Sparks–Shock brawl

The Sparks–Shock brawl was an altercation that occurred in a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) game between the Detroit Shock (now the Dallas Wings) and Los Angeles Sparks on July 22, 2008, at The Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan, United States. Ray Ratto of The Wall Street Journal wrote, "It was in the classic sense, one of those things that occasionally happens when highly competitive people want the same thing and one can’t have it."[1]

Los Angeles Sparks at Detroit Shock
The Palace of Auburn Hills, where the brawl took place
Los Angeles Sparks Detroit Shock
84 81
1234 Total
Los Angeles Sparks 29191422 84
Detroit Shock 19151829 81
DateJuly 22, 2008
VenueThe Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan, U.S.
Attendance12,930
NetworkESPN2

This was the second major basketball fight to occur at The Palace of Auburn Hills in four years, the other being the notorious Pacers–Pistons brawl, better known as the "Malice at the Palace", on November 19, 2004, resulting in this incident being referenced as the "Malice at The Palace II".[2][3][4][5][6][7]

Build-up

A couple of plays before the brawl broke out, Detroit Shock forward Cheryl Ford missed a free-throw, resulting in many players boxing out underneath the basket trying to grab the rebound. Los Angeles Sparks forward Candace Parker ended up with the ball after a hard contested rebound, before having the ball stripped away by Ford and being fouled. After the ball was taken from Parker's hands, she got upset and began to pursue Ford before teammate Lisa Leslie stepped in to intervene. Emotions were running high at this point, which would be a preview for the actual incident.[8]

Altercation

With 4.5 seconds before the game was officially over, the brawl began during a free throw attempt by the Sparks' Marie Ferdinand-Harris. As Ferdinand-Harris scored the point, the Shock's Plenette Pierson made a hard box-out on Parker, causing both players to become entangled and fall over.[9] As Parker tried to stand up, Pierson aggressively walked into her, knocking her back down, and resulting in Parker pulling Pierson down to the floor. Parker and Pierson both tried to throw a punch at one another before Parker was tackled by Deanna Nolan, as players and coaches from both teams quickly intervened. Detroit assistant coach Rick Mahorn came off the bench as a peacemaker, but inadvertently incited more violence when he knocked Leslie backwards to the floor. Leslie's teammate DeLisha Milton-Jones pushed and punched Mahorn in the back in retaliation, causing the Sparks' Shannon Bobbitt and Murriel Page to both come off the bench and shove Mahorn from behind as well. Pierson, Parker, Milton-Jones, and Mahorn were all ejected from the game. The altercation also resulted in a season-ending ACL injury to Shock player Cheryl Ford, who was trying to restrain Pierson, and had to be taken from the court in a wheelchair.[10][11]

Suspensions
Player[4]Suspension lengthReason
Plenette Pierson, Shock4 gamesInitiated altercation
Rick Mahorn, Asst. Coach - Shock2 gamesEscalated altercation
Shannon Bobbitt, Sparks2 gamesLeft the bench, threw a punch
Murriel Page, Sparks2 gamesLeft the bench, threw a punch
Candace Parker, Sparks1 gameThrew a punch
DeLisha Milton-Jones, Sparks1 gameThrew a punch
Lisa Leslie, Sparks1 gameThrew a punch
Sheri Sam, Shock1 gameLeft the bench
Elaine Powell, Shock1 gameLeft the bench
Tasha Humphrey, Shock1 gameLeft the bench
Kara Braxton, Shock1 gameLeft the bench

According to WNBA rules:

  • Any player not on the floor who leaves the bench area during the altercation receives a one-game suspension.
  • Any player who attempts to throw a punch (successful or not) receives a one-game suspension.

Because they were ejected after the altercation, Parker, Milton-Jones, Mahorn, and Pierson all started serving their suspensions the immediate next game. Also according to WNBA rules, each team must have at least eight active members to play a game. Therefore, suspensions were staggered by alphabetical order of last name. To have eight on the Sparks' roster, Page was allowed to play in the immediate next game and served her suspension starting with the second game after the altercation. Because she was not active, Powell served her suspension when she was taken off the inactive list.[12]

Aftermath

With the suspensions and the injury to Ford, the Shock were down to seven players for their next game two days later against the Houston Comets. As a result, the team signed 50-year old Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman to a seven-day contract. Against the Comets, she played nine minutes, handing out two assists, and broke her own record as the oldest player to ever play in a WNBA game.[13]

In 2010, the Shock moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma and became the Tulsa Shock. In 2016, the Tulsa Shock moved to Dallas, Texas and became the Dallas Wings.

See also

References
  1. Bialik, Carl. "WNBA Brawl Shows Toughness, Poor Judgment". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  2. Brent Parker (23 July 2008). "Malice In The Palace Part II: Detroit Shock Mug L.A Sparks Star Candace Parker". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  3. Albert Lee (27 January 2014). "Sparks Watch Day 26: Malice in the Palice Part Two". SB Nation. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  4. Lenn Robbins (25 July 2008). "Ten suspended for WNBA brawl". New York Post. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  5. "The decade in the WNBA". Sports Illustrated. 15 December 2009. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  6. "Why The WNBA Brawl Could Be Good For The League". Jezebel. 25 July 2008. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  7. "Top moments in Palace of Auburn Hills history: 6-20". Detroit Free Press. 13 April 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  8. Lindsay Gibbs (9 December 2019). "The Story Behind The Biggest Brawl In WNBA History". Deadspin. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  9. Mike Fratto (25 July 2008). "For all the wrong reasons". The Washington Times. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  10. "Brawl mars end of Sparks' victory vs. Shock". Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  11. Dan Arritt (25 July 2008). "WNBA suspends 11 for Sparks-Shock fight". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  12. "WNBA hands down suspensions for Shock-Sparks skirmish". ESPN. August 6, 2008. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  13. Jonathan Chang (6 December 2019). "How Nancy Lieberman Returned To The WNBA Court At Age 50". WBUR-FM. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
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