ST. LOUIS - NBA commissioner David Stern might have called the perfect play after the brawl at the Pacers-Pistons game. By swiftly suspending the players involved, observers say, Stern deftly soothed sponsors into sticking with the league.

Anheuser-Busch, for example, declared it was pleased the NBA took action and would continue its support. Coca-Cola also said it backed Stern's response.

"We can't the let actions of an irresponsible few cloud the fact that the vast majority of players and fans are responsible," said Tony Ponturo, vice president of global media and sports marketing for the brewer.

Marketing specialist David Carter confirmed that Stern indeed did all the right things. When something goes wrong, he said, investors and customers want to see the guy whose name is on the door address it.

"Stakeholders wanted a no-holds-barred response, and that's what they got (from Stern)," the California-based Carter said Tuesday. "Anything short of what he did would have raised questions."

Last week's brawl spawned a national debate about the behavior of fans and millionaire athletes.

Within two days, Stern banned Indiana's Ron Artest for the season and two fellow Pacers - Stephen Jackson and Jermaine O'Neal - for 30 and 25 games, respectively. Six other players were suspended for far lesser periods, four of them for just one game.

The NBA players' union filed an appeal Tuesday on behalf of those players, asking that an arbitrator decide whether the punishments were excessive.

The union's director, Billy Hunter, has apologized for the "reprehensible" behavior in Friday's melee. But he argued during ABC's "Nightline" on Monday that the players were being sacrificed to placate fans and sponsors.

"(Stern) has to demonstrate that somebody's in control because NBA basketball is a multibillion-dollar industry," Hunter said. "But, you know, again, I can't sit back as the head of the union and not act or respond in an instance where I think the commissioner's overreacted."

Carter said there is a risk of turning off the league's corporate sponsors if the suspensions are reduced.

Stern "knows that how he handles this and how the league rebounds from this will go a great distance in establishing his legacy and whether the NBA can continue generating cash."