Metta World Peace is nearing the end of a long and illustrious career. On Tuesday, the player formerly known as Ron Artest, made what may be his final trip to Indiana to play against his former Pacers.
World Peace was arguably at his best as a player during his short tenure in Indiana. That was where he won his only Defensive Player of the Year award and where he made the only All-Star Game of his career.
But World Peace’s time in Indiana will always be remembered for – and marred by – one of the most unfortunate events in NBA history: The Malice at the Palace. The brawl that occurred in Detroit featured Artest punching a fan after having beer thrown at him. The small forward was suspended for 73 games.
Since then, World Peace has found, well, peace in his personal and professional life. He has become an advocate of mental health and has become a veteran leader for a Lakers team loaded with young players.
But MWP still feels remorse for how things ended in Indiana. In a great feature written by ESPN’s Baxter Holmes, World Peace explains the instability that led to the poor finish in Indiana and his regrets:
“That’s what I feel most bad about to this day,” World Peace told ESPN. “That’s something that I can never, ever forgive myself for. I don’t regret it, but I definitely can’t forgive myself for that.”
And as he started to look back on his time with the Pacers, World Peace said he realized, “I was there, but I had no control. It was like now I realized, ‘Oh, wow, what a f—ing d—head.’”
There is a lot more in Holmes’ feature and you should take the time to read it.
Metta World Peace’s recognition of his mistakes is an almost miraculous change of heart from his situation all those years ago. The remorse he shows in leaving his teammates behind and instigating one of the worst moments in league history is a promising modification for him.
It has been a tumultuous road for Ron-Ron and as he says, he will never forget himself for the mistakes. But it does appear that he has found Peace in more ways than one.
