"The video clearly shows it was Harrison who hit Ackerman," Manning said. "We are 100 percent positive it was Harrison."
Artest, Jackson, O'Neal and Harrison exchanged blows with fans just before the end of the Pacers' 97-82 victory Friday. In one of the most violent clashes between fans and athletes in this country, Artest and Jackson went into the stands and exchanged punches with fans. O'Neal never went into the stands but the 6-foot-11 forward-center punched several fans on the court. Videotape shows numerous fans hurling debris at players.
| _____ Brawl in Detroit _____
Five Pacers are charged with assault and battery for their roles in the brawl.
Ron Artest continues his enigmatic tendencies as he sorts through the aftermath of his brawl and the public's perception of him.
_____ On Our Site _____
Live Online: Post's Greg Sandoval discussed the brawl Wednesday.
What's your opinion?
_____ Multimedia _____
Audio: Prosecutor David Gorcyca talks about the charges.
Audio: Chief hopes fans will change as a result of charges.
Video: Artest expresses regret for the brawl and promotes a new CD.
Video: The Post's Wise on the suspensions and the aftermath.
_____ A Fit Punishment? _____ | | |
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Artest said on the "Today Show" that he regretted his involvement in the incident.
"I respect [NBA Commissioner] David Stern's decisions, but I don't think I should have been out for the whole season," he said.
Billy Hunter, the director of the NBA players union, said that a suspension of about 35 games would have been a more fitting punishment for Artest. The union is asking that the appeal be heard by an arbitrator, but league rules give Stern the right to decide on all appeals.
Criminal charges against some of the players and a number of fans are forthcoming, said authorities in Auburn Hills, but it will take at least two weeks before they compile all the evidence.
The man who threw the cup that hit Artest was identified by Oakland County Prosecutor David Gorcyca on Monday as John Green, a 39-year-old contractor from the Detroit suburb of West Bloomfield Township.
Green is shown clearly on videotape lobbing a cup of ice from the stands, according to authorities. The 6-3, 235-pound Green also grabbed the 6-7, 246-pound Artest from behind once the Pacers forward reached the stands and hit him from behind, Gorcyca said.
Green is on probation for driving while intoxicated. His record includes a 1988 assault with intent to do great bodily harm and an attempt to escape from custody that same year, according to the Michigan Department of Corrections' online database. In 1986 he was convicted for carrying a concealed weapon and for check fraud.
