Ron Artest buys $18,000 in Tickets for fans

[PGDynasty24]

http://www.tmz.com/2010/06/03/ron-artest-los-angeles-lakers-tickets-courtside-boston-celtics-nba-finals/#comments

With Game 1 of the NBA Finals starting in just a few hours -- TMZ has learned two Los Angeles Lakers fans will be sitting courtside at the Staples Center ... on Ron Artest's dime.



The two $9,000 tickets were given away this morning in a contest on Power 106 radio in L.A. -- but the winners had no idea that Ron paid for them out of his own pocket.

We called Ron to find out why he shelled out for the seats and he told us, "Most of my fans can't afford the ticket prices to come to any of the games, let alone the Finals. I wanted to treat a fan to something they would normally never have access to, so they could feel like one of the stars for the night."

Ron added, "I feel like just a regular person at the end of the day, and I wanted to be able to share my first Finals experience with one of my regular fans."

Ron Ron has been nothing short of great since coming to LA,he has been doing great stuff with community since arriving. Glad he is a Laker

[HarlemHeat37]

Nice move from Artest..it doesn't make up for the fact that he has a history of domestic abuse and animal cruelty, but at least he has some good inside of him..

[duncan228]

Nicely done. I like his reasons for doing it.

[TinTin]

Nice move from Artest..it doesn't make up for the fact that he has a history of domestic abuse and animal cruelty, but at least he has some good inside of him..

You are so :lmao

[ChrisRichards]

Makes you question Kobe's loyalty to Lakers fans. He's easily raking in 10x the amount of money makes yet he never does anything this generous to the same fans who chants MVP every night.

[The Gemini Method]

Makes you question Kobe's loyalty to Lakers fans. He's easily raking in 10x the amount of money makes yet he never does anything this generous to the same fans who chants MVP every night.

Seriously? You had to bring in Kobe into this thread? I don't know why you even bother posting if all you are consumed with is disdain for Kobe.

Nice gesture by Ron...hope he embraces the moment tonight.

[silverblk mystix]

too bad artest is a laker now....awww fuck him

[balli]

Makes you question Kobe's loyalty to Lakers fans. He's easily raking in 10x the amount of money makes yet he never does anything this generous to the same fans who chants MVP every night.

Not really. Kobe IS NOT a regular guy. And that's fine. We need the Kobes of the sports world too. (And Kobe does a lot of unpublicized charity stuff anyway, most of it more important than the giving away of Laker's tickets)

That said, awesome of Artest to do that. :tu :tu

[TheMACHINE]

Makes you question Kobe's loyalty to Lakers fans. He's easily raking in 10x the amount of money makes yet he never does anything this generous to the same fans who chants MVP every night.

so you rather have Kobe give $9k tickets to fans instead of giving $9k to charities?

[ChrisRichards]

$9,000 is all what Kobe gives to charities? Wow, thats damn low for a multi millionaire like him. Anyway, its just something I thought about, im not hating on Kobe, never have despite of the popular belief in this board. I just think he can do more for the very loyal fans of Los Angeles who screams MVP on the top of their lungs even on nights where's he less than stellar.

Peace Laker fans.

[Roddy Beaubois]

Seriously? You had to bring in Kobe into this thread? I don't know why you even bother posting if all you are consumed with is disdain for Kobe.

Nice gesture by Ron...hope he embraces the moment tonight.


so you rather have Kobe give $9k tickets to fans instead of giving $9k to charities?

CR, never coming away empty handed.

[spurs10]

9k a ticket is a waste of money, better spent at the local food bank. Surely you can get a decent seat for a few hundred????

[4>0rings]

Ron ron, the only person on the Lakers I actually like. Nigga so rich but still steps in dogshit just like us common folk.

[4>0rings]

Surely you can get a decent seat for a few hundred????At a finals game, no. At a finals game in LA, hell fucking no.

[JamStone]

I said this in a recent thread, but for all of Ron Artest's eccentricities and weirdness and for all the negative or bad things he's done in his life and on the court, there's something strangely likable about the guy.

