Wallace can be blamed for instigating the riot, let me set it up for you

Pistons fans are bitter because the team was down by 15 late and had played shitty
Wallace overreacts to a normal foul
Fans adrenaline goes thru the roof as soon as the shove occurred causing hatred towards Artest
Wallace thru a towel at Artest while he was laying on the scorers table
Fans start throwing items after seening wallace throw the towel
All hell breaks loose.

And there is no reason that professional athletes should have to take the BS from fans. Professional athletes arent some freaks in a circus who are to be abused as seen fit by fans. They are there to perform the game not dodge bottles and cups.
How would you all react if you were at your place of work and people just started throwing soda, bottles and chairs at you?