“Metta is going to be
the first name and it means like friendship, love and kindness.”
-
Ron Artest
on changing his name to Metta World Peace
By now you’ve seen the lowlight the world is talking about. If you haven’t, take a look and come back. Don’t worry, I’ll wait for you. Now that you’re back I want to mention one
thing, first and foremost, before we get into it. I will not refer to Ron Artest by his
ridiculous and public relations fueled name change. He is and will always be Ron Artest. You can start calling your trash “diamond”,
but in the end, it is still trash.
Let’s start off by saying there was nothing inadvertent or accidental
about this elbow thrown to James Harden’s head.
It was clear that before he lifted his left arm in “celebration”, he
felt someone next to him. Artest
proceeded to lift his arm higher and throw a blatant high elbow. I’ve heard some say he was simply celebrating
and pounding his chest. Those people
making that claim clearly need to have their eyes examined. If you check out the initial chest pound by
his right arm, you will notice his elbow never goes above his rib area. At no time does that arm go anywhere close as
high. Why is that? It’s because it is an unnatural motion. I’ve celebrated like that on the court,
pounding my chest and such. I’ve never
come anywhere close to throwing an elbow that high. It’s unnatural. It’s irresponsible. It’s absolutely dangerous. Also, if it was really accidental, wouldn’t
you stop celebrating the second you connect with an elbow to someone? Artest, right after hitting Harden, continued
skipping down the court until a whistle was blown. As Harden teammate Serge Ibaka approached
Artest, he immediately squared off and was ready for a fight. Ibaka did not make an aggressive move towards
him. He was simply approaching him, with
Pau Gasol standing right in front, asking him what the heck he was doing. It just shows that no matter what name you
call him, Ron Artest will always be Ron Artest.
He’s a guy who, at one time, had great talent but has squandered so much
because he is a loose cannon on the court.
Yes, he has achieved quite a bit, but nothing near what he could have if
he only had a fraction of the self-control the majority of players in the
league have.
The punishment for this heinous on-court act was handed down on Tuesday
night. The NBA handed down a 7 game
suspension to Artest. Let’s review. He
is suspended for 7 games for brutally throwing a concussion inducing elbow to
head of an opponent. That is a complete
and total joke. How does that, in any
way, give Ron Artest a wake-up call? Before
expanding too much, here is the comment from NBA commissioner David Stern:
"The
concussion suffered by James Harden demonstrates the danger posed by violent
acts of this kind, particularly when they are directed at the head area. We remain committed to taking necessary
measures to protect the safety of NBA players, including the imposition of
appropriate penalties for players with a history of on-court
altercations."
I hate to
break it to the commissioner, but how does 7 games help protect players? How does a player with a history of violent
acts on the court learn if this is all you do?
Let’s really examine the suspended games; the last regular season game
against Sacramento. The Lakers are
locked in to the #3 seed in the Western Conference and they have nothing to
play for. It will be a game of rest for the
majority of starters, thus a game Artest wouldn’t have been playing any minutes
in any way. He will then miss the first
6 games of the playoffs. Their first
round opponent will be either the Denver Nuggets or the Dallas Mavericks. Let’s be honest, those are two favorable
match-ups for the Lakers. The Nuggets
are a young team that has overachieved this season, given their injuries and
youth. They beat the Nuggets 3-1 in the
regular season and will likely do the same in the first round. The Mavericks were swept 4-0 in the regular
season and haven’t looked good this season. They just seem off. The Lakers should handle either team without
much trouble. Hypothetically, if the
series does go long, guess who is back for the all-important game 7? Yep, Ron Artest. So really, what punishment was given? It sure wasn’t monetary. According to Kenny Smith on TNT, the players
are paid based on the regular season and not the playoffs. Based on that information, Artest will miss
one game check, which is something around $80,000. While that sounds like a lot to you and me,
he’s made over six million this season.
It’s essentially like fining me $20 for making a mistake at work. I don’t make a lot, but I could drop a twenty
and not blink.
I’m sure you are probably
wondering, “Since you don’t agree with 7 games, what would you have given him?” That’s a great question. I would have suspended him for at least the
playoffs, leaving it open ended for further repercussions down the road. It would completely hinge on how far the
Lakers went in the playoffs. If they got
eliminated in the first round, that wouldn’t be a big enough punishment. If they were to win a title, then the
suspension would be up. It would be the
entire 2012 NBA Playoffs, regardless of how far the Lakers go. If it was an early exit, then I’d re-examine
how many games into the 2012-13 season he would be out. While this does seem harsh to some, this is
the right thing to do. Let me explain
why it is such a stiff penalty:
-
The largest controversial subject in all of
sports right now is concussions and the best way to show the world that you are
serious about taking care of players is to actual punish someone who
intentionally injured another player.
Whether you like it or not, PR is a part of the story and a stiff
penalty sends a message to players and fans.
-
Ron Artest has been suspended 13 times for a
total of 111 games in his career. It is
clear and obvious that he is not “getting it”.
He continues to act out. The NBA
gave Artest the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award last year in an attempt to
help his image. How did he thank the
league? By clotheslining JJ Barea in the playoffs.
Let’s also
not dance around the elephant in the room.
We have to mention the Malice in the Palace. If you haven’t read the amazing piece from Grantland.com,
I highly encourage you to check it out.
It’s amazing and in-depth. Ron
Artest, regardless of what he has done or said since that fateful night, has to
be held to a different standard. Fair or
not, that is the reality of the situation.
He has been on a “no tolerance” policy from the NBA since the 86 games
suspension was served back in 2004-05.
He hasn’t been a “model citizen” since he’s been back. Obviously he hasn’t done anything that
extreme again, but he doesn’t have to.
That reputation will stick with him for the rest of his career and his
life off the court. It was the worst
night in the history of the league. That
moment was the epitome of an era that pushed people away from the league. He is the poster child of a league gone
wrong, in many peoples’ eyes. The NBA
has done a great job of rehabilitating their image behind the mainstream
friendly stars like LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Dwight Howard, etc. However, the elbow throw and subsequent fight
pose, reminded so many about a time where basketball wasn’t as much fun for
some. Now, in the midst of an amazing
season, we are stuck reliving the worst moment in NBA history. We have to talk about how Artest had “turned
his life around”, yet under the façade of a good guy, is still the same Ron
Artest.
The NBA got it wrong. Ron Artest got it wrong. Artest may attempt to change his name and
promote friendship, love and kindness but we are reminded yet again that he has
no idea what any of these concepts mean.
Looks like we are reminded that no matter how hard we try, World Peace
just can’t be achieved.