[baseline bum]

Pretty cool move by Artest. My favorite though was the guy who won a radio contest by getting "I Slept with Shaq" tattooed on his forehead to win tickets to game 1 of the 2001 Finals (the only game LA lost that playoffs; man, he had to be pissed :lol )

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OZbstSOPHvc/SIIa3XbxQEI/AAAAAAAABY8/qGZVPRR20UY/s400/hesleptwithshaq.jpg

[The_Dude]

Maybe he should help his sister get "off" welfare first? :downspin:


http://sportsbybrooks.com/ron-artest-sister-investigated-for-welfare-fraud-27133

[manufan10]

Nicely done. I like his reasons for doing it.

I agree. Great move by Artest. :tu

[manufan10]

Pretty cool move by Artest. My favorite though was the guy who won a radio contest by getting "I Slept with Shaq" tattooed on his forehead to win tickets to game 1 of the 2001 Finals (the only game LA lost that playoffs; man, he had to be pissed :lol )

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OZbstSOPHvc/SIIa3XbxQEI/AAAAAAAABY8/qGZVPRR20UY/s400/hesleptwithshaq.jpg

:lmao

Is that real?? :lmao That's worse than calf tats! :rollin

[HarlemHeat37]

I don't like dogs, and some women need to be back handed.

:lol You really do rep that Green and White, uh?..

[LnGrrrR]

Pretty badass move by Ron Artest. Props.

[lefty]

Nice ron ron

[baseline bum]

:lmao

Is that real?? :lmao That's worse than calf tats! :rollin

Yeah, and he still has it. He was probably one of the guys who gave Artest's tickets away, since he's on Power 106 now.

http://www.power106.com/pics/airstaff/tattoobio.jpg

[ShoogarBear]

Just tickets? No peanuts?

[duhoh]

good stuff ron ron.

how about yall making money to help out people then criticizing?

rofl telling others how to spend money.

[Jacob1983]

Why doesn't the rapist do this?

[Kori Ellis]

I said this in a recent thread, but for all of Ron Artest's eccentricities and weirdness and for all the negative or bad things he's done in his life and on the court, there's something strangely likable about the guy.

I have always thought that too.

When we were at the AllStar game practice a few years back, he was the only player that came early and stayed late to interact with the fans. He gave away tons of autographed shoes, headbands, shirts, etc. And for about 30 minutes, he let kids/teens in the crowd try to throw lobs so that he could dunk it. Of course, very few of the passes were even close to the rim, but he was so so patient. :lol

[ShoogarBear]

And for about 30 minutes, he let kids/teens in the crowd try to throw lobs so that he could dunk it. Of course, very few of the passes were even close to the rim, but he was so so patient. :lol

Damn, Tony could have used that practice.

[SomeCallMeTim]

I have always thought that too.

When we were at the AllStar game practice a few years back, he was the only player that came early and stayed late to interact with the fans. He gave away tons of autographed shoes, headbands, shirts, etc. And for about 30 minutes, he let kids/teens in the crowd try to throw lobs so that he could dunk it. Of course, very few of the passes were even close to the rim, but he was so so patient. :lol

He's an LA favorite now. Helps that he's been on his best behavior all season long and is playing lock-down D. If the Lakers win it all he'll be an LA legend.

Well, until the inevitable meltdown a season or two from now...

[BRHornet45]

Kobe doesn't do shit for anyone or any charities. he may break off some chump change check like $10k to a charity every now and then SIMPLY FOR THE PHOTO OP, but the dude doesn't care about anyone but himself. he makes over 20 million per year, AT LEAST 1 million of that SHOULD be going to help others, but nope not on Kobe's dime!

[crc21209]

http://www.tmz.com/2010/06/03/ron-artest-los-angeles-lakers-tickets-courtside-boston-celtics-nba-finals/#comments

With Game 1 of the NBA Finals starting in just a few hours -- TMZ has learned two Los Angeles Lakers fans will be sitting courtside at the Staples Center ... on Ron Artest's dime.



The two $9,000 tickets were given away this morning in a contest on Power 106 radio in L.A. -- but the winners had no idea that Ron paid for them out of his own pocket.

We called Ron to find out why he shelled out for the seats and he told us, "Most of my fans can't afford the ticket prices to come to any of the games, let alone the Finals. I wanted to treat a fan to something they would normally never have access to, so they could feel like one of the stars for the night."

