The NBA has suspended New York Knicks forward Antonio Davis for five games for entering the stands on Wednesday night to confront a fan he thought posed a threat to his wife.
The suspension was much more lenient than past incidents in which players went into the crowd to confront fans, especially in light of last year's brawl at a game between the Pistons and Pacers that resulted in Ron Artest being suspended for the remainder of the season and several players facing criminal charges for their actions. In this instance, no punches were thrown and the league obviously accepted Davis's explanation that he thought his wife was in danger.
NBA vice president of basketball operations Stu Jackson explained the reason for the suspension. 'At the end of the day, what we had to decide on was the issue of Antonio breaking the barrier from the court into the stands.'
'Certainly the message was very clear after the November 19 [2004] incident in that it was clear to our players that they were not to enter the stands under any circumstances,' Jackson said. 'Certainly this suspension is evident to the fact that we're very serious about that declaration. We realize there were some mitigating circumstances and we did in fact take that into account.'
Knicks coach Larry Brown thought the suspension was too harsh. 'I could understand the league's point of view, but I'd like to put Stu Jackson or David Stern or one of those guys in that situation and see how they would have reacted,' Brown said. 'I'm amazed at the restraint he had.'
Davis issued a statement after the game explaining why he acted the way he did. 'I witnessed my wife being threatened by a man that I learned later to be intoxicated,' the statement read. 'I saw him touch her, and I know I should not have acted the way I did, but I would have felt terrible if I didn't react. There was no time to call security. It happened too quickly.'
The fan, later identified as 22-year-old Michael Axelrod, said he did nothing wrong and told reporters he intended to sue Davis and his wife for their actions. Axelrod said he would sue Kendra Davis for battery and Antonio Davis for slander.
'When I go to games, I cheer as hard as I can for the Bulls, and I boo as hard as I can for whoever they're playing,' Axelrod said. 'I don't feel comfortable if players are allowed to easily jump into the crowd whenever they feel like it's necessary.'
Axelrod claimed that Kendra Davis 'came out of her seat. I didn't even pay attention to her. I thought she was just going to the bathroom or something,' he said. He later claimed she put both hands on his face and stopped when he yelled for security. Axelrod also said he was unaware Kendra was Davis's wife until the player came running into the stands.
The players union said it plans to file a grievance with the league office over the suspension. Meanwhile, the Knicks will be forced to play their next game with only 11 players on their roster.
The NBA has suspended New York Knicks forward Antonio Davis for five games for entering the stands on Wednesday night to confront a fan he thought posed a threat to his wife.
The suspension was much more lenient than past incidents in which players went into the crowd to confront fans, especially in light of last year's brawl at a game between the Pistons and Pacers that resulted in Ron Artest being suspended for the remainder of the season and several players facing criminal charges for their actions. In this instance, no punches were thrown and the league obviously accepted Davis's explanation that he thought his wife was in danger.
NBA vice president of basketball operations Stu Jackson explained the reason for the suspension. 'At the end of the day, what we had to decide on was the issue of Antonio breaking the barrier from the court into the stands.'
'Certainly the message was very clear after the November 19 [2004] incident in that it was clear to our players that they were not to enter the stands under any circumstances,' Jackson said. 'Certainly this suspension is evident to the fact that we're very serious about that declaration. We realize there were some mitigating circumstances and we did in fact take that into account.'
Knicks coach Larry Brown thought the suspension was too harsh. 'I could understand the league's point of view, but I'd like to put Stu Jackson or David Stern or one of those guys in that situation and see how they would have reacted,' Brown said. 'I'm amazed at the restraint he had.'
Davis issued a statement after the game explaining why he acted the way he did. 'I witnessed my wife being threatened by a man that I learned later to be intoxicated,' the statement read. 'I saw him touch her, and I know I should not have acted the way I did, but I would have felt terrible if I didn't react. There was no time to call security. It happened too quickly.'
The fan, later identified as 22-year-old Michael Axelrod, said he did nothing wrong and told reporters he intended to sue Davis and his wife for their actions. Alexrod said he would sue Kendra Davis for battery and Antonio Davis for slander.
'When I go to games, I cheer as hard as I can for the Bulls, and I boo as hard as I can for whoever they're playing,' Axelrod said. 'I don't feel comfortable if players are allowed to easily jump into the crowd whenever they feel like it's necessary.'
Axelrod claimed that Kendra Davis 'came out of her seat. I didn't even pay attention to her. I thought she was just going to the bathroom or something,' he said. He later claimed she put both hands on his face and stopped when he yelled for security. Alelrod also said he was unaware Kendra was Davis's wife until the player came running into the stands.
The players union said it plans to file a grievance with the league office over the suspension. Meanwhile, the Knicks will be forced to play their next game with only 11 players on their roster.
