i thought the punishments were harsh and uneven, but stern is just trying to make a statement, and lets face it artest wanted the year off anyway. way i think about it is the nba, knowing they have so many players like artest who come from projects should have more security in place. not just guys from the hood would react that way though, i think anyone would get pissed off if they got a cup of beer thrown on them and think they knew who it was. then the idiot fan who threw the cup started sucker punching artest from behind. they can say all they want, oh they should restrain themselves, but theyre still normal people and most normal people would fuck up a guy if someone threw beer on them just like artest did.

the punishments were very severe, but the nba needed someone for public example, and artest fits the mold, he has made himself one of the most infamous players in the league even before this brawl. stephen jackson's 30 games compared to artests shows stern was just making a statement. i say the fans were to blame, some even started charging the courts after artest was already restrained.

EDIT: about this
"Believe me the punishment from the NBA will be nothing compared to when they get taken to criminal court and all the lawsuites that come with it. They can even be found guilty of criminal assualt and spend some time behind the bars pushing turd"

the nba isnt that stupid their players are safeguarded, once you buy your ticket your on your own as a fan, on the back of the ticket it basically says that your going to the game at your own risk and the nba or its players cant be sued etc. the only guys that will go to criminal court is that fan who threw the chair and the first beer.