Eli Kaplan thinks Ron Artest should be banned permanently from the NBA and perhaps switch over to the WWE.
Ron Artest (yes that is what I will be calling him in this article, because his self-appointed name of Metta World Peace is just too ironic to say without laughing/crying) might not be a horrible guy, but he sure is confused. He needs to stop playing in the NBA, and start participating in his true calling—professional wrestling. If Artest joined the WWE he could then get a paycheck for the things he does best, and seems to have the most passion for.
His clotheslines of opponents would be a huge hit in professional wrestling. But Ron, such disgusting behavior is frowned upon in the NBA.
Artest’s ventures into the stands, to slug it out with fans would be a huge draw for professional wrestling. But Ron, such disgusting behavior is frowned upon in the NBA.
And Artest’s latest antics—a vicious elbow to the head of Oklahoma City forward James Harden—could become his signature move in professional wrestling. But Ron, such disgusting behavior is frowned upon in the NBA.
So… It’s time for the NBA to send a message: no more chances for “World Peace”. Ron Artest should be banned from the NBA, permanently. Ron Artest is a repeat offender. He has been suspended over ten times in his career (thirteen times to be exact, if I have my facts straight). He has been warned, he has been kept out of the game he supposedly loves, he has been hit in the wallet with plenty of fines for his disgusting behavior. But the more things change, the more they stay the same…
Ron Artest’s name has changed. His NBA teams have changed. His PR team has probably changed too. But Ron Artest isn’t all that different. His anger issues, poor sportsmanship, and unpredictable explosiveness make him an unfortunate role-model.
The sad part of this story is that Ron Artest does good things. He has done work with PETA, promoting spaying and neutering for companion animals. He has done countless work as an advocate for mental health awareness. I could even show you a video clip of his lighter side —Artest playing dodgeball with a bunch of hipsters, just for fun. Unfortunately, for all the good things I could draw your attention to, I could show you several more Artest’s signature meltdowns. He is always capable of the unthinkable, in a very bad way. Which make you think…
Where does this story go from here? Ron Artest will not be banned from the NBA (David Stern and the powers that be, just don’t have that kind of bravery or integrity). He will likely be suspended a few games. And next year, or the year after, Ron Artest, having never had to learn his lesson completely, will have another meltdown. He will go crazy again. He will hurt else someone else. More people will be upset. But Ron Artest will keep on keeping on, continuing to build his resume for his next job – professional wrestler.
I can hear it now, “Put your hands together, and make some noise for the brand new, WWE champion of the world… Portrait Of The Ron Artest As A Young Angry Man”!!! I guess it does have sort of a nice ring to it. Now, if only we could get him officially transferred to that career change starting today.
What do you think? Should Metta World Peace be suspended/banned/fined by the NBA? Or was this truly an accident?
Artest is a thug, yes, but isn’t the NBA a better place because of it? People who have no right being there leave because they are scared of him and new rules have been put in place because of him. Just because the people he hit are b*****s and can’t take a hit, everybody tries to point the finger at him. Maybe everybody else should just man up and learn to fight back. #ARTEST4MVP
An accident? Hardly. Ron knew that Hardin was right next to him (he could surely feel their shoulders rubbing) yet still throws an elbow, and then calls it an accident? Ron dunked the ball, beat his chest (looking the Missing Link), and then, still finds a need to blindly elbow the guy. Yes, it should be over for this lemon-headed looking fool. He is an absolute disgrace to all sports!
Ugh, too much friggin’ sanctimony. Karl Malone’s got a bunch of examples of elbows and hard fouls on youtube (forty stiches and a football-sounding hit on Isaiah Thomas), and he’s revered as a hardworking good ol’ boy from Louisiana and one half of the legendary Stockton/Malone tandem. When he got tangled up with Dennis Rodman the announcers were upset that the upstanding Malone would deign to mess with the eccentric Rodman, yet Rodman had clearly succeeded in getting inside Malone’s head. We encourage a certain degree of savagery in our sports and yet we can’t handle it when it’s a… Read more »
We encourage a certain degree of savagery in our sports and yet we can’t handle it when it’s a little naked.
because modern sport is supposed to be about controlled aggression. an elbow to the temple or throat, is not a fighting strike – it is a killing strike
So are all the other elbows that large, athletic individuals throw around. So are all the helmet-to-helmet hits that NFL players complain about. So was the incident of Eric Cantona kicking a fan ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HC7LTZcNCI0 ), and Cantona is the president of football operations for the New York Cosmos now and still regarded as one of the greats to play the sport. That nobody’s been killed is more a testament to the resilience of your cranium than anything else. There is a hypocrisy to the whole thing: we want you to be aggressive, but not lose control too much. Are… Read more »
shouldnt ‘world peace’ be prosecuted for that.
that does not appear to be the wandering elbow that occasionally happens in the roughntumble of a sporting challenge.
that appears a direct, and deliberate assault
Yes, it was unfortunate, but the Association has a mechanism for dealing with infractions like this. At the end of the day, it’s a high contact sport.
Imo it was a bad combination of World Peace seeking to fire up the crowd and some needless contact by Harden. What exactly was Harden trying to do? It looked like he was doing that tough guy bump-up on Ron, like he was a high school party crasher trying to pick a fight. Bush league.
Mike – I have never encountered such strange and random definitions of bravery and integrity – yours. What in the world does bravery have to do with identifying people who are good at basketball? And what does integrity have to do with showing fans what the game looks like? Artest is a joke. He’s had several chances to get it, but he proved (once again) yesterday, he doesn’t get anything. He should be punished, in a way he can understand (adios basketball). And throwing an elbow to someones head, and concussing them, is no one’s idea of a hissy fit.… Read more »
“David Stern and the powers that be, just don’t have that kind of bravery or integrity” Right, because nothing says “bravery” or “integrity” like throwing a hissy fit in response to a hissy fit. Integrity means showing the fans what the game looks like, including players who are good at their jobs, but may not be the best role models. This is the National Basketball Association, not the National Role Model Association. Bravery means identifying people who are good at basketball and putting them on the court, regardless of their short fuses and questionable pasts. There’s nothing brave about vetting… Read more »
Oops, Barea’s teammates. They reacted to Hardin on the other video.
It doesn’t change the point of Artest being a repeat offender, but the post and choice of video to embed do make the chronology of his misdeeds a bit confusing. The clotheslining of Barea comes off as his most recent offense, but that incident occurred in last year’s playoffs against Dallas. The vicious elbow to Harden’s head just happened last night in a playoff series against Oklahoma City, and was even worse. Though a video of that one is also linked in the article, it’s not embedded. He has done so many egregious things over the course of his career… Read more »
Barea’s teammates did want to respond, but Rick Carlisle was Artest’s coach in Indiana (Pacers-Pistons brawl) and immediately did not let any players up from the bench because it is an automatic 1 game suspension during a crucial playoff series.
What was really weird to me was the non-reaction by Hardin’s teammates. That was REALLY bizarre.
I was watching the game, and I couldn’t what happened. That was a vicious attack to Harden’s head, and there was nothing accidental about it. He wound up and blasted him full force with his elbow. He should, at the very least, be out for the entire post season though I don’t think he will be. You can kill people by hitting them like that and there was absolutely no justification for it.