ducks
10-31-2005, 09:06 AM
Lesson learned, but don't expect Artest to change
By NANCY ARMOUR, AP National Writer
October 29, 2005
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Some folks know Ron Artest only from the TV clip that played incessantly last fall, a brawl with Detroit fans that got the Indiana Pacers forward tossed out of the NBA for the rest of the season.
To them, he's a thug, an out-of-control athlete who symbolizes everything wrong with the NBA -- all of professional sports, really.
``Maybe I did something on TV and somebody is like, `Man, that kid's out of control.' Or they say, `He needs to change a little bit.' But they care,'' Artest said. ``The people who want to know, they don't just judge because they hear or they see a couple of things in the paper. For those type of people, I don't mind letting them know what I'm really about.
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``But some people are like, `Oh, he's a jerk. He's this, he's that.' So you just tell those people to kiss my ass.
``You can't judge a book by its cover,'' he added. ``That's so elementary. It gets no more simple than that. You can't judge a book by its cover.''
There is no anger, no animosity, as Artest speaks. He's relaxed as he lounges courtside after a recent Pacers workout, stretching his arms across the chairs on either side of him and smiling often.
Indeed, there is much beneath his rough, hardscrabble cover.
``There's 24 hours in a day, seven days a week. The two minutes he might do something seems to wipe out the rest of the time,'' Pacers CEO Donnie Walsh said. ``I guess to a degree that's to be expected. But I don't think you can judge him by those moments all the time because he is a very sweet guy, a caring guy.
``And not, when you meet him, what you expect from probably what you're reading or hearing or whatever. Or what that incident showed.''
Artest is proud of his gritty roots, saying he remains ``ghetto'' despite his NBA millions. The oldest of eight children, he grew up in New York City's Queensbridge projects, one of the toughest in the country. There were gangs and drugs everywhere, and gun violence was the neighborhood soundtrack.
There wasn't much money, and Artest's parents had a sometimes volatile relationship. They divorced when he was barely a teenager, and he became a father figure for his siblings. When he was 15, his 10-week-old sister Quanisha died of sudden infant death syndrome. She was buried with one of Artest's trophies, and he has her name tattooed on his arm.
``There's certain lines you (don't) cross when you're dealing with a man who came up like he did and who's been through the trials and tribulations like he did in his life,'' said Pacers teammate Stephen Jackson, who had a rough upbringing of his own in Port Arthur, Texas.
``Obviously there are certain things he's not going to be happy about and a certain way that he's going to react,'' Jackson said. ``But he understands now that the reaction has to be positive and it can't be at the job.''
Basketball was Artest's ticket out of Queensbridge. He and future Chicago Bulls teammate Elton Brand were on the same Riverside Church AAU squad for three years, including one season when they were 64-1. His senior year in high school, Artest was a McDonald's All-American and co-player of the year in New York City.
He had scholarship offers from around the country, but chose to stay home and go to St. John's. The Red Storm went 50-19 in Artest's two years, and their trip to the NCAA regional finals in 1999 was their first in eight years.
Artest averaged 14.5 points, six rebounds and four assists his sophomore year, numbers so impressive the Bulls took him with the 16th pick in the 1999 draft. When his name was called, tears rolled down his cheeks.
He was one of the team's few bright spots in his 2 1/2 seasons with the Bulls, averaging 12.5 points and two steals a game. After he was traded to the Pacers in February 2002, he emerged as one of the game's best all-around players. He could shut down an opponent's best player, overpowering him with his linebacker's body, and also was dangerous on the offensive end.
In 2004, he made the All-Star team and was named the NBA's defensive player of the year.
``He can score offensively, but No. 1 he's a defensive stopper,'' new Minnesota coach Dwane Casey said. ``You can stick him on 1s, 2s, 3s and some 4s and say, 'OK, let's go to work.' That overshadows his offensive game. Once he gets a defender going to the basket, he's tough to guard. And he can post up against some and create mismatches because he's so strong.''
He also was walking a fine line.
Artest is one of the nicest people you'll meet off the court. Genuine and endearing, he has a childlike enthusiasm and a quick smile that lights up his face. Nothing is off limits as he skips from topic to topic: his kids, his troubles, even his desire to play for the Indianapolis Colts in a few years.
