Metta Sandiford-Artest—previously known as Metta World Peace and before that, Ron Artest—was at his breaking point in 2004. The former All-Star and NBA Defensive Player of the Year, then of the Indiana Pacers, saw his life spiral out of control as mental health struggles, specifically his battles with anxiety and depression, consumed him at every turn.
“I knew something was definitely wrong,” said Artest in the new documentary Untold: Malice at the Palace, released on Netflix earlier this week. “I just needed to step back. I said I want my retirement papers. And the Pacers said, ‘No, you’ve got to play. You have a contract, six more years.’”
Always something of a loose cannon, Artest’s behavior became increasingly erratic that season, ruffling feathers within the Pacers locker room. Cognizant that his mental health was deteriorating, the 6’7” forward from Queens requested time off to promote a new rap album and was also granted a sabbatical following a death in his family. However, days after leaving the team to attend a funeral, Artest, much to the confusion of his Pacers teammates, appeared on stage at the Source Awards in Miami, presenting an award alongside rapper Petey Pablo.
“I was trying to find any way to escape,” Artest admitted. “I really [needed] to figure out what was wrong. ‘Why are you not happy around basketball or your teammates?’”
A rugged defender known for his physicality and frequent on-court outbursts, Artest addressed his anger issues by consulting a team therapist, but when a Pistons fan pelted him with a drink, lighting the fuse for what would become the most infamous brawl in NBA history, the emotions he had been bottling up came pouring out. “I had so much anxiety all the time. You know you get that heart pumping. And it was something that I couldn’t control at that time,” recalled Artest. “I was already in therapy, but you don’t get better overnight.”
With tensions already high from a chippy Eastern Conference Finals months earlier (Artest’s flagrant foul on Richard Hamilton in Game 6 of that series proved to be the final nail in Indiana’s playoff coffin), November 19th’s highly-anticipated rematch between the Pacers and Pistons quickly devolved into anarchy with players and spectators trading blows in an ugly scene at the Palace of Auburn Hills. After Artest leapt into the stands to confront the fan who hurled a drink at him, the former 16th overall pick feared the worst, assuming his career was over. “In my head, I’m like, ‘You’re done. You might not ever play again. So start thinking about something else.’”
Artest would later find redemption with the Lakers, contributing to their title run in 2010, but his involvement in the Malice at the Palace remains a permanent stain on his NBA legacy. Response to the incident was predictably harsh with many of the fight’s participants (Artest, Jermaine O’Neal and Stephen Jackson, in particular) framed as “thugs” by the mainstream media including Bob Costas (then of NBC Sports) and Keith Olbermann. The PR catastrophe that followed prompted commissioner David Stern to levy unprecedented punishments, suspending Artest for the remainder of 2004-05 with Jackson (30 games) and O’Neal (25 games, later reduced to 15 on appeal) also facing significant bans. The aftermath of the Malice at the Palace, largely absolving fans of blame while chastising players for purveying “hip hop” culture (Olbermann regrettably described the NBA’s predominantly black player base as “gangster wannabes”), has since fueled a larger discussion about “coded language” and other elements of institutional racism.
“These are thugs. That’s literally the word they used. And everybody else signed off, ‘Yeah, it’s rap music and this.’ They’re not saying that when hockey [players are] beating the hell out of each other for decades,” argued O’Neal, noting the NBA instituted a new dress code for players shortly after the Palace incident. “Television was putting pressure on the league to say these guys are hoodlums, these guys are out of control.”
For over a decade, the NBA had been understandably reluctant to release any raw footage from the much-maligned Malice at the Palace, fearing irreparable damage to the league’s reputation. But with Untold, the debut episode of Netflix’s new sports documentary series, Artest, O’Neal and Jackson are finally able to present their side of one of the most compelling basketball sagas of our lifetime.
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