AUBURN HILLS, Michigan, Dec 8 (AFP) - Prosecutors charged five National Basketball Association players and five spectators who fought in a November 19 brawl with assault and battery counts here Wednesday.
Indiana Pacers players Ron Artest, Stephen Jackson, Anthony Johnson and David Harrison each received one misdemeanor assault and battery count for their actions.
Teammate Jermaine O`Neal received two assault and battery charges for hitting both an usher and a spectator who had come onto the floor during the melee in the final seconds of the NBA game against Detroit.
Each misdemeanor charge could bring 93 days in jail and a 500-dollar fine on the NBA players in addition to the suspensions without pay imposed by the league upon Artest, Jackson and O`Neal for their roles in the violence.
"We`ve made every effort to be fair and unbiased in our charging decisions," Oakland County prosecutor David Gorcyca said. "We feel we were very judicious in our charging decisions and attempted to decipher acts of retaliation from self-defense."
Charges against fans were misdemeanor assault and battery charges as well except for two felony assault counts against fan Brian Jackson, who hurled a chair at the Pacers as the tried to exit the arena. He also tossed a cup at players.
Each felony assault charge could bring Jackson up to four years in prison.
"For every thrown cup or liquid substance the melee seemed to have escalated and in fact probably was the major inciting reason why there was confrontation between players, as well as fans," Gorcyca said.
John Green, who tossed a cup at Artest to ignite the riot, received two assault and battery charges.
One charge was for tossing the cup that struck Artest and the other was for hitting Artest from behind after the player ran into the stands and confronted another spectator.
"John Green, in my mind, singlehandedly incited this whole interaction between fans and players and probably is the one that`s most culpable, although the argument can be made the players were equally as culpable," said Gorcyca.
Spectators William Paulson, John Ackerman and David Wallace each received a misdemeanor assault and battery charge. Paulson and Ackerman threw cups that contained liquid which struck players.
Wallace, the brother of Detroit center Ben Wallace, struck Indiana`s Jones three or four times.
"David Wallace was not acting in self defense," Gorcyca said.
Artest was not given an assault charge for punching a fan who confronted him on the court because prosecutors felt he was acting in self defense against the spectator who ran on to the court to confront him.
But Gorcyca denied a similar notion in O`Neal punching a spectator who came on to the court, saying there was no danger to justify a self-defense case.
"We don`t feel ... O`Neal has a legitimate claim to come in with a self-defense claim," Gorcyca said.
12/08/2004 19:35 GMT - AFP