AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Investigators are mulling whether to file criminal charges in connection with the brawl at Friday's Pacers-Pistons game, and neither player nor fan will be spared if prosecution is warranted, Oakland County's prosecutor said Monday.
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"Everyone involved in this altercation will be held accountable regardless of their status as a player or a fan," Prosecutor David Gorcyca told reporters at a press conference.
He also indicated he believed that Ron Artest, the Indiana Pacers player who charged into the stands at the Palace of Auburn Hills after a cup of liquid was thrown at him, couldn't successfully claim self-defense if he were charged.
"Even if someone did throw water, you don't have a license or a green light to punch someone," Gorcyca said. "He can claim self-defense, but that video ... will speak for itself."
No charges were filed as of Monday. Gorcyca said investigators would continue to review videotapes and interview witnesses from Friday night's melee, which involved players and fans scuffling in the stands and on the court.
Also Monday, two people who were at the game told reporters in Detroit that they planned to sue some Pacers players, claiming they were attacked during the brawl.
According to Detroit TV station WDIV, one man said he was punched by the Pacers' Stephen Jackson in the stands. Another man, who plans to sue the Pacers and three of the team's players, said he was punched in the head by the Pacers' Jermaine O'Neal.
It wasn't immediately clear which players will be named in the fans' lawsuits, and what, if any, damages will be sought.
As for the criminal investigation, Gorcyca said most charges filed by the county would probably be for misdemeanor assault and battery. He said the only possible felony charge currently under consideration would be against the person who hurled a chair into the crowd.
Authorities did not know the identity of the chair-thrower and were asking the public to help identify that person.
Gorcyca did say that John Green of West Bloomfield Township was
the fan who threw the cup that hit Artest and started the brawl at The Palace. The prosecutor himself identified Green -- who he said was a former next-door neighbor when both lived in the Detroit suburb of Royal Oak -- by repeatedly watching footage of the brawl.
Green told reporters Monday that it may have looked like he threw the cup, but he didn't.
Gorcyca said Green was on probation for driving under the influence.
Pistons chief executive Tom Wilson said Green is a season-ticket holder and will be banned from The Palace.
Police Chief Doreen Olko said her office had spoken to nine people who said they were injured in the fight, but that the injuries were relatively minor.
Artest, who charged into the stands sparking the fighting, had not yet been interviewed by Michigan authorities, the chief said.
On Sunday, the NBA suspended Artest for the rest of the season. The league suspended Jackson for 30 games and O'Neal for 25. Detroit's Ben Wallace -- whose shove of Artest after a foul led to the five-minute fracas -- drew a six-game ban, while Pacers guard Anthony Johnson got five games.
Four players -- Indiana's Reggie Miller, and Detroit's Chauncey Billups, Elden Campbell and Derrick Coleman -- were suspended one game apiece for leaving the bench during the initial incident.
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