Dad of 5, Metta World Peace Shares Father’s Day Gratitude With a Twist After Kids Seemingly Ignore Him

“But right now, it’s funny because I got married, and my name now is Metta Sandiford-Artest. So, I actually took my wife’s last name.” Metta World Peace might have changed his name multiple times, but he adopted his wife’s name, Sandiford, as a tribute to her. MWP and his wife Maya have been together for 12 years, and tied the knot in 2018, and just last year had their first kid. So, the former champion took it upon himself to celebrate Father’s Day.

As one can understand, the baby is not even a year old. So, the 2004 DPOY added a post, “Happy Father’s Day to me from my youngest :)))).” However, before uploading this post, he made 4 other similar posts with his children from previous relationships. The common thread among them was that he wished himself a Father’s Day from all his children. Let’s remind you that only his youngest is not on social media; the rest all have their social media accounts and have passed their teenage years.

The new baby joined a big, blended family that Metta has proudly built over the years. Metta has four children from previous relationships: a son, Jeron, with high school girlfriend Jennifer Palma, and three children—Sadie, Diamond, and Ron III—with his first wife, Kimsha Hatfield. Not everybody’s information and age are available on the net, but his daughter, Diamond, who celebrated her 21st birthday last year, did add an Instagram story to celebrate her father.

Apart from that, the only information available is that Metta World Peace’s oldest son, Ron Artest III, is currently 26 years old. If you think the name rings a bell, then he is a former hooper who played for two seasons at Palisades High School. Later, that journey to the NBA never materialized as he played in the G League. However, just a few months ago, his actions on Halloween were a hit on the Internet.

His son impersonated his father during the infamous Malice at the Palace brawl. He rocked a ripped No. 91 Pacers jersey for the occasion and shared several reference pics to make the connection for his followers. But as of yet, he has not commented on the post or shared any story publicly to wish the former Lakers star.

Metta World Peace and his wife’s complicated journey

Even though the kids would have missed wishing him, his wife did not. On her Instagram story, Maya added a video of MWP holding their first baby. While expecting the said baby, last year, the former NBA star added, “Very lucky.” That is because he and Maya have been together for 12 years, and as stated earlier, they married in 2018. The couple had a conversation with People Magazine and shared their experience of starting a new family.

While they had to face earlier complications, the couple expressed feeling blessed about expecting their son. Maya also spoke about her first pregnancy experience. “The first trimester was an absolute nightmare. I was sick every day. I feel like women don’t talk enough about how brutal the first trimester can be, maybe in fear of appearing ungrateful.”

For Metta World Peace, it was also an experience since he expressed that he was often busy during the births of his other kids. So, he was feeling excited to be present for his wife this time around, last year. The three even took a family vacation recently, as he continues to be present as a father.