David Stern steals from Goodell's playbook

NBA commissioner David Stern dished out some NFL style punishment to Ron Artest and Stephen Jackson this week. The two central figures in the brawl at the Palace of Auburn Hills were each suspended without pay for the first seven games of next season stemming from separate recent convictions.

Artest pleaded no contest in May to a misdemeanor domestic violence charge stemming from a March 5 dispute with his wife. While Jackson pleaded guilty last month to a felony count of criminal recklessness for firing a gun after he heard someone yell “Dump! Dump!” outside an Indiana strip club.

"I accept the suspension, believe it is fair and definitely look forward to having this entire process come to a conclusion in November," Jackson said in a statement released by the Warriors. "Additionally, I apologize to my teammates, our fans, our ownership and the NBA for the negativity this has created and the poor example that I set."

Ron Artest could not be reached for comment because he is currently in Africa as part of the NBA player associations “Feed Africa” campaign.

NFL style justice might not be the right approach for the NBA. That is, if they actually want the season to open on time. Who’s going to pay to go see the Denver Nuggets home opener if Carmelo, Camby, Iverson, and J.R. Smith are out with suspensions? I wouldn't be surprised if 80% of NBA players have been in trouble with cops. So Stern should probably take another approach. And by another approach I mean stop funding ghetto outreach programs.