But Artest has struggled to control his temper on the court for years. He smashed a TV camera at Madison Square Garden, and he led the NBA in flagrant fouls in 2002-03. He's been suspended or fined seven times by the NBA since 2002, and he was held out of two games at the beginning of last season after saying he needed time off because he was worn out from promoting a rap album for his record label.
``People don't understand that a lot of stuff he's done and the reason he plays so hard and is so hungry is because he wants to be great,'' Jackson said. ``I think a lot of time Ron gets frustrated because he knows he's better than what he's been playing. He wants to be the best player in the game. That's what drives him, that's what motivates him.''
Walsh was seeing a change before the brawl. The Pacers were favorites to win the NBA title, and Artest was trying to channel his intensity solely into the game.
``I think he had calmed down quite a bit,'' Walsh said. ``I think that was some kind of explosion that he didn't prepare for.''
The Nov. 19 game was an early season matchup between the East's top two teams, a preview perhaps of the Eastern Conference finals. But the game was surprisingly lopsided, with the Pacers leading 97-82 with less than a minute to go.
With 45.9 seconds left, Artest fouled Ben Wallace on a layup attempt. Wallace turned around and shoved Artest hard with both hands. While some of the players traded shoves and pushes, Artest walked over to the scorer's table and plopped down on top of it, putting his hands behind his head.
``He had kept himself away from Ben Wallace, and that's what he was trying to do,'' Walsh said. ``He was trying to go through the year without the flagrant fouls and technicals and things he had gotten in the past.
``And then that happened.''
A fan near midcourt threw a cup filled with ice and a drink, hitting Artest in the face and setting off the worst brawl in U.S. sports history. Artest ran into the stands and pushed the fan he thought threw the cup. He also punched a fan who came onto the court, hitting him with a vicious right.
Teammates joined the fray, and the melee continued for about three minutes. When the Pacers finally left the court, they were pelted with beer, popcorn and a folding chair.
``I think it's totally, totally, totally unfair for anybody to say Ron Artest is the reason why this happened,'' said teammate Jermaine O'Neal, whose original 25-game suspension was reduced to 15 games.
``He wasn't the reason why it happened. He was a part of it. I was a part of it. Stephen Jackson was a part of it. The fans were a part of it. And in all actuality, Ben Wallace was almost a bigger part of it.''
But Artest got most of the blame.
Fans were horrified as they watched scenes from the brawl replayed over and over in the following days, as was NBA commissioner David Stern. Two days later, Stern announced that Artest would be suspended for the rest of the season -- 73 games, plus the playoffs -- the harshest punishment ever for a fight.
Four other Pacers were suspended, with punishments ranging from one game to Jackson's 30 games. The players and some fans also were charged with crimes.
``I think any person on the street would have done the same thing,'' Artest said. ``I just learned that if somebody from the stands throws something at you, don't do anything back or you'll get suspended.''
While that may not sound contrite, Artest has apologized several times. He also apologized to his teammates, sorry that he cost them a chance for a championship.
Indiana was gutted by the suspensions and injuries for most of the season, yet still managed to get to the Eastern Conference semifinals before losing to Detroit.
``Nobody blamed Ron. We did that as a team,'' said O'Neal, who played in only 44 games because of his 15-game suspension and a shoulder injury.
Artest stayed in Indianapolis during his suspension, keeping in shape by playing basketball every day with his younger brother, Daniel. He reveled in being able to spend more time with his wife and four young children.
``They were happy I was home,'' he said. ``I was able to read bedtime stories and all that type of good stuff, so it was cool.''
He also did a lot of thinking. A loner in the locker room, he developed a new appreciation for his teammates and the game. While he insists he won't change his aggressiveness as a player, he promises he won't cross the line again.
He's seen what can happen to the Pacers if he does.
``Having to think about the consequences of your actions,'' he said. ``Some things you do or you're about to do, you can just be like, `Hey, don't do that because it means trouble.' So I've got to back off.''
Of course, Artest can talk all he wants and it won't mean anything until the first time he takes a hard foul or fans boo him mercilessly. Until he proves he's able to walk away, there always will be skeptics.
``Everybody has learned,'' O'Neal said. ``Me and Ron, we've talked millions and millions of times about the situation and what we could have done to prevent the situation from happening. Knowing is always half the battle.''
