A ruling by the NBA has finally been made in the ‘elbow incident’ involving Oklahoma City Thunder’s James Harden and L.A. Lakers star Ron Artest—er, Metta World Peace. Peace will be suspended for seven games, which will affect both his pockets and the Playoffs.
If you didn’t catch the game, World Peace was ejected from Sunday’s game against the Thunder for striking Harden in the head with the back of his elbow, giving Harden a concussion. Peace claims the blow was an accident, a celebratory act gone wrong over a dunk.
As Mercury News reports, Metta will miss the Lakers’ season finale on Thursday at Sacramento and the Lakers’ next six games. He will also lose nearly $348,000 in salary if he serves the entire suspension this year. If the Lakers exit the playoffs swiftly, the remainder of the suspension must be served next season.
Metta released a statement on his official website, stating, “I apologize to the Oklahoma City Thunder fans and the OKC organization. I look foward [sic] to getting back on the floor with my teammates and competing for the Lakers fans.” We definitely think it wasn’t malicious, but homie got a concussion! Come on now Artest—oops, we mean World Peace!—Keenan Higgins
In case you missed it, check out the blow that started all this:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=PSSjtEMm8YA