On a weekend that featured the defending Stanley Cup champion Bruins coming back from the brink of elimination to force a deciding game 7, the celebration of Fenway Park's 100th anniversary, the ousting of the President's Trophy winning Canucks in 5 games, and Kobe Bryant turning in yet another ridiculous array of clutch shots to bury the precocious OKC Thunder, the defining sports image from Saturday and Sunday tuned out to be a roaring Metta World Peace cold-cocking Thunder Swingman James Harden with one supremely violent swing of his elbow.
The avalanche of attention given to the artist formerly known as Ron-Ron's erstwhile elbow should come as no surprise, as sports coverage as of late tends to focus on the slimy, not the sublime. With the twitter-verse and blogosphere humming 24-7 on bounties, recruiting scandals, and golfers turned philandering sexual deviants, the common sports fan has been transformed, out of necessity, into a pundit who must view these villains from different perches along the moral high-ground. The latest chapter in sports folly has been authored by the very same athlete who largely brought about the PC revolution in sports for his role in the now infamous, "Malice at the Palace."
Certainly, World Peace's actions are not to be condoned, and he should be suspended for the brutal shot on Harden. However, let's remember that basketball (and sports in general) is an emotional endeavor. We are drawn to sports because it is profoundly human- wrought with errors, compassion, and sometimes, the loss of control. Take a look at the video- World Peace clearly allowed his emotions to get the better of him. He is not the first athlete to do so, and he will not be the last. His attempt at a rationale was inane at best. But that's Artest- wild, entertaining, and insane. This is why we are drawn to him, and also why countless columnists will make their bones this week shredding him to pieces.
Now the same talking heads who just last season were praising World Peace for turning a corner in his life and devoting himself to mental health are now condeming him as a thug who could only hide his true colors for so long. Tweeters, bloggers, and commentors from Calcutta to Kalamazoo are calling for everything from Artest's indefinite suspension to his incarceration. Relax, people. He got hyped up after a big play in an intense game and made an emotional, out-of-control maneuver. How can we justifiably demand that our athletes leave everything on the field/ice/court, but not be able to handle it when the emotion we see is not palatable to our ultra-sensitive tastes? Before bringing the moral gavel down on Metta's head, consider sports without intensity, hatred, joy, or savagery. It's a boring picture filled with boring people. With the caucophony of talking heads growing more and more influentuial, we are in danger of slowly draining the raw, fuming hatred out of our games. This may sound appealing at face value, but any true fan knows that in order to witness the sublime beauty of sport, you must also accept, in stride, the sometimes ugly manifestation of the beastly side of professional athletes.