The Pacers say they can see a difference in Artest, pointing to the smallest of details. He abandoned the No. 91 he wore last year in honor of Dennis Rodman, and is back to his No. 15 from high school and college. Instead of sleeping in the back on team flights, he's now one of the guys up front, playing cards and joking around.
``It hasn't been a secret that me and Ron's relationship hasn't been the best for the last couple of years, but right now our relationship is probably at an all-time high,'' O'Neal said. ``Being away from the game has given him a chance to really think about everything.''
``I admire the kid,'' team president Larry Bird said over the summer. ``Not for what he did, but how he's come back and he's worked and he's done things to improve himself. I look for a great year out of him.''
Though it's been almost a year since he played in a regular-season game, Artest still looks in All-Star form. He's averaging a team-high 16.8 points on 49 percent shooting in six exhibition appearances, with six rebounds, two steals and two assists a game.
``What I would ask the media to do is give him an opportunity to write the ending to his story,'' O'Neal said. ``Everybody in their lives has made mistakes, but nobody wants to be judged by that one mistake every time somebody sees them.
``He has a chance to make things right, and I think he's going to do that.''
AP Sports Writer Jon Krawczynski in Minneapolis contributed to this report.
By NANCY ARMOUR, AP National Writer
October 29, 2005
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Some folks know Ron Artest only from the TV clip that played incessantly last fall, a brawl with Detroit fans that got the Indiana Pacers forward tossed out of the NBA for the rest of the season.
To them, he's a thug, an out-of-control athlete who symbolizes everything wrong with the NBA -- all of professional sports, really.
``Maybe I did something on TV and somebody is like, `Man, that kid's out of control.' Or they say, `He needs to change a little bit.' But they care,'' Artest said. ``The people who want to know, they don't just judge because they hear or they see a couple of things in the paper. For those type of people, I don't mind letting them know what I'm really about.
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``But some people are like, `Oh, he's a jerk. He's this, he's that.' So you just tell those people to kiss my ass.
``You can't judge a book by its cover,'' he added. ``That's so elementary. It gets no more simple than that. You can't judge a book by its cover.''
There is no anger, no animosity, as Artest speaks. He's relaxed as he lounges courtside after a recent Pacers workout, stretching his arms across the chairs on either side of him and smiling often.
Indeed, there is much beneath his rough, hardscrabble cover.
``There's 24 hours in a day, seven days a week. The two minutes he might do something seems to wipe out the rest of the time,'' Pacers CEO Donnie Walsh said. ``I guess to a degree that's to be expected. But I don't think you can judge him by those moments all the time because he is a very sweet guy, a caring guy.
``And not, when you meet him, what you expect from probably what you're reading or hearing or whatever. Or what that incident showed.''
Artest is proud of his gritty roots, saying he remains ``ghetto'' despite his NBA millions. The oldest of eight children, he grew up in New York City's Queensbridge projects, one of the toughest in the country. There were gangs and drugs everywhere, and gun violence was the neighborhood soundtrack.
There wasn't much money, and Artest's parents had a sometimes volatile relationship. They divorced when he was barely a teenager, and he became a father figure for his siblings. When he was 15, his 10-week-old sister Quanisha died of sudden infant death syndrome. She was buried with one of Artest's trophies, and he has her name tattooed on his arm.
``There's certain lines you (don't) cross when you're dealing with a man who came up like he did and who's been through the trials and tribulations like he did in his life,'' said Pacers teammate Stephen Jackson, who had a rough upbringing of his own in Port Arthur, Texas.
``Obviously there are certain things he's not going to be happy about and a certain way that he's going to react,'' Jackson said. ``But he understands now that the reaction has to be positive and it can't be at the job.''
Basketball was Artest's ticket out of Queensbridge. He and future Chicago Bulls teammate Elton Brand were on the same Riverside Church AAU squad for three years, including one season when they were 64-1. His senior year in high school, Artest was a McDonald's All-American and co-player of the year in New York City.
He had scholarship offers from around the country, but chose to stay home and go to St. John's. The Red Storm went 50-19 in Artest's two years, and their trip to the NCAA regional finals in 1999 was their first in eight years.
