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do not think anyone is apologizing for artest, but more trying to deflect the crazy talk. ok so the guy elbowed someone in the head for no reason, he went into the stands after a fan who threw a drink in his face. these are all terrible things from a professional athlete, BUT once again its not like dude killed someone . i mean whats next? you guys are gonna go right past suspensions and right into jail time. maybe harden and the thunder should sue him for assault?
how about steven jackson? he has had a history of "violence" maybe the next flagrant he gets he should face a year off? or how about all the rest of the guys involved in the "malace at the palace"? i guess they are all marked now?
how about bynum? he has a history of some pretty bad attacks, maybe his next elbow to the ribs should be a season off? kevin garnett has a history of crazy, starting ish with smaller white point guards, maybe we should file harassment charges on him, or at least label him a racist.....
my point is, yes artest has a history, he has a mental issue, and yes he did a pretty nasty thing BUT all this "he is the scum or hte earth" and "should not be called a human being" is just ridiculous. its a sport, and the guy let his emotion get in the way of good judgement but come damn man. save those comments for cases like these
not a guy who threw an elbow in a basketball game.
I agree. I would ban him from the NBA based on his history in the NBA, but he's not human scum. He most likely grew up around human scum in Queensbridge which resulted in him building a defense mechanism to protect himself in that enviroment. He was probably one of the few people who actually wanted to be a positive influence coming out of the hell he knew around him growing up, but his reality isn't what mainstream society had to see growing up.
I have to agree. Why do so many on here feel it necessary to apologize for the likes of Artest. It isn't like this is an isolated incident. Artest has a long, notorious history of knocking the crap out of people. On and off the court.
If he is mentally or emotionally handicapped or challenged then the NBA is not where he belongs. He should be where others with similar difficulties are and that's receiving care somewhere. If he has a condition that manifests in the heat of NBA play then this condition should be treated. Not smoothed over or made to seem nonegregious because he's done a few things for charity.
But that is my point. Do you know how many people in society act the same way and are allowed to have normal lives only to end carrying out some catastrophic action? It's just not that easy to say that he has a mental handicap, get him out of the NBA. This country is notorious for overlooking things like this. I'm not trying to make excuses for him, but my point is, if he has a mental illness then it should be addressed. Your previous comment comes off of the assumption that his actions were malicious, but given his history of mental lapses, it seems like people are overlooking the issue here. This man doesn't necessarily have to be a 'thug', he may really need some new meds or therapy. Do you honestly think labeling him as a thug, suspending him and then bringing him back is going to do much? What if he does this again and he hurts someone even worse?
It's just not that easy to say that he has a mental handicap, get him out of the NBA.
Perhaps, but in the meantime should players live in fear that if they happen to be too close to Artest in a heated moment, that he's going to take their head off, whether maliciously or otherwise? I can appreciate what you're saying, that it's not something we should necessarily sweep under the rug or just label the guy as 'scum' or a 'thug', but there's an issue of player safety that needs to be considered as well.
Perhaps, but in the meantime should players live in fear that if they happen to be too close to Artest in a heated moment, that he's going to take their head off, whether maliciously or otherwise? I can appreciate what you're saying, that it's not something we should necessarily sweep under the rug or just label the guy as 'scum' or a 'thug', but there's an issue of player safety that needs to be considered as well.
I agree, which is why I think the NBA needs to see what's going on here. If they aren't then maybe they just need to keep him away, but bringing him back could be dangerous if they don't address the real issue here.
I agree, which is why I think the NBA needs to see what's going on here. If they aren't then maybe they just need to keep him away, but bringing him back could be dangerous if they don't address the real issue here.
Honestly, I don't think he intentionally tried to take out Harden. I don't believe he was thinking to himself 'I'm going to throw an elbow at this guy's head and take him out'. I don't believe he was thinking at all, to be honest. A case where he was just so overwhelmed with emotion, that all rational thought left his head. Having said that, the elbow was certainly not part of the chest-bumping celebration. He felt someone brush against him, and he lashed out in retaliation. Was he deliberating trying to injure someone? Again, I don't believe so because I think it was more an uncontrolled, thoughtless burst of adrenaline and emotion, but I don't think it matters at this point. It was a brutal attack, and the NBA has to be seen to be protecting its players.
We also have to consider the role the media will play here. Stern may be in a position where he has to suspend him for the rest of the year, as the media may scream bloody murder if he 'only' gets 5 games. I don't think he'll play again.....at least not this season. It will be interesting to see what the Lakers do with him in the off-season, because I doubt after this incident( and at this stage in Artest's career) that anyone else will take a chance on him. It's just not worth the baggage.
Ron Artest is one of the most classless players in sports history. I know a suspension will come, but how long should it be? 5, 10, 15 games? Or given his history, should he be banned permanently? There is a three strike drug policy in the NBA. The argument can be made a repeat drug offender only hurts himself and his team by his actions, but a repeat cheap shot "Artest" (artist) hurts himself, his team, the player he physically assaulted and that players team if that player loses time due to injury. What do you think?
Artest has a long history of being a trouble maker, cheap shot "Artest", bad locker room guy, you name it. He has history.
Quote:
(Artest) has been suspended 13 times in his NBA career for a total of 111 games -- 86 of which were related to the (Pacers-Pistons) brawl.
In case you didn't catch on, I refuse to call him by his "stage name".
Quote:
Mettā (Pali: मेत्ता in Devanagari) or maitrī (Sanskrit: मैत्री) is loving-kindness, friendliness, benevolence, amity, friendship, good will, kindness, close mental union (on same mental wavelength), and active interest in others. It is one of the ten pāramīs of the Theravāda school of Buddhism, and the first of the four sublime states (Brahmavihāras). This is love without clinging (upādāna).
Whom ever wrote that article is apparently miss informed, artest has only been suspended twice for anything other then technical fouls. He was also suspended 73 games for the brawl, and 7 games for a domestic charge outside the nba. (I don't agree with that suspension personally).
That's a total of 80 games not counting tech suspensions on 1-2 games.
Whom ever wrote that article is apparently miss informed, artest has only been suspended twice for anything other then technical fouls. He was also suspended 73 games for the brawl, and 7 games for a domestic charge outside the nba. (I don't agree with that suspension personally).
That's a total of 80 games not counting tech suspensions on 1-2 games.
The writer does not suggest that the 13 suspensions were all for fighting/cheap shots.
The writer suggest a 10 game suspension? You think 10 games is too many?
Wow.
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Artest should be banned for life from NBA
