Josh Jackson Details How He Was a Part of the Malice at the Palace

At the age of 8, Phoenix Suns forward Josh Jackson was there when the Malice at the Palace broke out in November of 2004.

Jackson, a young fan of the Detroit Pistons, described his involvement in the biggest fight in NBA history to Marc Spears of The Undefeated:

I was there. I was 8 years old. I was kind of sitting right at midcourt about 20 rows up. I remember seeing so many people everywhere fighting. I remember [then-Indiana Pacers forward] Jermaine O’Neal getting hit with a chair. That was one of my most vivid memories. I remember Ron Artest laying on the scorer’s table and someone throwing a drink on him.

I was looking around and everyone was throwing something onto the court. I am not going to lie. I threw a water bottle. Why? It’s my home team. I’m a Pistons fan. What? The Pacers came in here throwing punches on my favorite players. I couldn’t have that. But that is neither here nor there.

I didn’t know what to think or what to do. My parents were protecting me, standing over me. There was nothing we could really do. I wasn’t scared. I didn’t feel like anyone was going to attack me.

The brawl resulted in lengthy suspensions for Artest, O’Neal and Stephen Jackson.

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