Yes, I am aware of Artest’s name change, but after that wild elbow to James Harden’s temple, it’s hard not to be reminded of the person who, in large part, brought “The Malice in the Palace” to the sports world. Artest, AKA, Metta World Peace and his sharp-as-nails elbows, in one fateful swing, ended the goodwill his “new leaf” behavior brought him, even though he was quick to apologize for his actions.
To some, the apologies ring hollow.
In case you missed it, the lead image provides all of the details, but in this day and age, of course there’s video of the incident. Hell, there’s an animated gif, as well. What we have is World Peace elbowing the absolute stuffing out of Harden–so much so, in fact, some follow-up reports indicate a concussion for the Thunder’s excellent sixth man.
The particularly vicious head knock in question:
For his actions, Artest-World Peace was immediately tossed from the game, and he faces a long suspension; but that’s just from the NBA. Once again, World Peace-Artest is being tried by the court of public opinion, and if public sentiment was any indicator, let’s just say Metta-Ron is lucky public opinion won’t be able to mete out any punishments:
Yes, he won the NBA “citizenship award” (WTF IS THAT!?) but there’s no chance Metta World Peace does not someday murder at least one person.
Disillusioned Metta World Peace changes his name to Military Industrial Complex – http://t.co/NZBwPRPQ
Metta World Peace admits to suffering from schizophrenia, but only below the left shoulder, “The rest of us are fine, we promise.”
So much for having “Peace” in your name. WTF, Metta World Peace.
Metta World Peace need to be suspended the rest of the season
I think metta world peace should change his name to holy flying elbow
Metta World Peace is ejected for elbowing…..irony
Yep, pretty much that. For what it’s worth, Artest-World Peace did try to apologize for his actions:
I just watched the replay again….. Oooo..
My celebration of the dunk really was too much… Didn’t even see James ….. Omg… Looks bad
Hope James Hardin is ok…
I remember when I hit by Marc Gasol the same way.. I was spitting up blood and a headache during the game…
Judging by the Twitter reaction, however, it doesn’t look like anyone is taking these apologies to heart, choosing instead to wish the maximum punishment on Artest-World Peace. ESPN naturally got in on the act as well, but even the Worldwide Leader went above and beyond the norm, using a five-man roundtable discussion to react to the vicious elbow. An example of the reaction:
1. What was your gut reaction to the play?
Andrew Kamenetzky, ESPN Los Angeles: Shock — it was a pretty vicious hit, seemingly out of nowhere — and then disappointment, considering how much work Metta has put in rehabilitating his season and image. This incident represents a major step backward.
As we await word from the NBA front office on the upcoming suspension, does anyone want to take bets on how long Artest-World Peace’s lasts? Does he make it back for the playoffs? Let us know what you think.