Metta World Peace: A compendium of misdeeds
Anything but peaceful
Metta World Peace (formerly Ron Artest) has had his share of suspensions — 10 in the last 10 seasons alone — and altercations during his 13 NBA seasons. A look at some of his notable incidents:
•April 22, 2012: World Peace decks Oklahoma City’s James Harden with an out-of-control left elbow; Harden suffers a concussion. Two days later the NBA suspends World Peace for seven games.
•May 4, 2011: Artest smacks diminutive Dallas guard Jose Barea across the face in the closing seconds of the Lakers’ 93-81 Game 2 loss in the Western Conference semifinals. Phil Jackson said of Artest’s play: “It’s uncalled for.” NBA suspends Artest for Game 3.
•July 2007: NBA suspends Artest, then with the Sacramento Kings, for the first seven games of the upcoming season after he pleads no contest to a misdemeanor domestic violence charge involving a dispute with his wife.
•April 2006: NBA suspends Artest for Game 2 of the Sacramento-San Antonio playoff series after he throws an elbow to Manu Ginobili’s head in Game 1.
•November 2004: Artest is part of one of the worst brawls in sports history when he and some Indiana Pacers teammates go into the stands and fight with fans during a game against the Detroit Pistons in Auburn Hills, Mich. The league suspends Artest for the rest of the season — 73 regular-season games and 13 playoff games — without pay, costing him $5 million.
•May 2004: The league fines Artest $10,000 for making an obscene gesture in Game 2 of the Pacers-Pistons Eastern Conference finals.
•April 2004: Artest is suspended for one game by the NBA for leaving the bench during a confrontation in the Pacers’ playoff win over the Boston Celtics.
•March 2004: NBA suspends Artest for one game after he elbows Portland’s Derek Anderson during an Indiana-Portland game.
•March 2003: For the second time in less than a week, Artest is suspended by the league for exceeding the flagrant fouls limit when he whacks Boston’s Paul Pierce five seconds into a Pacers-Celtics game. Earlier in the month he tackled Eric Snow in a loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.
•January 2003: Artest is suspended for four games for a run-in with Miami coach Pat Riley and for making an obscene gesture toward the crowd. Artest also committed a flagrant foul on Heat guard Caron Butler by pushing him into the stands.
•January 2003: Artest is suspended for three games without pay and fined $35,000 by the NBA for hurling a television monitor and smashing a camera to pieces following the Pacers’ loss to the Knicks.
•December 2002: Artest is fined $10,000 by the NBA for shoving Dallas guard Raja Bell and failing to leave the court quickly after being ejected from a Pacers-Mavericks game.
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