In his response to Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla’s controversial stance on allowing fighting to take place in the NBA, ESPN’s Stephen A Smith also referenced the 2005-06 NBA brawl involving spectators and players from the Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers, which forever changed how officials approach games.

“After the Malice at the Palace in Auburn Hills, you just can’t find yourself in a situation where you’re, even though this is on the court as opposed to being in the stands, you can’t find yourself as a league condoning that by any stretch of the imagination, that’s a bit extreme,” Smith added. “But I do think that they need to stop acting. I’m talking about the league in terms of calling the game so softly, where guys are talking smack to one another warrants ejections, technicals, and all this other stuff.”