Regardless of the sport, whether it be the likes of football, rugby or basketball, for some die-hard fans sport is life. Whilst I admire that level of passion, personally I’m a much more laid back sports fan saving myself for the big tournaments such as World Cup’s, Grand Slams or the Olympics.

Timed to perfection, in the middle of the lull between the Olympics and Paralympics, Netflix have brought us Untold, a new docuseries that shines a light on some of the most notorious events from sporting history. Unusually for Netflix, each feature length installment will be released one by one over five weeks, with each one focusing on its own story.

Released on the 10th August, the first instalment tells the story of the ‘Malice at the Palace’ – a 2004 brawl between players and fans at the NBA game between the Indiana Pacers and the Detroit Pistons at the Piston’s home court – the Palace at Auburn Hills. Perfect for those of you who enjoyed the Chicago Bulls docuseries, The Last Dance.

Malice At The Palace follows the same type of format as a lot of Netflix’s other documentaries, with a mix of talking-head interviews and archival footage, but it is a format that they are particularly good at and it is incredibly effective in this episode.

Although we are told the general gist of what happens quite early on, director Floyd Russ takes his time building up the story giving his audience just enough back story to know some of the key players; Reggie Miller, Jermaine O’Neal, Steven Jackson, Ben Wallace and Ron Artest, and understand the rivalry between the two teams. This steady pacing, along with a subtle musical score, makes the eventual unveiling of the shocking raw footage, previously unseen by the public, all the more impactful.

I, myself, uttered a fair few f**ks as I was watching the events unfold.

It doesn’t matter what the sport may be, emotions and tension runs high in sport. Tennis players smash their rackets to pieces, bad tackles or fouls happen, players square up to each other. Kicking, pushing and even biting aren’t exactly unheard of. None of it is excusable or particularly enjoyable to watch but it is understandable and is usually over fairly quickly, ending with a handshake or shirt swap at the end of the game. In my opinion, when things get out of control, the fans are usually involved.

After barraging its audience with snippets of the security footage, played from every possible angle, the film then details the wider fallout of the event. And to some extent, this was more horrifying than the brawl itself. Heavy suspensions, millions of dollars in lost wages and criminal charges were doled out but, as the film touches upon, more than anything, it is the lasting effects on the players careers and reputation that stings the most.

As well as the rather superb storytelling, what I particularly enjoyed about the film was that it didn’t try to force anything on to its audience. There were underlying themes about personal mental health and mental health in sport, a topic particularly prevalent at the moment, as well as systemic and inherent racism in the media but these were delivered in such a way to almost give the viewers a choice to ‘take what you will’ from the story.

Ultimately though it felt as thought the purpose of Malice At The Palace was to give the players a platform previously denied to them, one to tell their side of the story – a therapy of sorts – and us viewers are just there to listen. And it was a privilege to do so.

Malice At The Palace is now available to stream on Netflix.

Don’t forget to check out my reviews of the other episodes in Netflix’s Untold series
– Deal With The Devil
– Caitlyn Jenner
– Crime and Penalties
– Breaking Point