Ron Artest’s suspension, while unfortunate that it has to happen, does, in fact, have to happen. David Stern’s got to protect his league and its image. He’s been fighting the public image that the NBA is a bunch of thugs for years, and he’s done a pretty good job of combating it. What happened in Detroit set him back ten years, and there’s no way he can respond in any way that isn’t harsh and severe. That’s what he did.

A week ago when he wanted time off, everyone in the world ridiculed Ron Artest. Now David Stern suspends him for the year, and everyone thinks he’s getting a raw deal. I don’t agree. I love Ron Artest, and have for a while, but I really don’t want to hear the argument, “Hey, if someone hit you with a beer, what would you do?” I don’t know, I just might beat their ass. But I’m not in the NBA. If I was at some function, being paid to represent my organization and the entire league, and someone hit me with a beer… yeah, I’d probably just have to take it. Ron Artest’s physical well-being was not jeopardized by that beer. No one put him in danger. He just got hit with a beer, and he’s not the first athlete to ever get hit by a beer. He was being paid at that time to represent himself, the Pacers organization, and the NBA. There is no justification for going into the stands and trying to physically hurt a fan.

Now, if you see Ron Artest in a bar sometime, and you throw a beer at him… I hope he puts you in the hospital. But that night, on that court, he was wrong to go after that fan.

And if you don’t buy that argument, consider this. If Artest does just sit there and take it, he doesn’t have to miss the rest of the year. The NBA doesn’t suffer a major public relations black eye. His teammates don’t lose a combined 5+ million in salary. The Pacers don’t lose their three best players for a long period of time. Still think all of that’s worth it, just because he wanted to punch the guy who threw a beer at him?

Before leaving the subject of the suspensions, Stephen Jackson got off easy. At least Ron Artest was provoked in some manner before going crazy. No one did a damn thing to Stephen Jackson and he was running around looking to punch anything in sight. I don’t know why the NBA deemed Ron Artest more guilty than Stephen Jackson. I promise you that Stephen Jackson did more physical harm to fans that night than did Ron Artest, and he didn’t even have a reason to do it. I’m expecting criminal charges to be pressed against him.

There’s also been some interesting talk about the role of the fans in this event, and at sporting events in general. Clearly, anyone who throws something is an idiot and should be arrested. The guy who tossed the beer should be arrested, whoever came onto the court hopefully learned their lesson, and whoever threw the chair should be in jail.

But the discussion has grown from there, with guys like Chad Ford and Tim Legler questioning the general attitude of fans who “think they can do and say anything they want.” Obviously, throwing anything is wrong, but do they want to control what fans can say? Do they want the league to print, “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all” on the tickets? Should booing be a felony?

Now, don’t get me wrong. Fans say some messed up shit, and a lot of it isn’t cool. I’m not saying they’re right to do it, and I’m not condoning it. But where is the line drawn? Is it OK to bring up past performances? A choke last year in the playoffs? A drug suspensions? Gambling habits? Personal lives? A sister named Robin? What if someone is just really sensitive about the “Na na na na, Na na na na, Hey Hey Hey, Goodbye” song?

Again, I’m sorry, but if you’re an athlete, you’ve just got to take it. It might not be fair that you have to, but you do. If someone’s getting really abusive, the only thing you can do is get security. If you’re in the NBA, NFL, MLB or wherever, if you can’t handle some drunken fan talking shit to you, I don’t know how you got there to begin with. If a fan can rattle you to the point that you want to fight, you probably don’t belong in major professional sports.

So what’s the solution? Well, halting beer sales is one solution, or at least stopping them at halftime. I wouldn’t have any problem with that. There should also be an NBA-hired, NBA-trained security guard behind both benches at all games. It’s kind of amazing that this doesn’t already happen. Arena security is one thing, but let’s be honest, those guys couldn’t secure a Dunkin’ Donuts. There’s $70 million worth of salary sitting on the bench, but they won’t spend $100,000 extra to have some bad motherfucker protecting it? Shit-talking to the bench would go down, and I guarantee that no one would be as likely to throw a beer.