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To get 10 games, players usually have to clearly throw punches designed to injure opponents or fans -- another infraction MWP already knows plenty about. He got 73 games for his central role in the 2004 "Malice at the Palace" brawl. Only Latrell Sprewell has come close, his 82-game sentence shortened to 68 in the 1997-98 season after an arbitrator decided trying to choke your coach wasn't as scary as it sounded (and there was no video).
Gilbert Arenas and his pal Javaris Crittenton got 50 and 38 games for drawing guns on each other after an argument over a gambling debt got out of hand in the Washington locker room, but at least the weapons weren't loaded at the time.
Artest isn't a bad guy, at least not in the sense that he plays dirty to hang onto a job or even to settle a score. He's generous and generally well-intentioned, giving freely of his off-court time for charitable causes, not to mention going through all that trouble to change his name -- "to inspire and bring youth together all around the world." And who can forget his willingness to advocate for mental-health counseling, even thanking his sports psychologist moments after the Lakers won the title in 2010.
But those counselors have had only limited success curbing the kind of outburst Artest unleashed Sunday night. Now it's up to Stern to decide if he wants to give them a chance to try once more.
[Associated Press;
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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