In 2004 Metta World Peace (then known as Ron Artest) and Stephen Jackson played central roles in one of the NBA’s darkest moments, the “Malice at the Palace,” when those two players charged into the stands and fought with fans.
Speaking with ESPN’s Dan Le Batard, Jackson laughed about the scary brawl. Well let me say this. All the racial slurs, all the things I’ve heard, all the things I’ve heard about my mom and my basketball game and my kids, and all this, it felt good to punch a fan one time.”
He expressedsome regret over the fight, but leaned toward defending his decision. He justified his actions by saying he was only acting as a good teammate and friend.
“I’m not going to lie. I regret it, because I lost three million dollars and I almost lost my job. And I regret it, but when I initially went into the stands, I went in there to help Ron, if you look at the tape. I go up to a row above Ron, because I was trying to grab him. Well as I got up there to grab him, another fan threw another beer in his face. I felt like he got assaulted at the time, so if you’re up here, you should be breaking it up. But if you throw a beer, you deserve a lick too. He got it.”
Peeling back the curtain, Jackson said he, Artest and Jamaal Tinsley were laughing in the immediate aftermath of the fracas.
“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.”
Jackson has been known throughout the league as a talented but enigmatic player. He was cut by the San Antonio Spurs late in the season due to clashes with head coach Gregg Popovich about his role on the team and his methods of challenging younger players.
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