Of course Ben Wallace said this, he got a slap on the wrist for starting the melee that ensued.
Granted Artest may be in trouble, but he could also counter-sue the guy that threw the beverage at him, the arena for security (or lack thereof), possibly the NBA for wrongful suspension, etc., etc., etc. There will be a lot of lawsuits here.
And to say athletes are held higher is one thing, but when someone throws something at you is quite another thing. Where do you draw the line? Perhaps I'll throw a hardball at Barry Bonds next time I am in left field at a Giants game, are you saying he has no right to come up and slap me upside my head with his steroid-esque arms? Come on, what Artest did was human and the NBA is discarding him like some cheap piece of garbage when in actuality they should be trying to get him some help.
And if Artest didn't go into the stands, we all know (or at least I do, I studied sociology
) that humans, especially when drinking, become a bunch of monkeys, meaning they mimic what others will do. He would have likely been pelted either way, so in the heat of the moment I would have done the same thing as I'm sure all of the people on this board would.