David Stern: 7-Game Suspension for Metta World Peace ‘the Right Number’


David Stern offered NBA fans and media an explanation as to how he arrived at the decision to suspend Metta World Peace 7 games for elbowing James Harden in the head. From the NY Daily News: “World Peace’s unprovoked attack on Oklahoma City’s James Harden on Sunday in a nationally-televised game was ‘reckless and dangerous,’ in Stern’s view. […] ‘We knew that seven (games) at this time of year was even more severe than it would have been in the regular-season,’ he said on his annual pre-playoff conference call. ‘It’s only one game lost in the regular-season, but he’s out for most, if not all, of the first round. That did factor in. It does take into the account the fact that the perpetrator is who he is and has the record he has and it called for, in our view, a very stiff penalty.’ […] ‘My job is decide … what is justice here and what is fairness here,’ Stern said. ‘And I came up with seven. Seven seemed to be about the right number, with full knowledge that six or eight could be justified.'”