If you missed the elbow blow from Metta World Peace to the side of James Harden’s head, be warned, it’s kinda hard to watch.

Los Angeles Lakers forward Metta World Peace (Ron Artest) will be riding the bench for 7 games WITHOUT pay after an elbow blow to Harden’s head causing him to get a concussion during Sunday’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Keep reading… NBA Commissioner David Stern issued a statement on the incident saying:

“The concussion suffered by James Harden demonstrates the danger posed by violent acts of this kind, particularly when they are directed at the head area. We remain committed to taking necessary measures to protect the safety of NBA players, including the imposition of appropriate penalties for players with a history of on-court altercations.” 

World Peace has claims his innocence saying it was a mistake and he did not mean to intentionally elbow Harden. He  issued an apology via his website RonArtest.com:

“I hope James Harden is OK. I apologize to the Oklahoma City Thunder fans and the OKC organization… I look forward to getting back on the floor with my teammates and competing for the Lakers and the Lakers fans.”

If he serves the entire 7-game suspension, he will lose $348,000 in salary. Not only that, the NBA has confirmed World Peace could miss at least 6 playoff games as a result of the suspension.

Here’s Metta’s elbow blow to Harden’s head:

Metta World Peace is now defending himself via Twitter to what he claims was an “accidental elbow.”

He tweets:

Can magic johnson,jon barry and steven A compare my accidental elbow to the Luis scola face step and the Blake griff take down..? [see Luis Scola face stomp here and Blake Griffin Takedown here.]

Shaq ,How can u comment on elbows.. What about the punch you threw at brad miller. And the elbows at dikembe and the prizbilla concussion?

Sports media , I understand yal articles and respect it.. But the players and players that played in the 80′s judging me.More to come later.

We’re watching ESPN now and Magic reponds to Ron’s tweets saying, “I feel sorry for him.” Michael Wilbon explained that World Peace needs to understand that he’s a serial offender and that’s why his punishment is more harsh.

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