Ron didn’t have a job with the Pacers for much longer. After only playing 16 games the following season, he demanded a trade and was sent to Sacramento a month later.