List of Violent Spectator Incidents in Sports - 2004

2004

• March 8 – During a National Hockey League game between the Vancouver Canucks and the Colorado Avalanche at General Motors Place, Avalanche forward Peter Worrell was struck in the head by a beer cup while on the bench. It was during this game the Avalanche's Steve Moore was driven head-first into the ice by the Canucks' Todd Bertuzzi.

• March 26 – During an NRL game between the Canterbury Bulldogs and the Sydney Roosters at Aussie Stadium, Roosters player Brett Finch threw a full drink bottle back into the crowd after being pelted with missiles by Bulldogs fans. One fan was subsequently banned from attending NRL matches for life on video evidence, while Finch was ejected and suspended for three games.
• April 2 – After an AFL Friday Night Football match between Adelaide and St. Kilda at AAMI Stadium which St. Kilda won by 32 points, field umpires were booed and abused by Adelaide fans, and a drink bottle was thrown which hit a 12-year-old St. Kilda fan. One fan was ejected and banned for one year from the arena.
• April 22 – At Telstra Dome during an AFL match between Richmond and Adelaide, a Richmond fan spat on team coach Danny Frawley and other club officials. The controversial incident was captured on Australian national television; the fan was identified and later questioned.

• April 26 – In the NASCAR Nextel Cup race at Talladega Superspeedway, Jeff Gordon won in a controversial ending where he passed NASCAR's most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and the race ended under caution, causing fans to throw garbage onto the racetrack; Gordon then defiantly performed a victory "doughnut" over the garbage. The finish to the race caused NASCAR to institute the green-white-checker finish.

• August 29 – During the men's marathon event at the 2004 Summer Olympics, defrocked Irish priest Neil Horan burst out of the crowd to accost race leader Vanderlei de Lima, an action which may have cost de Lima the gold medal, although many observers have noted that he was losing ground to Stefano Baldini of Italy and Mebrahtom Keflezighi of the United States even before the attack, and they likely would have caught him anyway. De Lima ultimately placed third in the race behind Baldini and Keflezighi. De Lima later declined to protest the result, for which the IOC compensated him with the De Coubertin medal. Fellow Brazilian and Olympic beach volleyball player Emanuel Rego, who won the gold medal at the 2004 Olympic Games, was so impressed with de Lima's sportsmanship that he gave his gold medal to de Lima on television on July 1, 2005. A deeply and visibly touched Vanderlei returned it, saying that "I can't accept Emanuel's medal. I'm happy with mine, it's bronze but means gold". His attitude of sportsmanship continues to inspire.

• September 13 – During a game between the Oakland Athletics and the Texas Rangers at Network Associates Coliseum in Oakland, Rangers pitcher Frank Francisco was ejected, arrested, and charged with assault and battery after he threw a metal chair into the stands that hit a fan, Jennifer Bueno, breaking her nose and causing a gash which required stitches. Francisco was released on $15,000 bail and suspended for the remainder of the season by MLB. He pleaded no contest to the charges, and was sentenced to anger management classes and a work program; in 2007, he settled a civil suit brought by Bueno.
• September 18 – In the AFL Cairns Grand Final between the North Cairns Tigers and the Port Douglas Crocs at Cazaly's Stadium, a wild and violent 15 minute bench-clearing brawl erupted after Tigers players charged at the Crocs pre-match huddle at the end of the national anthem, and escalated when fans and team officials became involved. One fan was arrested and another five were ejected, while three Crocs players and a Crocs runner were left unconscious and having to be carried from the arena on stretchers. After a lengthy AFL investigation, the instigator, North Cairns Tigers coach and former VFL/AFL player Jason Love, was suspended for eight years, and the 22 North Cairns players were suspended for a total of 400 matches (suspensions ranging from 10 matches to five years) on a string of charges in relation to starting the brawl; the Tigers were forced to forfeit their first match of 2005 as a result of these suspensions. AFL Cairns declared the Grand Final a "no result" and withheld the 2004 premiership.

• September 29 – After a fan threw a plastic beer bottle onto the field during a home game against the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Colorado Rockies, Milton Bradley of the Dodgers threw it back into the front row. As Bradley walked to the Dodgers' dugout after being ejected, he took his jersey and hat off, and with the crowd behind the dugout booing, Bradley gestured with palms up, urging the fans on. Major League Baseball suspended Bradley for five games.
• November 19 – Pacers–Pistons brawl: one of American sports' most infamous incidents. Near the end of an NBA game between the Indiana Pacers and the Detroit Pistons at The Palace of Auburn Hills, a fight broke out between players on the court and Pacers player Ron Artest was hit with a drink thrown by a fan. Artest then ran into the stands, as did his teammates (most prominently Stephen Jackson and Jermaine O'Neal) and they began fighting with fans. Some fans spilled onto the court to avoid the altercation, leading to additional fights with Pacers players when they returned from the stands. The remaining 45 seconds were called off and the Pacers, who led by 15 points at the time, were awarded the win. Pacers players and coaching personnel were pelted with beverages and garbage as they raced into the locker rooms. Nine players received a total of 146 games worth of suspensions, and two fans were banned from attending Palace Sports and Entertainment events for life. Five Indiana players and five fans were charged with assault and battery.