There will be no World Peace for the Los Angeles Lakers when they start the first round of the playoffs on Saturday. The NBA suspended Lakers forward Metta World Peace for seven games as a result of the violent elbow he threw at Oklahoma City's James Harden in Sunday's game.

World Peace was ejected, but later claimed it was an accident. Harden suffered a concussion and has yet to be cleared to play.

NBA Commissioner David Stern said in a statement, "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."

This is the third suspension for World Peace. Back when he was known as Ron Artest, he was hit with an 86-game suspension for jumping into the stands at the Palace of Auburn Hills in the Detroit area to fight fans, but he has seemingly turned over a new leaf, auctioning off his World Championship ring to raise money for mental health awareness and later changing his name to promote peace.

Source: Huff Post Sports