This more violent brawl ended with Allen Iverson receiving a 13-game suspension, Anthony, Smith, and Robinson all getting a 10-game suspension, Collins with a 6-game suspension, Jeffries a 4-game suspension, and everyone else a one-game suspension.
Compared to the "Auburn Palace Incident" and the "Conseco Incident," this punishment could only be described as "just a slap on the wrist."
The majority of media believed there was only one reason for not imposing a harsher sentence:
Neither side had attacked the fans.
That's just how David Stern operated.
Even as the outside world thought the punishment was light, Steve Francis still saw the League's sanctions as racially biased.
His reason was, "The brawls in hockey and football are bloodier, yet their punishments are much lighter than what the New York Knicks and the Nuggets received."
"Is it because the NBA is predominantly black that they treat us this way?"
Look at that!
How slickly is the "race card" being played?
