When the next day's newspapers hit the shelves, all the print media were reporting on the brawl that had taken place yesterday at the Pepsi Center.

Among them, many of them are headlines on the front page, and the worst ones are also sports headlines, which shows the seriousness and topicality of this brawl.

"Pepsi Center Staged Full Martial Arts" – The New York Times

"Garnett was slapped in the face by a rookie" – Los Angeles Times

"Denver Light KO Garnett" - nugglove

"Garnett: Mother's Day is coming, don't forget to greet her for me" – USA Today

……

Unlike in the past, this time the focus of the report was not on the game, but on the brawl in detail, and many media also interviewed basketball celebrities to ask their opinions.

What is strange is that the celebrities interviewed are either masters of fighting or trash talking.

"From the perspective of a bystander, I think Ji Liang is doing the right thing, if someone insults my mother, I will fight with him!" Charles Buckley

"I also talk a lot of trash talk, and I call myself the king of trash talk, but I have never insulted the players' families! The things on the pitch have to be left on the pitch and he did a great job, it's a man's act! "Gary Payton

"It turns out that the truth is on his side! Yes, I watched the video several times, and he showed unexpectedly strong fighting power, and in order to avoid being defeated by him, I had to hire a professional boxing coach! "Carl Malone

……

In addition, some TV media specially invited lip experts to decipher Garnett's trash talk on the spot.

As a result, all the media began to collectively condemn Garnett, believing that Garnett must apologize, and at the same time demanding that the league severely punish Garnett.

Under the boiling buzz, many league teams began to add fuel to the fire, and they put pressure on the league management through various channels.

These teams are basically Western Conference teams, and they want the league to re-sentence the Nuggets and Timberwolves, which will be more beneficial to them, especially teams with similar records, such as the Kings, Suns, SuperSonics, etc.

For a while, many people began to look forward to the league's verdict!

With the expansion of public opinion and the covert imposition of other teams, David Stern has a feeling that it is difficult to ride a tiger, but he can't help but judge.

According to the boxing penalty rules, any player who throws a punch will be considered unsportsmanlike and will be ejected from the game and punished for at least one match.

So after the night passed, NBA commissioner Stern began to make a statement about the brawl: "The NBA and its players have shown extraordinary skill, athleticism and beauty, for better or worse, they have set an example for the entire basketball world." On the positive side, it's the passion that our players have for the game, they take responsibility for the fans, they try to exercise their responsibilities and they show respect for history and the traditions of the game. As for the negatives, we have to work hard to remove brawls from our game, and scenes like the one at PepsiCo show that we still have a lot to do in this area. ”

"We need to take the strongest possible measures to avoid similar incidents in the future, and this is our responsibility. The following penalty decision is a combination of factors and will demonstrate the league's determination to rid the fight and make the NBA and NBA players the best role models in professional sports. Teams need to control the movements and emotions of their employees, including managers and players, and players need to use breaks and timeouts to cool their heads, and they must take orders from the team and not exacerbate the atmosphere on the pitch. “

After Stern's statement, the league's penalty plan was finally released, involving a total of four players from two teams.

In the brawl, Joe Smith and Van Exel, players who were "positive" in the brawl, were each suspended for three games and fined $15,000.

In addition, Timberwolves coach Sanders did not escape punishment, but he did not know the truth but made nonsense to the media, and was banned for 2 games and fined $10,000.

In addition, Stern also held the Nuggets home fans accountable for causing trouble and punished the Nuggets with $300,000, which is undoubtedly a heavy penalty for the Nuggets owner, who is known for slamming the door.

After these decisions came out, the most important and most concerned decisions were made at this time!

Kevin Garnett, the Timberwolves' number one star who instigated the brawl and insulted the player's family, coupled with the first move, the league punished him heavily, with a total of 18 games suspended and fined $200,000.

The Timberwolves immediately expressed their displeasure with the league after the decision, which undoubtedly imposed a death sentence on the Timberwolves and undone all their efforts.

Originally, with the strength of the Timberwolves, they had the qualification to compete in the playoffs. Once the core of the team is lost, Kevin Garnett, the Timberwolves' record will definitely plummet, and when Garnett returns, I am afraid that there will be no possibility of turning over.

As a result, the Timberwolves are disqualified from competing for the playoffs, and their goal may be greatly shifted, and they can only get better draft picks next year by swinging badly.

But at this time, no matter how bad it is, I'm afraid I won't be able to get too high a signing.

In addition, the Timberwolves are so dissatisfied, which is also closely related to the league's punishment of Chi Liang!

Although Ji Liang was not the instigator, he was the main participant in the conflict after all, and with the knockout of Kevin Garnett on the spot, he deserved a heavy punishment.

However, this is not the case, the league only gave a 5-game ban and a fine of $10w!

That's right, you read that right, this is the alliance's punishment for Chi Liang.

Compared to Garnett, a five-game ban is slightly more 'serious' than Joe Smith and Van Exel, and it's no wonder that the Timberwolves are so dissatisfied!

Unsurprisingly, the Timberwolves opted to appeal and ask the league to change the decision or they would have refused the following game.

The league was surprisingly tough on the penalty and didn't change anything because of the threat from the Timberwolves.

However, in order to calm down the turmoil as soon as possible, the league still gave an explanation, they believe that Kevin Garnett is the culprit of the incident, and the insult to the player's family must be severely punished, and although Chi Liang knocked out Garnett, it is more legitimate defense, and the two cannot be generalized.

After seeing the league's decision, everyone saw a sign that in the middle of a dilemma, Stern eventually abandoned the Timberwolves.

Judging by the penalty results, the Timberwolves are the biggest losers, and the absence of key player Kevin Garnett for the next 18 games will have a huge impact on them.