Pacers Take A Step Back On Their Clean Image Approach

The Indiana Pacers spent all summer rebuilding their team and their image. Just three days into training camp, a shooting incident early Friday involving Stephen Jackson and three teammates has left the franchise dealing with another public relations nightmare.

The incident outside a Westside strip club came as the franchise was trying to recover from the lingering effects of the brawl in Detroit in November 2004.

Indianapolis police say Jackson was slugged in the face and hit by a car before he fired five shots from a 9 mm handgun outside Club Rio, 5054 W. 38th St.

Jackson, Jamaal Tinsley, Marquis Daniels and Jimmie "Snap" Hunter cooperated with police. No arrests have been made, and police say the evidence supports Jackson's claim that he fired the gun in self-defense.

The thought of cheering players who visit strip clubs with guns in their car is too much for some.