ATLANTA — On a certain level, Jerry Sloan can relate with Ron Artest.

Back in the day, when Sloan played and the NBA didn't even fine players for such indiscretions, the Jazz coach was goaded into going after a fan.

The site was Kansas City, and the moment was not one of Sloan's proudest.

"I was in the stands," he said. "I hate to admit that. But a guy hit me with an aerosol can, right in the huddle — and it kind of got me a little bit unnerved."

"I should have been smarter," Sloan added, "but I wasn't."

There is a difference, however, between Sloan's action and what Artest did to escalate Friday night's near-riot at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

The Indiana Pacers guard charged into the stands after being hit by a cup of beer, then threw a series of wild punches aimed at fans. He was joined in the melee by teammates Stephen Jackson and Jermaine O'Neal, both of whom were suspended indefinitely by the NBA on Saturday along with Detroit's Ben Wallace.

And Sloan?

"I was too big of a chicken to do anything," he said. "I just went over there and talked real loud."

Sloan chuckled as he spoke.

Friday's fight night in Detroit, however, was no laughing matter.

"It was a horrible situation," said big man Jarron Collins, the Jazz's NBA Players Association representative. "Punches were being thrown by everyone involved. Fans were throwing chairs and other debris toward the players. It's not a good sight, and it's not something that the NBA is about. We're about providing wholesome entertainment, competitive sports entertainment — and we encourage people, families, to come."

"It certainly doesn't look good for any of us to be in that situation and have that happen to us," the Jazz's senior vice president of basketball operations Kevin O'Connor added. "I would hate for one instance, one incident, one game, to upset what I think has been a terrific start of an NBA season."

Yet it has.

"Is it a black eye for everybody?" O'Connor said. "Sure."

O'Connor knows of no specific policy changes at the Delta Center for a three-game homestand beginning Monday.

But he does expect arenas around the league to address the security issue.

"I'm sure there will an effect throughout the NBA," O'Connor said. "I'd hate for the people not to be able to have the touchy-feely kind of look at players — but I don't know if there is a happy medium."

From players to coaches to management, everyone seemingly agreed the increasing proximity of fans to players — some arena floors, including the Delta Center, are virtually ringed by high-priced, courtside seats — is cause for concern.