Re: Artest gone for year, other suspensions absurdly long
The fans that went onto the court and threw stuff were clearly wrong, but two wrongs do not make a right. From a policy perspective, the league cannot just let the laws of the jungle prevail. By allowing a player to retaliate against a fan just for the sake of his honor or his teammates' honor without severe consequences, the league would be encouraging a similar incident to occur in the future. Any rule making body such as a sporting league or government cannot turn a blind eye to vigilantism because doing so just perpetuates the cycle of violence, which is exactly what they are trying to prevent.
If you think that the player's supsensions are not proportional to their offenses, think about the proportionality of tackling someone and punching them in the face for throwing a cup of water. Or what about coldcocking someone in the face for simply being where they should not be?
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