Ron added, "I feel like just a regular person at the end of the day, and I wanted to be able to share my first Finals experience with one of my regular fans."

Ron Ron has been nothing short of great since coming to LA,he has been doing great stuff with community since arriving. Glad he is a Laker

Which is exactly why I think the Laker "franchise" is a piece of shit. The regular NBA fan can get some pretty decent lower level seats at a decent price in ANY NBA city BUT L.A, which caters to the fairweather celebrity "fans."

[PGDynasty24]

18,000 is 18,000. 18k in tickets would've filled an entire New Jersey Nets regular season game

[JamStone]

Kobe doesn't do shit for anyone or any charities. he may break off some chump change check like $10k to a charity every now and then SIMPLY FOR THE PHOTO OP, but the dude doesn't care about anyone but himself. he makes over 20 million per year, AT LEAST 1 million of that SHOULD be going to help others, but nope not on Kobe's dime!

Why single out Kobe? There are dozens of 8 figure NBA players that don't do as much as they can with the amount of money they make.

There was a report in Consumer Magazine that Kobe donates approximately 10% of his salary to charity, so over $2 million each year.

[cobbler]

Kobe doesn't do shit for anyone or any charities. he may break off some chump change check like $10k to a charity every now and then SIMPLY FOR THE PHOTO OP, but the dude doesn't care about anyone but himself. he makes over 20 million per year, AT LEAST 1 million of that SHOULD be going to help others, but nope not on Kobe's dime!

I personally know 2 families with children with devestating illnesses. Kobe got involved with them through one organization or another and has kept up with both families for over 10 years. This I know of as fact. I have no doubt that he spends far north of a million on his various charities and foundations.

What % of your salary to you give away to help others?

[BRHornet45]

I personally know 2 families with children with devestating illnesses. Kobe got involved with them through one organization or another and has kept up with both families for over 10 years. This I know of as fact. I have no doubt that he spends far north of a million on his various charities and foundations.

What % of your salary to you give away to help others?

son I give about 10-15% of mine to charity. what about you?

[cobbler]

Which is exactly why I think the Laker "franchise" is a piece of shit. The regular NBA fan can get some pretty decent lower level seats at a decent price in ANY NBA city BUT L.A, which caters to the fairweather celebrity "fans."

Get a better job. Improve yourself. Quit whining.

We have expensive seats. It's expensive to live in So Cal. It's not just the Lakers. The expensive seats also allow our owner the flexibility to have the highest payroll and go for back to back championships. It's why I refute any post that says the fans don't contribute to the teams success.

[cobbler]

son I give about 10-15% of mine to charity. what about you?

10% to church and 10% to various other charities.

[SomeCallMeTim]

son I give about 10-15% of mine to charity.

Good to hear. Not sure how New Orleans' less fortunate would be able to get by without your $600-$900 given annually.

[cobbler]

Good to hear. Not sure how New Orleans' less fortunate would be able to get by without your $600-$900 given annually.

Ouuuuch

[BRHornet45]

Good to hear. Not sure how New Orleans' less fortunate would be able to get by without your $600-$900 given annually.

lol nice try cuck

[Jloyola]

Makes you question Kobe's loyalty to Lakers fans. He's easily raking in 10x the amount of money makes yet he never does anything this generous to the same fans who chants MVP every night.

A few years, my friend's grandmother is HUGE laker fan wrote to Kobe, Kobe responded by trying to visit her, but was advised against because of the area she lived in. Kobe sent a Limo out to her and her family to attend a laker game gave them lower level seats. After the game Kobe took pictures, signed shoes and jerseys and gave her the game ball. It was the game where Kobe hit 2 game winning freethrows against the Bobcats..:toast


Hey "The Machine" check out my facebook or myspace for the pics.. its under my friend "Trish"... One of the Twin's girl!

[chubster]

Kobe doesn't do shit for anyone or any charities. he may break off some chump change check like $10k to a charity every now and then SIMPLY FOR THE PHOTO OP, but the dude doesn't care about anyone but himself. he makes over 20 million per year, AT LEAST 1 million of that SHOULD be going to help others, but nope not on Kobe's dime!
http://www.tonic.com/article/kobe-bryants-china-fund-helps-chinese-children/
7 million reasons to shut your trap.

