Jackson Doesn't Regret Brawl At The Palace

DETROIT (CBS Detroit) Malice in the Palace is a day most sports fans will never forget, a day when players and fans faced off in a bloody fracas that ended with five players charged with assault, including Indiana Pacers' Ron Artest and Stephen Jackson.

And Jackson revealed he didn't regret it for a moment.

Jackson sounded off in a recent ESPN interview about the worst brawl in NBA history, and he wasn't exactly chagrined. Asked if he regretted the brawl, Jackson said, "No. Because the idea of Ron laying in the stands unconscious with all his teeth knocked out … no way. That whole arena was against and I didn't have it in my heart not to do anything."

He went on to discuss the atmosphere in the locker room immediately following the incident, describing it like a scene from a comedy.

"Ron leans over to me and asks me if we're going to get into trouble, I looked at him like he was crazy. We laughed so hard. Jamaal fell out of his locker," Jackson said.

He said he told Artest "We're lucky if we have a job tomorrow," adding, "We just went into the stands. We just banged out on fans. Are you serious? Trouble? I couldn't believe he asked me that."

Jackson added that his only intent by charging into the stands was to "help somebody" and Pacers President Donnie Walsh had his back on the incident.