John Green, the Detroit Pistons fan who threw the cup at then-Indiana Pacer Ron Artest that triggered the brawl in Detroit, told ESPN on Thursday that his issues with alcohol led to the brawl five years ago.

“You know, I realized then the trouble I got in that night pretty much stemmed from alcohol,” he told ESPN’s “First Take.” “I wouldn’t have done that sober. Look at the video of people throwing stuff. One little thing triggered this huge event with people throwing stuff and everything getting way out of hand. It all stemmed from alcohol. If we can control that, we can control these situations.”

Green, who received a lifetime ban from Pistons home games and was convicted of misdemeanor assault for throwing the cup, gave his account of what happened:

“I remember throwing the cup, actually a cup of Diet Coke, not a beer, but I had been drinking and I’ve had issues with alcohol in the past. I remember (Artest) running into the stands and grabbing the wrong person and I felt bad. I grabbed Artest from behind, the whole thing was kind of a huge blur. It happened so fast.”