Tribune News ServicesAlthough Ron Artest's streetball games in New York usually included breaks for water or Gatorade, the Queens teenager knew other players who would recharge with Olde English malt liquor.
Those bad examples stayed in his mind while he went through college at St. John's and into the NBA, where Artest says he sometimes drank cognac during halftimes early in his career with the Bulls.
"You've got to watch who you look up to," Artest said today after practice at the Los Angeles Lakers' training complex in El Segundo, Calif. "I've got some people who I wish I would not have looked up to, but I still love."
Photo: Ron Artest hopes the mistakes he made as a young adult can be a lesson to others. (Andrew Gombert/EPA)
Artest recently made several provocative admissions in an interview
with the Sporting News, most notably saying he sometimes drank during
games with the Bulls, where he spent his first 2{ seasons. He acknowledged
buying alcohol at a liquor store down the street from the United Center
and slipping it into his locker.
Artest also said he only made his admissions because he plans to begin a youth program in Los Angeles in which he'll teach others about managing the dangers and temptations of young adulthood.
"I understand I'm in a situation where I have to be a role model," said Artest, who has discussed his in-game drinking in speeches to at-risk youth in the past four years. "I'm just in that situation, so that's something I'm working towards. It's not something I'm running from, but I have to tell people what I've been through, because when it comes up later, I'm not going to want it to be a shock. I tell people what I've been through, and I think it'll help me be more of a role model for the future."
Artest said his drinking was a result of getting "big-headed," and having too much responsibility too soon in his life as a 19-year-old father. Artest didn't specify when he stopped drinking during games, but spoke in glowing detail of an internal self-improvement process in his mid-20s that left him much more mature.
"I was living two lifestyles, and they were both going in opposite directions," the 30-year-old Artest said. "Luckily, my wife took me back."
Artest said he has grown up considerably after his stints with the Bulls and Indiana Pacers, where his involvement in perhaps the most infamous brawl in NBA history in late 2004 cemented his mercurial reputation and resulted in a 73-game suspension. Artest eventually demanded a trade from the Pacers, who shipped him to Sacramento, where the self-healing began.
Artest also criticized NBA referee Joey Crawford, and spoke about his still-simmering dislike for Ben Wallace, the Pistons forward whose conflict with Artest set off the 2004 brawl that went into the stands.
"Joey is a good person," Artest said. "That was a comment I probably shouldn't have made."
Artest also said he only made his admissions because he plans to begin a youth program in Los Angeles in which he'll teach others about managing the dangers and temptations of young adulthood.
"I understand I'm in a situation where I have to be a role model," said Artest, who has discussed his in-game drinking in speeches to at-risk youth in the past four years. "I'm just in that situation, so that's something I'm working towards. It's not something I'm running from, but I have to tell people what I've been through, because when it comes up later, I'm not going to want it to be a shock. I tell people what I've been through, and I think it'll help me be more of a role model for the future."
Artest said his drinking was a result of getting "big-headed," and having too much responsibility too soon in his life as a 19-year-old father. Artest didn't specify when he stopped drinking during games, but spoke in glowing detail of an internal self-improvement process in his mid-20s that left him much more mature.
"I was living two lifestyles, and they were both going in opposite directions," the 30-year-old Artest said. "Luckily, my wife took me back."
Artest said he has grown up considerably after his stints with the Bulls and Indiana Pacers, where his involvement in perhaps the most infamous brawl in NBA history in late 2004 cemented his mercurial reputation and resulted in a 73-game suspension. Artest eventually demanded a trade from the Pacers, who shipped him to Sacramento, where the self-healing began.
Artest also criticized NBA referee Joey Crawford, and spoke about his still-simmering dislike for Ben Wallace, the Pistons forward whose conflict with Artest set off the 2004 brawl that went into the stands.
"Joey is a good person," Artest said. "That was a comment I probably shouldn't have made."
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