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Judge rules O'Neal can continue to play
A federal judge ruled Thursday that Indiana All-Star Jermaine O'Neal does not have to serve the final 10 games of his suspension for fighting with fans at the end of the Pacers-Pistons game last month.
The league went to court after arbitrator Roger Kaplan said O'Neal's penalty should be cut to 15 games, citing the player's "character, community involvement and citizenship."
The NBA challenged Kaplan's authority to hear an appeal of Stern's punishment.
Before rendering his decision, Daniels and lawyers for both sides portrayed the fight during the Nov. 19 game between Indiana and Detroit as unprecedented.
Daniels said he did not believe the players' union or the league had imagined a scenario like the brawl when they created player contracts over the years.
"I don't think they expected a riot or a melee to occur," he said. "It's clear to me nobody expected something like this to happen at a basketball game."
Hours of legal arguments this week and last week focused on whether the brawl could be considered on-court or off-court behavior. Language in player contracts seemed to indicate on-court behavior is punishable by the league commissioner and cannot be appealed to an arbitrator.
League lawyer Jeffrey Mishkin argued that the fight with fans was on-court behavior, especially when players were "wearing an NBA uniform on national television."
Union attorney Jeffrey Kessler argued that it was not.
"Fighting with or striking a fan has never been characterized as conduct on the playing court," Daniels said, reading from a written ruling. "Striking a fan is inexcusable, and appropriately considered something different and much more serious."
O'Neal, recovering from the flu, watched the legal arguments in the morning. He said outside court that he found them "educational."
In his ruling, the arbitrator reduced O'Neal's suspension and upheld Ron Artest's season-long suspension, along with those of Stephen Jackson (30 games) and Anthony Johnson (five games). Other players were also suspended, but the union did not appeal those penalties.
Indiana coach Rick Carlisle was pleased the judge ruled in favor of O'Neal.
"It's an important decision for our franchise for obvious reasons," Carlisle said. "But, you know, this is consistent with who Jermaine O'Neal is as a person, consistent with who he has been as a person. Having Jermaine back on a permanent basis is good for our league.
"The guy has been a good person, a caring guy. He has been a guy who has been great in the community and those things just don't go away. This is vindication for him on a certain level."
During the brawl, Artest sprinted into the stands and confronted a fan he believed had thrown a drink at him. Jackson also went into the stands and exchanged punches with fans, while O'Neal and Johnson punched fans who came onto the court.
Five Pacers players and seven fans face charges. O'Neal served the 15th game of his suspension on Dec. 22. During the stretch, Indiana lost 10 games. He returned to action Saturday, playing in the Pacers' 98-93 loss to the Pistons.
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