Metta World Peace may be in trouble again. The NBA player formerly known as Ron Artest punched someone in a game against the Detroit Pistons for the second time in his career on Monday, nailing Brandon Knight in the face during an altercation on the court.
Did World Peace intentionally hit Knight that way? You be the judge:
World Peace got a flagrant foul for the play, but nothing more. That doesn't mean a fine, suspension or other penalty might not come his way though.
Looking at the recent incident independently, World Peace could at least make an argument that the punch was an accident. As evidenced in the video, Knight and World Peace were exchanging shoves and hand movements. It was not a sucker punch or any type of move a boxer would be proud of.
On the other hand though, that doesn't guarantee World Peace is in the clear. His reputation for on-court violence and outlandish behavior could mean he won't receive the benefit of the doubt from NBA Commissioner David Stern. There's also the possibility that World Peace intentionally hit Knight in that manner to avoid getting caught, though it's hard to fly under the radar with all of the different cameras covering an NBA game these days.
World Peace has a reputation as one of the craziest players in the NBA for moves like his 2004 fight against a fan during a Pistons-Indiana Pacers game. At 1:51 of the clip, you can see him get hit by a cup that was thrown from the stands.
Between Artest (as he was then called) and the eight other players involved, 146 NBA games worth of salary was lost. There was $11 million that the players never received because of their respective suspensions, including just under $5 million of that for Artest. He was suspended for the remainder of the season and post-season, which ended up being 86 games in total. Pacers teammates of his Stephen Jackson (30 games) and Jermaine O'Neal (15 games) were the only other players to receive suspensions of more than six games.
World Peace started his career with the Chicago Bulls and has been in the NBA since the 1999-2000 season. He has also played for the Pacers, Sacramento Kings, Houston Rockets and Lakers. He changed his name to Metta World Peace in September of 2011.