Bobcats swingman Stephen Jackson was part of the Pacers for some very good years. He was also an instrumental part of the lowest moment in Pacer franchise history when he gleefully charged into the stands after Ron Artest went up, punched a fan, and then egged on the crowd as he was escorted out of the arena. Later, Jackson got himself in trouble for firing a gun in a parking lot outside of a strip club, and after that got a chest tattoo to remind himself of the incident.
“I think people are not looking at the fact that I’m human and I make mistakes,” Jackson said after the Bobcats’ practice Monday. “I made two mistakes, but I haven’t been in any trouble since.
“They need to realize I can play this game and I’ve been effective ever since I’ve been in this league. I help teams win and people should let the negative stuff go and look at the positive things.”
As Jackson led the Warriors to one of the most shocking playoff upsets in NBA history and has the feisty Bobcats ready to play the role of first-round spoiler this season, things have not gone well at all in Indiana. Whether Pacer fans blame that on Jackson or not remains to be seen.