Favorable reputations can take forever to build, but only seconds to dismantle. Just ask Metta World Peace.
Ever since he entered the league in 1999 with the Chicago Bulls, World Peace, formally known as Ron Artest, has been a handful for both the teams he’s played for and for the NBA. In his first season, the enigmatic Artest wowed on the court, solidifying himself as one of the premier defensive threats in the league. However, it was what Artest did off of the court that gave him the reputation he’s fought so hard to change the last few years.
In his rookie season with the Bulls, Artest reportedly drank liquor in the locker room during half times. In 2001 Artest was fined $7,500 and suspended one game for jumping onto and throwing punches at Milwaukee Bucks forward Glenn Robinson.
In 2003 Artest, then an Indiana Pacer was suspended for three games and fined $35,000 for throwing a television monitor and smashing a camera after a loss to the Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
Just 25 days later Artest was at it again. This time in a game at the Miami Heat he somehow managed to flagrantly foul the Heat’s Caron Butler, “confront and make contact” with Heat coach Pat Riley, taunt the Miami bench, and flip the bird at the crowd, all in one night, earning him another four-game suspension.
However, all of that seems like nothing compared to what to this day stands as the defining moment in Artest’s eventful career: his staring role in the Malice at the Palace in 2004. Here’s a recap for those who are not familiar with the incident:
With 50 seconds remaining in a regular season game between Artest’s Pacers and the Detroit Pistons in Auburn Hills, Artest fouled Piston center Ben Wallace from behind. Wallace, upset about the timeliness of the hard foul (the Pacers were up 15 and the game was all but over) responded by shoving Artest, instigating a brawl that crescendoed into the darkest moment in NBA history.
After the altercation with Wallace, Artest decided to separate himself from the ongoing scuffle on the court and to lie down on the scorer’s table. Seconds later Artest was hit in the chest with a Diet Coke that was thrown by a fan. Artest immediately lost it. He stormed into the stands and attacked who turned out to be the wrong fan, injuring others in the process. (If you have the time check out the video of this on YouTube it makes for some scary yet entertaining few minutes.) To make a long story short, Artest was suspended for a whopping 72 games including the playoffs.
Despite his troubled past Artest managed to keep clear of any newsworthy eccentric behavior for the next few years, and gradually began repairing his reputation. After winning a title with L.A. in 2010, Artest auctioned off his championship ring for $650,000 for mental health awareness programs (remember, this is the guy who publicly thanked his psychiatrist after his Lakers won the finals two years ago). Then last September the artist formally known as Ron changed his name to Metta World Peace hoping that “people might be positively affected by regularly using the term world peace.”
However, World Peace’s belligerent side re-surfaced last week when Mr. Peace managed to erase all of his reform with the swing of an elbow. In a game on April 22 against the Oklahoma City Thunder, he delivered a devastating elbow to the head of guard James Harden. Replays revealed that World Peace’s blow was not inadvertent as he claimed on his Twitter feed, but instead was a vicious, purposeful and frankly disgusting cheap shot on a smaller innocent unguarded player. Harden suffered a concussion and World Peace was ejected from the game. Two days later World Peace was dealt a measly seven game suspension.
After watching this senseless act live on television I couldn’t believe the reasoning behind the brevity of the suspension. I thought for sure he would be sidelined without pay for at least the remainder of the season (and postseason), but instead, barring any first round upsets, World Peace’s Lakers are set to play Harden’s Thunder in the second round, which is potentially when World Peace would return from his suspension.
Many, including former Laker great Bill Walton, think the punishment was much too lenient.
“He should have been suspended for the whole season,” Walton said. “How about [a year long ban]?”
While I believe a whole year is a little too extreme a penalty for World Peace, you have to take into consideration his past when making such a decision: This is his 14th suspension in his 14-year NBA career.
While I’m sure he will try his best to rehabilitate his image and build up a new and improved identity once again (maybe he should try changing his name that always helps) everyone knows that the real Ron Artest lurks within. That is why if I were an opposing player I would be beyond petrified of this guy; if you look at him the wrong way you could end up on the floor unconscious. He presents a formidable risk in every game he plays in and that alone is why he should have been given a harsher penalty.
From how I see it, World Peace (I now cringe every time I hear the name) will always be remembered for his transgressions; no matter how much he tries to change his reputation, there will always be moments like last week’s that will remind us of who he truly is: Ron Artest, making forgiving him just as difficult as achieving world peace.