[Bukefal]

That's a great move! props

[TheManFromAcme]

Makes you question Kobe's loyalty to Lakers fans. He's easily raking in 10x the amount of money makes yet he never does anything this generous to the same fans who chants MVP every night.

Man CR, you really dig deep in your magic hat.
For the upteenth time, Why the fascination and all out hatred for #24?

Boggles the mind

BTW, Nice move Ron-Ron :tu

[TheMACHINE]

A few years, my friend's grandmother is HUGE laker fan wrote to Kobe, Kobe responded by trying to visit her, but was advised against because of the area she lived in. Kobe sent a Limo out to her and her family to attend a laker game gave them lower level seats. After the game Kobe took pictures, signed shoes and jerseys and gave her the game ball. It was the game where Kobe hit 2 game winning freethrows against the Bobcats..:toast


Hey "The Machine" check out my facebook or myspace for the pics.. its under my friend "Trish"... One of the Twin's girl!

her pictures are set to private. She had pictures of the meeting up?

[Bukefal]

A few years, my friend's grandmother is HUGE laker fan wrote to Kobe, Kobe responded by trying to visit her, but was advised against because of the area she lived in. Kobe sent a Limo out to her and her family to attend a laker game gave them lower level seats. After the game Kobe took pictures, signed shoes and jerseys and gave her the game ball. It was the game where Kobe hit 2 game winning freethrows against the Bobcats..:toast


Hey "The Machine" check out my facebook or myspace for the pics.. its under my friend "Trish"... One of the Twin's girl!

Wow, that's pretty awesome :wow

[duncan228]

Ron Artest's Lucky Beneficiaries (http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/16490/ron-artests-lucky-beneficiaries)
By Kevin Arnovitz

Ron Artest is nothing if not creative about his public persona. As a pro athlete, he has an especially unfiltered persona with his fans, communicating with them at will. He's also cognizant that as basketball-crazy as Los Angeles is, only a sliver of the fan base ever has a chance to attend Lakers games in person at Staples Center. "Ninety-eight percent of people in L.A. don't go see a Lakers game," Artest told ESPN News (http://sports.espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/news/story?id=5250170). Tickets are pricey and games are generally sold out. And playoff games? Forget about it.

That's why Artest purchased two seats to Game 1 of the Finals to give away to a couple of fans. Tickets distributed through contests are generally located in the upper bowl or in the corners, but the tickets Artest bought were courtside on the baseline and had a face value of $9,000 each -- though that wasn't disclosed by Power 106 (http://power106.fm/index2.aspx), the station through which Artest conducted the giveaway.

Jessica St. John and David Doudoumian were the lucky winners. We caught up with St. John this morning.

Kevin Arnovitz: When you won the tickets did you have any idea where in the building they were located? What was your expectation?

Jessica St. John: I didn't know what to expect. I figured as long as I was at the game, it doesn't matter where I'm sitting. But I never thought in a million years they'd be on the floor.

Arnovitz: Do you go to a lot of games?

St. John: I've been to a few, but I mostly watch on TV. It's really expensive to go to games, let alone the Finals. But I watch every game.

Arnovitz: When all the Ariza and Artest stuff was going down last summer, it seemed like Lakers fans were of two minds. Either it was a great idea to bring in Artest or it was crazy to replace a guy as dependable as Ariza had been with someone as volatile as Artest. Where did you come down on that question?

St. John: Ariza, I figured, if he doesn't want to stay, then he doesn't want to stay. Let him go. I was more than happy to get Ron Artest because I know he's an aggressive player. He's one of those players who, when he's out on the court, is so into it.

Arnovitz: So let's talk about the game. I remember the first time I sat close to the floor and what an entirely different experience it is. What was that like for you? Did you hear the players? Did you pick up details you don't see when you're watching the game on television?

