NBA Repeat Offender Strikes Again

Metta World Peace, or as many people remember him, Ron Artest, is the center of more disciplinary action. In a game over the weekend against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Peace ran the length of the floor and threw down a monster dunk. When he turned around to run back on defense, he elbowed James Harden of the Thunder, delivering a hit so hard that Harden will now have to sit out with a concussion.

This incident begs the question, Where is the line drawn on repeat offenders? Peace's first major offense was in November of 2004 in a game against the Detroit Pistons (at the time he was playing for the Indiana Pacers), where he entered the stands to fight with fans. He subsequently was suspended for the remainder of the season and the playoffs; he missed a total of 86 games which is the longest suspension the NBA has ever handed out. Even before this incident, Peace, was known for being a tough player that would not take crap, but in many instances he took his playing style too far.

The interesting point here is that the NBA could have eliminated what has recently happened by banning him from the NBA. He is a good player, but his playing style is not indicative of the values of the NBA. At what point should the NBA take a hard line with players like this. Artest should have been suspended for going into the stands in 2004 for at least multiple seasons, instead they allowed him to come back and reek havoc on the league once again.

Professional sport leagues typically do not get involved with outside law enforcement, but when you have a player with such blatant disrespect for the rules and regulations of the NBA, shouldn't someone else jump in. We all know the NBA is going to give him another slap on the wrist, but if they allowed law enforcement to jump in, they would send a message to other players and Peace would finally get a dose of his own medicine.

The next few days will reveal what the NBA will do, if anything. Below is the video of the incident.