Another month marred by good behaviour, solid on-field performances (apart from Parramatta) and athletes being faithful to their spouses – for shame!
At least one bloke was putting his hand out for a Guildford, or more accurately, his elbow.
April’s Guildford Award goes to….
Metta World Peace! (Yes, that is his name)
The artist formerly known as Ron Artest; the man who had the presence of mind to use an NBA championship moment to promote his new single, and who made headlines last year for changing his name to the somewhat obscure Metta World Peace, has been reborn… as pretty much the same bloke, it would seem.
A controversial figure both on and off-court, MWP might be best to known to Australian pundits as the bloke who ran into the crowd at the end of an NBA game to beat up a fan who threw a drink at him. A mass brawl between fans and players ensued and the legend of the “Malice at the Palace” began. Ron Artest, as he was then known, was suspended for a record 86 games, and it was later revealed he had actually attacked the wrong fellow in the crowd – smooth move.
Several years later, a Championship ring on his finger, and years of charity work under his belt, Metta World Peace, as he was now known, seemed to have put those troubled years behind him, but you know what they say? Once a Guildford Award candidate, always a Guildford Award candidate (it’s true, heaps of people say that).
Last month in a match against Oklahoma City Thunder, Metta (a Buddhist term for loving-kindness, friendliness, benevolenceand good will, and “love without clinging) elbowed opposition guard James Harden firmly in the head after celebrating a neat dunk late in the first half. It resulted in an immediate ejection from the game, and Harden also being taken out of the action.
Not all that benevolent, but certainly worthy of a Guildford Award for a brain explosion that exposed the inner core of the man.
A seven match suspension followed, as did an apology for his “unintentional” elbow, and several Tweets claiming Harden was a “flopper” (the NBA equivalent to and NRL player who stays down i.e. New South Welshman). Apparently remorse and accountability have no place in the MWP doctrine.
So congratulations Metta World Peace for winning the April Guildford Award and for being such a dick. Changing the packaging doesn’t change the shitty cereal moulding away inside.
By Al McClintock