April 6, 2004; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana's Ron Artest takes a break during game action. The Indianapolis Pacers hosted the New York Knicks Tuesday night April 6 2004 at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis IN. The Pacers won the game 107-86. Mandatory Credit: Sam Riche-USA TODAY NETWORK The Indy Star-USA TODAY NETWORK

Ex-NBA Player Ron Artest Reveals Reason Behind Start Of Malice At The Palace Brawl

Originally posted on Back in the Day NBA on SI
By Shandel Richardson | Last updated Mar 10, 2025 1:37 PM ET

Former NBA player Ron Artest was at the center of one of the ugliest moments in league history.

In 2004, he helped start the infamous "Malice At The Palace" fight between the Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons and fans in the arena.

It led to Artest, who now goes by Metta World Peace, being suspended 86 games. He recently explained the genesis of the brawl during an appearance on the Underground Lounge podcast.

For years, the incident bothered Artest. It led to him reaching out to the fan who threw a beer at him that started the melee.

"I was still a little bit depressed throughout my years, like three or four years after," Artest said. "So I reached out to him. I need to get rid of this one. So I reached out to him and called him. I found his number."

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Here's how Artest described the beginning of the conversation.

"When I reached out to him, his wife answered and I was like, `This is Ron Artest,"' Artest said. "She said, `Get the (bleep) out of here."'

All Artest wanted was to patch things.

"He comes to the phone and he says, `What up Ron' like he know me," Artest said. "I liked him at that point. I lost tons of money. We just talked about a few things. We talked about how we was going to turn it into a positive."

The fan also explained why he threw the beer. A fan next to him betted $50 he wouldn't throw the cup at Artest.

And then history was made.

This article first appeared on Back in the Day NBA on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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