Artest averaged 14.5 points, six rebounds and four assists his sophomore year, numbers so impressive the Bulls took him with the 16th pick in the 1999 draft. When his name was called, tears rolled down his cheeks.
He was one of the team's few bright spots in his 2 1/2 seasons with the Bulls, averaging 12.5 points and two steals a game. After he was traded to the Pacers in February 2002, he emerged as one of the game's best all-around players. He could shut down an opponent's best player, overpowering him with his linebacker's body, and also was dangerous on the offensive end.
In 2004, he made the All-Star team and was named the NBA's defensive player of the year.
``He can score offensively, but No. 1 he's a defensive stopper,'' new Minnesota coach Dwane Casey said. ``You can stick him on 1s, 2s, 3s and some 4s and say, 'OK, let's go to work.' That overshadows his offensive game. Once he gets a defender going to the basket, he's tough to guard. And he can post up against some and create mismatches because he's so strong.''
He also was walking a fine line.
Artest is one of the nicest people you'll meet off the court. Genuine and endearing, he has a childlike enthusiasm and a quick smile that lights up his face. Nothing is off limits as he skips from topic to topic: his kids, his troubles, even his desire to play for the Indianapolis Colts in a few years.
But Artest has struggled to control his temper on the court for years. He smashed a TV camera at Madison Square Garden, and he led the NBA in flagrant fouls in 2002-03. He's been suspended or fined seven times by the NBA since 2002, and he was held out of two games at the beginning of last season after saying he needed time off because he was worn out from promoting a rap album for his record label.
``People don't understand that a lot of stuff he's done and the reason he plays so hard and is so hungry is because he wants to be great,'' Jackson said. ``I think a lot of time Ron gets frustrated because he knows he's better than what he's been playing. He wants to be the best player in the game. That's what drives him, that's what motivates him.''
Walsh was seeing a change before the brawl. The Pacers were favorites to win the NBA title, and Artest was trying to channel his intensity solely into the game.
``I think he had calmed down quite a bit,'' Walsh said. ``I think that was some kind of explosion that he didn't prepare for.''
The Nov. 19 game was an early season matchup between the East's top two teams, a preview perhaps of the Eastern Conference finals. But the game was surprisingly lopsided, with the Pacers leading 97-82 with less than a minute to go.
With 45.9 seconds left, Artest fouled Ben Wallace on a layup attempt. Wallace turned around and shoved Artest hard with both hands. While some of the players traded shoves and pushes, Artest walked over to the scorer's table and plopped down on top of it, putting his hands behind his head.
``He had kept himself away from Ben Wallace, and that's what he was trying to do,'' Walsh said. ``He was trying to go through the year without the flagrant fouls and technicals and things he had gotten in the past.
``And then that happened.''
A fan near midcourt threw a cup filled with ice and a drink, hitting Artest in the face and setting off the worst brawl in U.S. sports history. Artest ran into the stands and pushed the fan he thought threw the cup. He also punched a fan who came onto the court, hitting him with a vicious right.
Teammates joined the fray, and the melee continued for about three minutes. When the Pacers finally left the court, they were pelted with beer, popcorn and a folding chair.
``I think it's totally, totally, totally unfair for anybody to say Ron Artest is the reason why this happened,'' said teammate Jermaine O'Neal, whose original 25-game suspension was reduced to 15 games.
``He wasn't the reason why it happened. He was a part of it. I was a part of it. Stephen Jackson was a part of it. The fans were a part of it. And in all actuality, Ben Wallace was almost a bigger part of it.''
But Artest got most of the blame.
Fans were horrified as they watched scenes from the brawl replayed over and over in the following days, as was NBA commissioner David Stern. Two days later, Stern announced that Artest would be suspended for the rest of the season -- 73 games, plus the playoffs -- the harshest punishment ever for a fight.
Four other Pacers were suspended, with punishments ranging from one game to Jackson's 30 games. The players and some fans also were charged with crimes.
``I think any person on the street would have done the same thing,'' Artest said. ``I just learned that if somebody from the stands throws something at you, don't do anything back or you'll get suspended.''
While that may not sound contrite, Artest has apologized several times. He also apologized to his teammates, sorry that he cost them a chance for a championship.
Indiana was gutted by the suspensions and injuries for most of the season, yet still managed to get to the Eastern Conference semifinals before losing to Detroit.
