2007, the NBA suspended Artest for seven games at the beginning of the 2007–08 NBA season for his legal problems. In 2007, Artest was forced to relinquish ownership of his dog, a Great Dane, for malnutrition and neglect. Personal life On September 16, 2011, Artest's name was officially changed to Metta World Peace. "Metta" was his first name, and "World Peace" was his surname. "Changing my name was meant to inspire and bring youth together all around the world," World Peace said in a statement released after the name change court hearing. His publicist, Courtney Barnes, said that World Peace chose Metta as his first name because it is a traditional Buddhist word that means loving kindness and friendliness towards all. In the years after the brawl in the Palace, Artest was prescribed antidepressant medication, which he flushed down the toilet. He wore just his boxer shorts in an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live. He then went to Santhi Periasamy, a psychologist who helped him turn his life around and whom he thanked publicly when the Lakers won the 2010 championship. World Peace and Kimsha Hatfield started an on-and-off relationship when they were 15 and 14. Their first child Sadie was born in 1997. Eventually the two married in June 2003 but divorced in 2009. Kimsha was a cast member on VH1's reality TV show Basketball Wives: LA. The two have three children together: Sadie, Ron III, and Diamond. Ron III also became a professional basketball player. World Peace has another son, high school basketball player Jeron, with his former high school girlfriend Jennifer Palma. He put a brother through law school and became a grandfather with the birth of his eldest daughter, Sadie's, first child. On May 4, 2020, World Peace announced that he had changed his name once again to Metta Sandiford-Artest, combining his last name with that of his wife, Maya Sandiford. Sandiford-Artest has his own company, The Artest Management Group. The company helps athletes with tax preparation and also has a film division. He also has an interest in mathematics which started in high school, and which he uses in developing a sports app and in taking analytics classes at UCLA. In the late 1990s, Artest became a close friend of American-born Irish basketball player Jermaine Turner. The pair met on the playgrounds of New York and played together in tournaments at Rucker Park. See also