Stephen Jackson has never liked the fact he was regarded as a “gangster” in the NBA, despite some mistakes off the court.
But some of that label comes from an incident on the court, which the former NBA star says he has no regrets over.
Jackson was among those players involved in the “Malice at the Palace” on Nov. 19, 2004 when Ron Artest charged the stands in Detroit after a Pistons fan threw a drink at him.
Jackson followed Artest into the stands and punched the fan — an incident that resulted in a 30-game suspension for Jackson and cost him $1.7 million in lost salary.
But Jackson, appearing on Rex Chapman’s “Charges” podcast, believes things would have panned out differently if that were to happen again today.
“The only incident I had was when they threw a beer on my teammate. And yeah, they was supposed to get their ass whipped because they shouldn’t be throwing stuff on players,” Jackson said in a clip released to Audacy by Portal A. “And I don’t regret hitting that fan at all. I regret losing $3 million behind it. But if that happened today, they wouldn’t have took our money, and we wouldn’t have gotten suspended with all the stuff going on today. But I didn’t mind it. Because I played the game with that passion.”
The NBA certainly seems to be more player-friendly today, and fans are more empathetic toward players being abused by other fans, especially recently.
There were several fan-player incidents at the start of the NBA postseason this year, from Russell Westbrook being restrained from going after a fan pouring popcorn on him to a fan at Madison Square Garden spitting on Hawks star Trae Young.
The fans responsible for each incident have been banned from the arena and the public opinion has tended to side with the players, who still must show restraint from escalating things.
It is hard to imagine, though, had Westbrook, Young or any other player punch a fan in the face that there would not be any sort of discipline.
Perhaps not as harsh as the 30-game suspension Jackson received, or 86 games Artest was forced to miss, but to say nothing would happen is quite a bold statement.
Meanwhile, Jackson says he doesn’t regret his actions because he believes the mistakes he made during his playing career have helped shape the person he is today.
“We all make mistakes,” he said. “Even with being on probation and violating probation and having to do seven days in jail while in the NBA. Look at me now: I don’t smoke, I don’t drink, I’m a Muslim now. All those things made me and perfected me to be the man I am today. I don’t regret any of it. I embraced my journey, I embrace everything I’ve been through. It wasn’t a mistake. … As long as you evolve, then who cares?”
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