Originally posted by SVT PETE: The law states that if a person feels he is being attacked/threatened he has a right to defend himself. That was one of my main points. If I'm walking down the street and a stranger throws a cup of beer at me, trust me, he's going to the hospital.
Artest didn't go after the guy who threw beer at him. Jackson wasn't even remotely involved and he ran up and threw the first punch at another bystander.
I'm not condoning what the rest of the players did, but in Artest's case he did what most people would have done - his reaction is human reaction. He went after the guy he thought threw it. It's not his fault he's not playing with a full deck.
Originally posted by ESC: It was one fan that hit Artest. It's inexcusable for fans to throw debris at the field and at players, but it has happened before: batteries, golf balls, coin nights are always a bad idea. What sets tonight apart is players retaliated (defended, whatever you want to call it), and the entire situation escalated into the "free for all". If that situation transpired (fans throwing stuff, players rushing in to go after the fans) in ANY other city, I'd put money down on the same result. It is unfortunately human nature for masses to get involved when situations get riotous and individuals feel they won't get caught.
