The Malice at The Palace

The Malice at The Palace is one of four names given to the on-court altercation at a NBA game between the Detroit Pistons and their arch-rivals, the Indiana Pacers on November 19, 2004 at The Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan which spread into the stands. This disturbance has led to serious repercussions for those involved from both the NBA and the legal authorities. This incident is also known as The Basket Brawl, The Palace Brawl and The Motown Melee.

Public reaction

Commentators, and those familiar with the event outside the sports media, appear to be divided over the issues of who should primarily be blamed for the incident. A commonly-voiced opinion is that there is never any valid excuse for a player to go into the stands, no matter how intense the provocation may have been. Some have also articulated the view that the more physical - and arguably "dirty" - style of play that prevails in the NBA's Eastern Conference (to which both the Pistons and Pacers belong), as opposed to the faster, "show-time" style favored by most Western Conference teams, may have been a contributing factor in the melee. The fans took a lot of heat. Most notably from the NBA correspondents for ESPN, with John Saunders calling them, "A bunch of punks." The correspondents later changed their opinions the next day.

Related Topics:
ESPN - John Saunders

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