Judge Clears O’Neal to Play

Last seen on the court punching a fan during the infamous Indiana Pacer-Detroit Piston brawl, Pacer forward Jermaine O’Neal was given permission Thursday by a federal judge to suit up for the rematch.

Presiding in his New York courtroom, Judge George B. Daniels gave temporary approval to arbitrator Roger Kaplan’s decision, announced Wednesday, that O’Neal’s 25-game suspension, handed down by NBA Commissioner David Stern, be cut to 15 games, the number he has already missed.

A final ruling on O’Neal’s status will be made after Daniels hears a lawsuit brought by NBA officials, challenging Kaplan’s authority.

In the meantime, O’Neal can play Saturday when the Detroit Pistons go to Indiana’s Conseco Fieldhouse for a game expected to be played under tight security.

Their last meeting, Nov. 19 on the Pistons’ home court, the Palace of Auburn Hills, ended prematurely when a shoving match between players escalated into a melee between players and fans. Before it was over, Pacers Ron Artest and Stephen Jackson had leaped into the stands to fight fans, and Artest and O’Neal threw punches at fans who subsequently came onto the floor.

Five Pacers and seven fans are facing criminal charges.

Daniels said that he was allowing O’Neal’s return before deciding the merits of the NBA suit because to maintain O’Neal’s full suspension when Kaplan’s ruling might stand could have “irreversible consequences for the player, the team, the player’s future and the league itself.”

Kaplan, in a 28-page decision, ruled that suspensions for other Pacer players -- Artest, out for the rest of the season; Jackson, 30 games, and Anthony Johnson, who sat out five games -- were proper.

“I’m extremely happy,” O’Neal said in a statement. “It’s been a tough process. Now I can play the game I love so much. I’m ready, but I have to find a way to bottle up the energy and use it in a good way.

“I have to make sure we win games, and, when Stephen Jackson gets back, we can win a championship.”

O’Neal testified in the arbitration hearing that he threw his punch to protect Johnson, who, he thought, might be in physical danger.

League officials boycotted the hearing, saying that allowing Kaplan’s ruling to stand would undermine Stern’s ability to control his own league.

“The purpose is to give the commissioner authority over the game,” league attorney Jeffrey Mishkin said in explaining the NBA’s lawsuit before the court Thursday. He said Stern needed to show “that we have our house in order.”

Mishkin also warned the court that allowing O’Neal to play could cause security problems Saturday, even though the game is on the Pacers’ home court.

Mishkin had no comment after the ruling.

“We’re delighted,” said Jeffrey Kessler, players’ union attorney. “[It’s] a great Christmas present for Jermaine O’Neal and all Pacers fans. It’s the fair and right thing to do.”

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Associated Press contributed to this report.