He Got Shame

During Justice Clarence Thomas' 1991 confirmation hearings, he charged that he was the victim of what he called a "high-tech lynching." Most African Americans at the time thought the complaint was absurd – an abomination – a tossing off of the suffering of thousands of our ancestors, hung from trees. How can depriving a man a seat on the Supreme Court compare with depriving someone of their life?

Now, with the Ron Artest Affair, we are still searching for a more appropriate term.

Indiana Pacers basketball forward Ron Artest was not lynched last week. He was not even injured. He was suspended for 73 games for his part in last week's widely publicized, out-of-control brawl between players and fans in a basketball game between the Pacers and the Detroit Pistons. Eight other players were suspended for up to 30 games for their roles in the altercation but Artest's punishment – banishment for the rest of the season – indicates NBA Commissioner David Stern's belief that Artest was the instigator of the events. It is the longest non-drug-related suspension in NBA history.

"What [Artest] did was unforgivable," Stern said in announcing the punishment. "It was a horrible scene and it is up to us to see it is not repeated."

For those who watched the endless news broadcasts or read newspaper accounts of the fight, it was hard to disagree. Larry Lage of the Associated Press started off his account – which was the basis of stories printed all over the country – by calling it "one of the ugliest NBA brawls ever – and Indiana's Ron Artest was right in the middle of it. Artest and [Pacers teammate] Stephen Jackson charged into the stands and fought with fans in the final minute of their game against the Detroit Pistons."

More details were given in a story posted the night of the fight on the ESPN.com Web site, which described events following initial pushing and shoving among the players on the floor. "Just when it appeared tempers had died down, Artest was struck by a full cup thrown from the stands. He jumped up and charged into the stands, throwing punches as he climbed over seats. ... After Artest charged into the stands, Jackson joined him in the melee and threw punches at fans, who punched back at them."

The written accounts were verified by identical video clips shown over and over by local news broadcasts around the country – the most memorable shots being Artest leaping over seats to get to a fan, later he and Jackson in a wild fistfight with Detroit fans in the stands, and then both Artest and teammate Jermaine O'Neal back on the floor of the arena, alternately punching another Detroit fan, knocking him down twice. The broadcasts ended with the wild aftermath: Detroit fans – apparently in retaliation for the actions by Artest, Jackson, and O'Neal – pummeling Piston players with food and liquid as the players ran through a gauntlet to the dressing room.

It was virtually impossible to turn on a television in the days following the Basketbrawl, as it was dubbed. They are burned into our national brains as our collective memory of those events. And they are absolutely wrong.

I was watching the Detroit-Indiana game on ESPN, live, and watched the entire fight as it unfolded. Since then I've watched the fight portion of the video – the entire fight – several times over. Watching it in its entire sequence leaves a cause-and-effect version of the events that is very different from the national impression.

The ESPN.com account starts out correctly. After being shoved on the floor by the Piston's Ben Wallace, and while other players were milling around, shoving and pointing and arguing, Artest retreated to the scorer's table and laid down on his back, away from the scuffling. It is true that a cup of liquid, striking him full in the face, caused him to "jump up and charge into the stands." It is not true that he was "throwing punches as he climbed over seats." In fact, Artest throws no punches at all in that initial charge. He appears to be taking aim at a particular fan, passing others unmolested as they jump out of his way. When he reaches the fan – who, we can assume, Artest believes threw the cup – Artest does not hit him, or even tackle him, two actions we might expect the player to take immediately after being struck in the face with the cup and liquid, when he would have been at his angriest, and when he would have been at his most out of control – if he were out of control. Instead, Artest grabs the fan by the shoulder, and drags him down into the seats.