Metta World Peace: I Got Fouls Because of Depression, Troubles at Home

Lakers star struggled to balance NBA career with being a young father

Lakers star Metta World Peace says he sometimes got flagrant and technical fouls early in his career because he was frustrated and depressed by the pressures of playing in the NBA while raising a child.

The former Ron Artest, who had a child at 16, talked about his struggle with MTVu for its Peabody Award-winning "Half of Us" campaign, which seeks to raise awareness about mental health issues on college campuses.

He said he had to teach himself how to become a man and a father because his own father left when he was 13.

"You might see a flagrant foul or a tech or an I-just-don't-care attitude," he said. "That was a temper that needed to be controlled."

The full interview will be available today on MTVu and halfofus.com. Watch a clip here:

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