Brawling Basketball Players Pummel Fans

A criminal investigation has begun into an incident in which spectators were punched by rampaging players during a basketball game.

Nine players were suspended for joining in the most riotous brawl since the sport became a fixture on US television.

The suspensions, imposed after the players stormed off the bench to pummel fans, are the most severe in the National Basketball Association's history, and will cost the chief culprit, the Indiana Pacers forward Ron Artest, nearly $5m (about £2.68m) in lost pay for missed games.

Artest was banned from playing for the rest of the season. The player's union appealed against the ban yesterday.

Fans, players and officials may face charges, NBA officials said. There may also be civil suits from fans who were drenched in beer and punched by some of the players.

The punitive measures were widely seen yesterday as an attempt by the teams' owners to protect their investment in America's most lucrative professional sport.

"We have to make the point that there are boundaries in our games," the NBA's commissioner, David Stern, said.

"One of our boundaries that have always been immutable is the boundary that separates the fans from the court. Players cannot lose control and move into the stands."

For a sport which had been known for its progressive approach to such issues as drug abuse and HIV-Aids among players, Friday night's fight was a shameful episode.

The melee erupted 45 seconds before the end of play between the visiting Indiana Pacers, who were ahead, and the home team and NBA champions, the Detroit Pistons.

Detroit's Ben Wallace was penalised for shoving Artest, sending him reeling backwards. The initial skirmish was fairly modest: Artest landed on the scorer's table.

But when a fan threw a drink at him, Artest stormed into the stands, throwing punches and turning an on-court scuffle into a mass brawl.

Although Artest was soon joined by teammates, the NBA commissioner singled him out, saying he had a history of bad behaviour.

He was suspended for violence twice last year; three years ago he smashed a television camera after Indiana lost a game.