A few days ago, Ron Artest of the L.A. Lakers announced that he will auction off his new championship ring in order to raise money for mental health. Now, anyone who has heard of Artest knows that he is not exactly all there and doesn’t have the best reputation in the league following the fight at Auburn Hills in Detroit a few years ago. However, since arriving in L.A. Ron has a done a great job and completed the season with hardly a misstep. When the Lakers won the title over the Celtics a few months ago Artest announced after the game that he would like to thank his doctor and psychiatrist for all the help they have given him. Since then, Artest has been very open about his mental health and this is just another step he has shown that he is becoming a better person.
Once again Phil Jackson has been able to get the most out of a troubled athlete again after doing it with Dennis Rodman on 2 different occasions with the Bulls and the Lakers. Maybe the Zen philosophies that Phil imposes on his players is helping Artest or maybe playing with superstar Kobe Bryant, a player who demands respect from his teammates is helping Artest. Either way, I was extremely happy for Artest when we won the championship especially because of the role he played in the series and the big moments he had in game 7. I am sure a lot of people felt the same way while some probably feel that he still shouldn’t be allowed to play after the Auburn Hills brawl.
P.S.- This is probably the funniest post game interview I have ever seen. Couldn't embed due to NBA copyright but here is the link to Artest's postgame interview.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgRdRwNgs9A
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