The Malice at the Palace — widely considered as the most infamous brawl in NBA history — celebrated its 15th anniversary on Tuesday. One man who was in the thick of the violent scenes during that fateful evening is none other than former Indiana Pacers forward Stephen Jackson, who recently reflected on this experience.

“I don’t really think about the brawl until this time of year when it’s all over social media,” he said, via Arash Markazi of the Los Angeles Times. “I don’t regret it. I was there for my teammate and it was something I took pride in doing.”

Jackson looked back on this episode as he rolled and smoked a fat blunt. The Los Angeles Times caught up with the 41-year-old during the taping of his new video podcast entitled, “All the Smoke,” who he hosts alongside fellow retired NBA player Matt Barnes.

The then-Pacers swingman went on to say that while he regrets nothing from his actions, what he despises is the reputation he garnered for his involvement in the melee.

“I just hate the way I got judged,” Jackson said. “I’m far from a thug. I’m a loyal friend who will always have your back.”

We definitely understand where Jackson is coming from here, but honestly, it's hard not to look at him in a certain way following what was a truly disgraceful display from his end. After all, it's not every day that NBA players get involved in a full-on brawl against fans, so to some degree, it's quite difficult to feel too bad for Jackson here.