[Nba.com]Other side of Ron Artest

A change of pace for once...

http://www.nba.com/rockets/news/The_Other_Side_Of_Artest-288831-34.html


The Other Side of Ron Artest
Rockets star reaching out, touching lives while on the road

Ron Artest, in his element at A Place Called Home.


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Jason Friedman
Rockets.com Staff Writer
Los Angeles - We think we know Ron Artest.

Few athletes elicit the sort of powerful emotions and vivid images Artest can conjure with the mere mention of his name. We watched him rise, we saw him fall, and we drew our conclusion: Relentless and intimidating on the court, troublemaker and problem child off it. That’s just who he is. What else is there to know?

How, then, do we reconcile this image? Artest, casually dressed and completely at ease, is standing before a group of about twenty children outside A Place Called Home – a community center located in the heart of gang-infested south central Los Angeles.

He’s spending his Saturday morning – the day after the Rockets just completed a back-to-back against the Blazers and Clippers – with these kids so he can preach the importance of education, staying true to oneself and, yes, making sound decisions. This is not a team-organized event, nor is it court-mandated community service. Artest set this up on his own. In fact, it’s the sort of thing he’s been doing for years.

“It gives me a new energy when I feel like I’m doing something good,” explains Artest. “I see the kids and I see their progress, and they tell me their stories. I get inspired speaking to the kids, seeing them successful and seeing them want to make it.

“Everything I say is not perfect, but I want to give back. And I try to encourage the older kids to do the same thing. I tell them, ‘Give back to the ones who are younger than you.’ I believe that there’s a culture out there right now that’s suffering because people are doing the wrong thing. It’s everywhere. So if you get more people giving back, I think you’ll be surprised at the changes in the kids and our youth.

“I’ve been doing community service work like this for a long time – not because I had to do it, but because it’s important to me. And I don’t want to only do it where I’m from, or where I play, I just want to do it as many places as I can.”

Believe it or not, that’s not as easy for Artest to do as it may seem. Some schools and community centers don’t want him. They hear the name Artest, and all the powerful preconceptions it contains, and say, “Thanks, but no thanks.”

It’s strange to process that realization while watching him here today. He speaks to the children without a hint of insincerity or self-promotion in his voice. In fact, the instant connection between this massive, 6-7, 260 pound hulk of a man and these kids is borderline astonishing. Star-struck, their young, eager eyes don’t leave him for a second. Those too shy to speak receive one of his massive arms around their shoulders to help them feel more at ease. There is real, raw empathy here, as if everyone involved understands how much the other had to overcome just to make it to this moment, and it’s that commonality which helps Artest’s message hit home.

“I had my fair share of tough times,” says Artest. “Now I’m not going to sit here and say I’ve been through what certain people have, but I do think I can relate a little bit, and I always think it’s helpful to give advice to people who are going through what you went through, so you can try to help them overcome it.

“I used to always get in trouble, but no matter what, I never had anyone say they were giving up on me. I don’t know how, but I have always been so lucky that people never gave up on me.

“And the worst is that some kids have people give up on them. There was a little ten-year old kid today who asked me, ‘How do you stay strong and not give up? How do I stay strong and how do I keep fighting?’ And I’m like, ‘How do you even know to ask me something so deep like that?’ I was amazed at his question, but it shows you what some of these kids are going through.

“So this is like a counseling session, which I know is important because I was fortunate enough to have counseling when I was 13. Not many people that age have counselors and sometimes they might need to talk to somebody. I was fortunate enough to have a professional to talk to when I was getting in trouble and it really helped me out a lot. It kept me out of a lot of trouble. Sometimes you might not be able to talk to your parents, or your older brother or sister – you just need somebody to talk to. And that’s what I’m trying to do today.”

After spending about a half hour getting acquainted, Artest and the kids head inside to continue hanging out. Thirty minutes pass. Then another. Finally, at 1 PM, two hours after his arrival, Artest re-emerges. He doesn’t have any other choice, actually - A Place Called Home closes at 1 o’clock on Saturdays. Clearly, this hasn’t been your typical celebrity show-up and bolt P.R. event.

It’s a very unique situation,” confirms Scott Culbertson, A Place Called Home’s Director of Teen Affairs. “We’ve had other athletes come in here only because they have to. They’re not interested. They sort of come in kicking and screaming. I see it, the kids see it, and quite frankly I’d just assume they didn’t come. With Ron, it was his idea to come here.

“I think it has a cumulative effect, because Ron underscores everything that we say to these kids every day. The kids like me and respect me, but I’m not Ron Artest; I don’t play in the NBA. So when they hear his message, it really reinforces the things we try to impart to them everyday - it really makes a big impact.”

That’s exactly the effect Artest says he hopes to have everywhere he visits.

“When I go to places like A Place Called Home, instead of making it like a fantasy day where you’re signing autographs and things like that, I want to immediately try to connect with them, hit the problems and find out what’s going on in their life. You just try to be effective and not to waste their time – just get right to it. So I try to give advice and let them ask as many questions as they can.

“I would love one day, after my career is over, to have a place where people could come and get advice, counseling or have someone to talk to. There are so many people who don’t have anyone to talk to, and if that’s the case, then a lot of them are just going to do whatever they want to do – even if it’s not right. But at places like we visited today, it teaches discipline and respect and that’s so important.

“It’s like this: I love basketball, but I don’t want to be the coach. I want to be the person who helps someone develop and learn how to play, and then pass them off to the coach. And it’s the same thing here: I don’t want to be the name, I just want to be the person in there helping these kids out.”

Strange, isn’t it? How much of this tale really jives with our preconceived notion of Ron Artest? No, it doesn’t erase the mistakes of his past. It’s not supposed to. It simply serves as a reminder that there’s more to this man – to every man - than his reputation suggests.

So perhaps it’s time to draw a new conclusion. Or maybe it’s just time to admit that we never really knew Ron Artest that well after all.