Did Ron Artest Deserve to Be Ejected?

By now you've probably seen Ron Artest being ejected from Game 2 against the Lakers, whether you watched it live or saw it in a neatly packaged highlight video. But after the jump, you can see what it was like to be a fan at the Staples Center on Wednesday night -- and the more I look at the video, the more I wonder whether the refs were too quick to give Artest the hook.

Seriously, think of all the questionable incidents this year -- heck, think of the incidents from earlier Wednesday evening -- and this is what merits an ejection? Not swiping a guy across the face as he attempts a shot, not slinging somebody into the scorers table, not a forearm shiver to an opponent who's already off-balance -- heck, even Dwight Howard's elbow to Samuel Dalembert's temple didn't get Howard tossed, even if it did eventually draw a suspension.

But Artest gets tossed for ... what, exactly? Yes, Artest was in Kobe's face, and as he admitted after the game, he fully expected a technical foul.

But why the second tech? Watching it on TV with all of the camera angles being switched every couple of seconds it was hard to tell what was going on, but from the angle presented in the first video above, I don't see what was so egregious. He jogged over, made his case (albeit a little too intimately) and allowed himself to be separated, not once raising his fists or giving any physical indication that violence might ensue.

Of course, I say this without the benefit of hearing what Artest actually said -- the first tech came when he got in Kobe's face, and it's possible the second one came because he continued to jaw after the two were separated. But still, after everything we've seen this season (and the fact that Artest was reacting to being elbowed in the throat), it's a little crazy that this is when the referees decided to assert their authority. (Update: Artest had a case - Kobe was retroactively assessed a flagrant 1 for the elbow)

The NBA: Where Inconsistency Happens.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)

5-07-2009 @ 6:48AM

obamaizadope said...

Kobe's my boy, but that was a nasty elbow. Ron should have been Teed up, but not ejected.

5-07-2009 @ 6:50AM

vandoo13 said...

That is BS!! Kobe is dirty player and he should be throw out of game because of elbow on purpose.. If i m in ron artest s shoe i would be pissed off and kick kobe s ass lol.. i would love to see ron kick kobe s ass.. kobe cant fight lol he can play basketball but fight? oh please

5-07-2009 @ 7:22AM

steve said...

no way, looks like joey crawford strikes again.

I mean of all the stupid things ron artest has done to get ejected this just isn't the case this time.

The only thing he did was start jawing and in a playoff atmosphere you should never get ejected for talking. Never, unless you make fun a ref's dead mom or something.

5-07-2009 @ 9:27AM

bkind7x said...

Come on ! Artest was all over Kobe's back - Kobe was jumping backwards in the direction the ball was bouncing off the rim and backboard - when a person jumps the arms move - the arm swing thrust helps one to jump in the direction the body needs to move - and the arm movement can also help a person to reach out and grab the ball. If a person is hanging on another person's back - and the person on the ground move's their arm - it is the back side of the arm that will brush against the body, because the back of the arm is in the back of the body. Camera angle does not show any elbow contact - maybe the back of the shoulder and upper tricept pushed against artests chest - which was placed there by artest as Kobe is moving in the direction of the ball, and Artest is not - moving in the direction of the ball - is what players are supposed to do in this game - there are rules that say a player does not have to carry another player on his back - no whistle - man on the back - the real player - has to try and get the ball while learning how to carry the man on his back until the referee sees and blows the whistle. With that much weight (over 200 pounds) on your back - the intensity of your movement will be greater than normal for your knee joints to carry the weight on your back and to achieve reaching the same point of interest (the ball), than it would be if one had no added weight on their back.

5-07-2009 @ 10:23AM

brihal7499 said...

You cannot jump backwards. You can jump straight up. If you jump backwards and initiate contact then you are committing a loose ball foul.
Kobe is known to play dirty. It gets overlooked because of his ability to score. It is not right but it is reality. If the average player did the things without the ball that players like kobe, rondo, shaq, etc etc they would get called often. There are two differences between superstars and regular players; 1. the ability to score in bunches (everyone can score but not everyone can score in bunches) 2. the lack of calling the same game for stars and regular players.

5-07-2009 @ 9:22PM

Blaque Hamma said...

why dont you have kobes baby and leave blogging to those of us who are speaking objectively and not because we are in love with a player

5-07-2009 @ 9:37AM

PAINTERPLP said...

I had to work so as soon as I could I listened to high lights. My first thought- Who the hell are the ref's.
I agree Joey Crawford strikes again.

Artest was taunting while he was fouling, and he taunted after the play - Artest tried to start a fight - Kobe didn't fight. Artest definitely deserved a technical - and with all the taunting - throwing him out probably wasn't a bad idea. Kobe is a target of taunting, with the apparent attempt to try someway to get him out of the game - he actually handled it well. If Artest did that to me - It's is possible I may have turned to his face and become an NFL linebacker making Artest my target quarterback - I doubt I would have handled it as good as Kobe.

