Stern: Peace’s Past Influenced Suspension
David Stern said Wednesday the elbow that Metta World Peace used to give James Harden a concussion was ”recklessly thrown” and the Los Angeles Lakers forward’s history absolutely weighed into the suspension.
The NBA commissioner suspended World Peace for seven games Tuesday, a penalty that could force him out of the entire first round of the playoffs, for the elbow he delivered to Harden’s head in a game against Oklahoma City on Sunday.
Stern said during a conference call that he took many things into account, including World Peace’s numerous past troubles. World Peace, who changed his name from Ron Artest, received an 86-game suspension in 2004 – the longest ban for an on-court incident in NBA history – for jumping into the stands at the Palace of Auburn Hills in the Detroit suburbs to fight fans.
”In fact if it had been somebody that got tangled up and threw an errant elbow, would that have been different than this? You bet it would have been,” Stern said.
via Associated Press
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