Horns247 Board

Just so I'm clear, are we pretending hard elbows aren't a semi-regular occurrence in the NBA, or are we just factoring in World Peace's history?

Forced off-season trade to Charlotte

I think you have to figure in his previous history just like a felon. Hard elbows may be a common occurance but when they're delivered full force to the head with no immediate acknowledgement or remorse by Ron Artest the dude needs yet another serious wake up. That needs to be delivered by Stern who I actually believe will puss out. I hope he proves me wrong.

Agreed. At least the rest of the season sounds like a good place to start.

That being said, the title of that video 'Nearly Kills James Harden' is a little overboard.

(please don't mistake that last comment as condoning what Artest did in any way.)

I'd have no problem if this was treated as a criminal matter either.

Personally I think Stern will puss out because it was Harden and he'll know suspending Artest for the playoffs will mean Kobe and the Lakers are done early. He won't allow that.

If I was Stern though you have to at least think about it as if it was Durant that caught that elbow. And what if he sustained a concussion from it. Now Artest has put the NBA at risk to lose hundreds of millions of dollars. I think he's done that anyway with this but it's even more magnified in the Durant scenario.

The guy is a thug and honestly his playing days in the nba should probably be over. My punishment would start at 28 games and then if James Harden and the Thunder's attorneys felt like being litigious I would listen to what they had to say to avoid the possibility of a future lawsuit from them against the NBA.

As a long time Lakers fan and knowing when Metta has his head on right, he can still be a force defensively, but after what I saw, the NBA should ban him for the rest of the season without pay and then LA cut him after the playoffs and then work to get the relationship with Lamar Odom right and sign him to a deal.

I would tend to agree with you there, but the author of the declassified CIA assassination manual might not. Here it is discussing assassination techniques utilizing blunt instruments:

"Blows should be directed to the temple, the area just below and behind the ear, and the lower, rear portion of the skull."

I don't think Artest was trying to kill Harden, but he struck him precisely in the most vulnerable spot for serious injury.

Agree 100%. Now is the time for him to start his life after basketball, since this is not his first time getting into trouble.

I suppose enough time has passed where players and fans forget what happened to Rudy
Tomjanovich when Kermit Washington (coincidentally a Laker) clocked him.
"Washington saw Tomjanovich running toward the altercation. Not knowing that he intended to break up the fight, Washington hit Tomjanovich with a roundhouse punch. The blow, which took Tomjanovich by surprise, fractured his face about one-third of an inch (8 mm) away from his skull and left Tomjanovich unconscious in a pool of blood in the middle of the arena. Jabbar likened the sound of the punch to a watermelon being dropped onto concrete. Tomjanovich had a reputation around the league as a peacemaker.Players involved say that right after Tomjanovich collapsed the absence of sound at the arena, which was filled with shocked fans, was "the loudest silence you have ever heard." Reporters heard the sound of the punch all in the way in the second floor press box, and some rushed to the playing floor in disbelief.

Tomjanovich was able to get up and walk around however, and on the way into the locker room he saw Washington. Tomjanovich says that he became aggressive and asked Washington why he punched him. Washington yelled something inaudible about Kunnert, and they were broken up by two security personnel.] Tomjanovich was in no condition to fight despite his aggressiveness; besides having the bone structure of his face detached from his skull and suffering a cerebral concussion and broken jaw and nose, he was leaking blood and spinal fluid into his skull capsule. His skull was fractured in such a way that Tomjanovich could taste the spinal fluid leaking into his mouth. He later recalled that at the time of the incident, he believed the scoreboard had fallen on himThe doctor who worked on Tomjanovich said "I have seen many people with far less serious injuries not make it" and likened the surgery to Scotch taping together a badly shattered eggshell."

Washington almost cost Rudy T his life and was suspended for 60 days which worked out to 26 games. It basically ended Tomjanovich's career as he never was the same again.

Being a repeat offender Artest should suffer more severe consequences. His first fight got him suspended for 86 games. You just can't take the thug out of Artest and left with a slap on the hand it won't be long before it happens again.

we really need a Goodell/Saints moment here. This is not the time for "how it has been done beforre/business as usual".
Times have changed, civil litigation will help change this process as will criminal behavior. Goodell knew he had to do something to keep the NFL from suffering huge losses now and in the future. The NBA better get on board to life in the new world.
a soft punishment to Mr Peace will be a harsh punishment in the future to the NBA.
A soft punishment tells others to go ahead do it. Even if you are a multiple offender you won't get hit hard. You think that is not a lawsuit in the making when some player gets hurt like Rudy got hurt?

You knew it was going to be too. Stern doesn't want one of the faces of the NBA in the leagues 2nd largest market out of the playoffs in the first round.

He's morphed into a joke as a commissioner. I'm looking forward to an NBA without him.

If the NBA is cool with only giving you two games for this, then Artest's suspension is about right.

Life time ban. A handful of games is a joke