What are fans saying about Ron Artest and the Westbrook popcorn drama? Metta Sandiford-Artest speaks out

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What are fans saying about Ron Artest and the Westbrook popcorn drama? People are saying the same thing after a fan threw popcorn at Russell Westbrook on Wednesday. Metta Sandiford-Artest saw the incident and has spoken out.

During Game 2 of the Wizards’ first-round series against the 76ers, a fan threw popcorn at Russell Westbrook, prompting a strong reaction from the former MVP.

Fans, players and media alike have condemned the actions of the 76ers fan and called for tighter control of security in arenas.

• FEATURED: Who threw popcorn at Westbrook?

Ron Sandiford-Artest reacts to Westbrook popcorn incident

Ron Sandiford-Artest – formerly Ron Artest and Metta World Peace – admitted to USA Today that the incident reminded him of “Malice at the Palace” nearly 17 years ago.

The now infamous incident saw Artest run into the crowd at The Palace of Auburn Hills and punch a fan who threw a cup of beer at him, prompting a mass brawl between players and fans. He subsequently served an 86-game suspension.

Sandiford-Artest spoke to USA Today about the popcorn incident, saying, “I felt like I was going to run into the stands. It shook me up a little bit.”

“How do you throw popcorn on a player?” Sandiford-Artest went on. “Westbrook was p*****, and he had the right to be p*****. But I’m so happy that he was around people. Security was incredible.”

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Trae Young appears to get spat on at Madison Square Garden

In another game of the night, Trae Young appeared to be spat at by a Knicks fan.

Check out the footage below:

Fans say same thing about Ron Artest after popcorn and spitting controversy

After the incidents occurred, fans were all saying the same thing about Ron Artest.

They recalled his involvement in the “Malice at the Palace” brawl and imagined something similar happening again.

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Joshua Rogers

Joshua is a senior sports writer with over four years' experience in online writing. He graduated with a BA in Ancient History from The University of Manchester before receiving an MA in Sports Journalism from The University of Central Lancashire. He became a trending writer for a leading social publisher and later spent time covering the 2018 World Cup for The Mirror Online. He then moved to a social marketing agency where he acted as website editor. His specialties on The Focus include F1, tennis, NBA, NFL and combat sports.