5-12-2009 @ 8:50PM

life said...

lol@this dude swingin from kobe's pubics..kobe is the 1 doin the taunting, every time he scores he's telling Battier (Shane)"u cant guard me" even turned towards the Commentstors and said it, Kobe better remember that it was RON ARTEST he elbowed we all know Ron Ron Dont play that lol...Houston in 6

5-07-2009 @ 9:40AM

StigmA said...

bkind7x - and that's what happens when you go for a rebound on any shot..

anyways - kobe has always been this way, if he wasn't kobe he would be getting suspended & ejected from games, just look at game 1 where he was on the ground and gave Battier a knee to the face.. "everyone wants to see" kobe v lebron, so they'll make sure we see kobe v lebron... it is the NBA after all

5-07-2009 @ 9:42AM

Glenn20 said...

I heard Artest got ejected because they thought he was making a throat-slash motion. In reality, he was only trying to demonstrate that he got elbowed in the neck.

As for Kobe being suspended? No way. It would be crazy. I'm a Celtic's fan and I would LOVE to see Kobe suspended - but not if it's unjustified. The two guys were in a tussle. To me, it makes a difference if it happens in the flow of the play versus an intentional, pre-meditated strike.

5-07-2009 @ 1:12PM

corbinpalm said...

glenn, Why would you care. Boston wont make it past cleveland. They might not even beat orlando.

5-07-2009 @ 7:48PM

Corbin, whether Boston is in it or not in it, or has a chance or no chance is irrelevant. So, why would I care? Some of us actually enjoy the game of basketball and watch all the games and can make objective statements like Kobe shouldn't be suspended. Then there are sophomoric idiots like you who turn everything into a pissing match and who are shallow, fair-weathered fans who immediately jump off the NBA bandwagon as soon as your team is gone.

5-07-2009 @ 9:47AM

Martin said...

What the poor quality video doesn't show, but the TV replays did, was the following: Artest, while trying to get position for the rebound shoves his forearm into the back of Bryant's neck, driving his head down. Then Artest uses that leverage to move Bryant about three to four feet under the basket. Bryant throws the elbow to try to stop this mugging. Nobody mentions that Artest was called for a loose ball foul on the play. Then Artest first runs over to the officials and yells about the play, then runs all the way across the court and makes contact with Bryant who was smart and kept walking without responding to Artest's threatening confrontation. The officials separate the two players and Artest continues to scream at Kobe.
Whereas most of the other incidents you refer to lasted only a couple of seconds, this conduct lasted maybe 30 seconds and could have resulted in fans becoming involved (like the problems at the Palace). So there is no doubt in my mind that the officials were absolutely correct in ejecting Artest.

5-07-2009 @ 9:53AM

Jay (Houston) said...

Artest was boxing Kobe out for a rebound... and doing a good job of it. Kobe elbows Artest in the throat and Artest gets called for the foul?

@bkind7x
All over his back? Do you even know what it means to box out for a rebound? Kobe is pushing Artest and Artest is pushing Kobe. Not pushing with their hands but with their bodies. Artest has a lower center of gravity and is much stronger than Kobe so he was going to get that rebound until Kobe elbows him in the throat.

Artest was not taunting. Do you even know what taunting is? Artest learning not to taunt Kobe during one of those last pre season games. Do you think taunting is "cool it with those elbows" ?

Kobe was taunting, Odom was taunting, & daddy's boy/eyeliner was taunting.

5-07-2009 @ 10:02AM

Jay- Apparently you don't know what boxing out is. When you are boxing out, you have inside position and you are keeping your opponent on your back. Here, Bryant had inside position and Artest was pushing him under the basket. That is why Artest was called for the loose ball foul.

5-07-2009 @ 10:03AM

I don't see an elbow - I saw the replay again 3 more times on Mike and Mike in the morning - AND
I just don't see it - I see Artest on Kobe's back and I see the ball bounce of the backboard to Kobe's right and Kobe turns toward the ball - Artest is right there hanging on Kobe - Kobe's arm and body is moving toward the ball.

5-07-2009 @ 10:12AM

eliemedia said...

got to love artest - there is NO One like him. and he should not have been ejected

5-07-2009 @ 10:28AM

Bryan said...

Neither Artest nor Fish should have been ejected

5-07-2009 @ 10:55AM

john said...

You really need to watch the Fisher video again. He sees Scola approaching, takes three side steps and elbows him as hard as he can... No only was that worthy of an ejection, it's a suspension by the way they have been ruling them the last couple of weeks.

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