Violence and sports never seem too far apart. After all, football often seems like formalized warfare and hockey like boxing on skates.

Still there are certain acts of excess physicality that still alarm the professional sports world. One took place in the NBA recently.

NBA player, Metta World Peace, formerly known as Ron Artest, is serving a seven game suspension for striking a vicious blow to the head of competitor, James Harden.

Beside the concern over Harden’s condition (he received a concussion from the blow) there is this other concern… Professional athletes perform in front of large audiences, often on national television, and consequentially become role models for many of the world’s younger spectators.

It is not uncommon for many pros to act rambunctiously off the court, but sports fans expect that athletes at least handle their jobs graciously and with sportsmanship while they are performing.  So it’s hard to understand why so many players lose control of their temper even when they have the spotlight shining on them.

Athletes such as Zinedine Zidane, Andrew Bynum, and Mike Tyson have all had moments where their composure crumpled, forever tinting their careers with disgraceful acts of brutality.

Surely these professionals knew they were being held to higher standards, so what caused them to lash out in the midst of competing.   They knew they would be caught and scrutinized, but they still acted like wild children on a playground.  Did stress cause them to break?  Or irritation?  Perhaps a foul demeanor inherited during childhood?

This was not Metta World Peace’s first time running rampant during a professional game.   Back in 2004 when he was known as Ron Artest, Metta acted like a raging bull in one of the most shocking catastrophes in sports history.

He then went through a transformation, which included the name change, and emerged as one of the NBA’s best role models.  In the 2011-12 season he donated a large sum of his salary to mental health awareness charities, as well as auctioning off his 2010 championship ring, in order to raise proceeds for charities nationwide.

The recent ugly incident has led many to question whether Ron Artest still lurks somewhere in the depths of the reformed Metta.  It’s disheartening to watch a seemingly rehabilitated player, relapse into his former violent tactics.

Why do professional athletes lose their temper during games?  How do they affect younger audiences would they behave maliciously?  Should they be forgiven for their actions?