St. John: I didn't hear as much as I wanted to because I was really wrapped up in the experience -- everyone around me and it was loud. But it was great to see the players' facial expressions, to see how focused and aggressive they were on the court. To see the sweat on their arms. It was crazy. They're so much bigger than you think -- and Nate Robinson is a lot shorter than I expected! And, man, Kobe and Fisher looked so intense and into it. So was Pau. When I caught their faces, it was like, "Wow." They were in it to win it and they did. Everything happens so fast and it's right in front of you.

Arnovitz: And what was it like to be surrounded by a zillion celebrities?

St. John: That was amazing. I got a picture with Bruce and Chris Jenner. I sat right down from Leo [DiCaprio] and got to see Charlize Theron -- she sat near us. Terrell Owens was standing right in front of me. It was very surreal. I was born and raised in the Valley, so you think it wouldn't faze me, but I was so nervous. My grandma even called me to tell me she saw me on the news. I'm really grateful.

Arnovitz: Were you able to touch base with Artest?

St. John: I actually had a purple Sharpee in my purse, so I wrote "Thank you, Ron, for the tickets!" He actually did see it and pointed to us and gave us a thumbs-up. And even at the end of the game, he looked around for us and gave us another thumbs-up. He's such a great aggressive player. He has so much confidence, especially after he made that game-winning shot. He's such a great addition to the team and I hope that he doesn't go anywhere.

Arnovitz: He has the reputation of being super-eccentric. Where are you now on that question?

St. John: Of course he's a little crazy, but who isn't?

[Scola]

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OZbstSOPHvc/SIIa3XbxQEI/AAAAAAAABY8/qGZVPRR20UY/s400/hesleptwithshaq.jpg

^ This guy is never getting employed again :lmao. Although I'm pretty sure he wasn't the smartest guy to begin with. Ron is crazy, but at least he seems to care about his fans...well at least when hes not punching them in the stands :lol

[Bukefal]

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OZbstSOPHvc/SIIa3XbxQEI/AAAAAAAABY8/qGZVPRR20UY/s400/hesleptwithshaq.jpg

^ This guy is never getting employed again :lmao. Although I'm pretty sure he wasn't the smartest guy to begin with. Ron is crazy, but at least he seems to care about his fans...well at least when hes not punching them in the stands :lol

Loool what's his story? Why in the hell would you tattoo that? :rollin

[TampaDude]

Why doesn't the rapist do this?

Well, he DID give some free Kobe beef to Katelyn Faber... :lol

[Jloyola]

her pictures are set to private. She had pictures of the meeting up?

The pictures in her profile has them in their seats, the final score board, Kobe hugging her grandmother, tons of group pics, and the jerseys, shoes, and ball he gave up!

[Scola]

Loool what's his story? Why in the hell would you tattoo that? :rollin

Read the first page of this thread. Apparently he did it for tickets to game 1 of the 2001 Finals. Sounds like a bad trade :lol

[DPG21920]

I know a lot of these players do nice things, but I don't trust them at all. I have a feeling there lives are just like that scene from "Any Given Sunday" where they are at that ball for the children doing blow and banging hookers in the back.

They do some nice things to put up a front, but behind the scenes they do some pretty scary stuff imo.

[BadOdor]

I know a lot of these players do nice things, but I don't trust them at all. I have a feeling there lives are just like that scene from "Any Given Sunday" where they are at that ball for the children doing blow and banging hookers in the back.

They do some nice things to put up a front, but behind the scenes they do some pretty scary stuff imo.

imo I agree. For example, my sources tell me parker brings eva occasionally to the spurs locker room, and everyone run a train on her.

[PGDynasty24]

imo I agree. For example, my sources tell me parker brings eva occasionally to the spurs locker room, and everyone run a train on her.

Bro I know Matt Bonner was all on that shit,banging that pussy. Dejuan Blair probably ran train on her. Ginobli was def doing euro-two step on her nice ass. Duncan was probably dressed up as a wizard and imagined she was a elf or something.

[BadOdor]

Bro I know Matt Bonner was all on that shit,banging that pussy. Dejuan Blair probably ran train on her. Ginobli was def doing euro-two step on her nice ass. Duncan was probably dressed up as a wizard and imagined she was a elf or something.

Sons it's very nice of parker tbh, more than likely he's gay anyway, so if he won't tap that why not let his teammates have some, imho.