The NBA players' union filed an appeal Tuesday on behalf of Indiana Pacers Ron Artest, Stephen Jackson and Jermaine O'Neal, who were suspended for their participation in a brawl with Detroit Pistons fans last Friday night.

The appeal asks for reductions in the suspensions handed out Sunday: Artest was banned for the season, Jackson for 30 games and O'Neal for 25. Six players were suspended for one to six games; those are not being appealed.

Union director Billy Hunter has called the penalties excessive, saying a suspension of about 35 games would have been more appropriate for Artest.

Commissioner David Stern, who issued the suspensions, has sole discretion under collective bargaining rules over penalties for on-court behavior, and all appeals go through him, as well.

The union, however, asked in its one-page appeal that the case go to arbitrator Roger Kaplan.

"We're are arguing that the discipline imposed is inconsistent with the collective bargaining agreement, and without just cause," union spokesman Dan Wasserman said.

"I don't think it was fair -- that many games," Artest said Tuesday in an interview with NBC's "Today" show. "I respect David Stern's decisions, but I don't think I should have been out for the whole season."

"This is the third time that I've been hit with something out of the crowd," said Artest, who claimed he had been struck previously in Detroit and in Cleveland.