In 2004, the Malice at the Palace transformed basketball forever. A new documentary series on Netflix takes a look back at the events that surrounded that infamous night in Detroit now almost 20 years later.
The five-part series called “Untold” features interviews with Jermaine O’Neal, Stephen Jackson, Metta World Peace, Reggie Miller, Ben Wallace, Tim Donaghy, Donnie Walsh, and a collection of fans, police, and security personnel who witnessed the events of Nov. 19, 2004 unfold.
The Full Court Sound Off podcast discussed this new docuseries this week, with Solomon and guest co-host Chris Haynes diving into what they learned from “Untold.” The duo weigh in on how the narrative around the Malice at the Palace was constructed at the time and who was more in the wrong, the players or the fans? Plus they give their thoughts on the penalties that the NBA levied against a few of the players involved in the melee.
Malice at the Palace: The Fallout
After a massive brawl that involved players and fans happened near the end of a regular season NBA game in Detroit between the Pistons and Pacers, the NBA doled out some serious punishments.
Following the Malice at the Palace, Ron Artest, now known as Metta World Peace, was suspended for the rest of the season for his involvement, which equated to 73 regular season contests and 13 playoff games and $4,995,000 in salary lost. Stephen Jackson was given a 30-game suspension with $1,700,000 in salary lost, Jermaine O’Neal was hit with a 15-game suspension (after an appeal), which costed him $4,111,000 in lost salary. Other penalties longer than one game were given to Ben Wallace (six games, $400,000 salary lost) and Anthony Johnson (five games, $122,222 salary lost). This doesn’t account for the legal ramifications for some of the players, which included one year of probation, a $250 fine, at least 60 hours of community service, and anger management therapy for Artest, Jackson, O’Neal, Johnson, and David Harrison.
The reputations of these players were harmed for a long time, arguably forever, and many moving parts played in a role in the fallout after the Malice at the Palace. It remains one of the most notable events in all of basketball history, let alone in NBA history.