``Nobody blamed Ron. We did that as a team,'' said O'Neal, who played in only 44 games because of his 15-game suspension and a shoulder injury.
Artest stayed in Indianapolis during his suspension, keeping in shape by playing basketball every day with his younger brother, Daniel. He reveled in being able to spend more time with his wife and four young children.
``They were happy I was home,'' he said. ``I was able to read bedtime stories and all that type of good stuff, so it was cool.''
He also did a lot of thinking. A loner in the locker room, he developed a new appreciation for his teammates and the game. While he insists he won't change his aggressiveness as a player, he promises he won't cross the line again.
He's seen what can happen to the Pacers if he does.
``Having to think about the consequences of your actions,'' he said. ``Some things you do or you're about to do, you can just be like, `Hey, don't do that because it means trouble.' So I've got to back off.''
Of course, Artest can talk all he wants and it won't mean anything until the first time he takes a hard foul or fans boo him mercilessly. Until he proves he's able to walk away, there always will be skeptics.
``Everybody has learned,'' O'Neal said. ``Me and Ron, we've talked millions and millions of times about the situation and what we could have done to prevent the situation from happening. Knowing is always half the battle.''
The Pacers say they can see a difference in Artest, pointing to the smallest of details. He abandoned the No. 91 he wore last year in honor of Dennis Rodman, and is back to his No. 15 from high school and college. Instead of sleeping in the back on team flights, he's now one of the guys up front, playing cards and joking around.
``It hasn't been a secret that me and Ron's relationship hasn't been the best for the last couple of years, but right now our relationship is probably at an all-time high,'' O'Neal said. ``Being away from the game has given him a chance to really think about everything.''
``I admire the kid,'' team president Larry Bird said over the summer. ``Not for what he did, but how he's come back and he's worked and he's done things to improve himself. I look for a great year out of him.''
Though it's been almost a year since he played in a regular-season game, Artest still looks in All-Star form. He's averaging a team-high 16.8 points on 49 percent shooting in six exhibition appearances, with six rebounds, two steals and two assists a game.
``What I would ask the media to do is give him an opportunity to write the ending to his story,'' O'Neal said. ``Everybody in their lives has made mistakes, but nobody wants to be judged by that one mistake every time somebody sees them.
``He has a chance to make things right, and I think he's going to do that.''
AP Sports Writer Jon Krawczynski in Minneapolis contributed to this report.
By NANCY ARMOUR, AP National Writer
October 29, 2005
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Some folks know Ron Artest only from the TV clip that played incessantly last fall, a brawl with Detroit fans that got the Indiana Pacers forward tossed out of the NBA for the rest of the season.
To them, he's a thug, an out-of-control athlete who symbolizes everything wrong with the NBA -- all of professional sports, really.
``Maybe I did something on TV and somebody is like, `Man, that kid's out of control.' Or they say, `He needs to change a little bit.' But they care,'' Artest said. ``The people who want to know, they don't just judge because they hear or they see a couple of things in the paper. For those type of people, I don't mind letting them know what I'm really about.
ADVERTISEMENT
[-71725]
``But some people are like, `Oh, he's a jerk. He's this, he's that.' So you just tell those people to kiss my ass.
``You can't judge a book by its cover,'' he added. ``That's so elementary. It gets no more simple than that. You can't judge a book by its cover.''
There is no anger, no animosity, as Artest speaks. He's relaxed as he lounges courtside after a recent Pacers workout, stretching his arms across the chairs on either side of him and smiling often.
Indeed, there is much beneath his rough, hardscrabble cover.
``There's 24 hours in a day, seven days a week. The two minutes he might do something seems to wipe out the rest of the time,'' Pacers CEO Donnie Walsh said. ``I guess to a degree that's to be expected. But I don't think you can judge him by those moments all the time because he is a very sweet guy, a caring guy.
``And not, when you meet him, what you expect from probably what you're reading or hearing or whatever. Or what that incident showed.''
Artest is proud of his gritty roots, saying he remains ``ghetto'' despite his NBA millions. The oldest of eight children, he grew up in New York City's Queensbridge projects, one of the toughest in the country. There were gangs and drugs everywhere, and gun violence was the neighborhood soundtrack.
There wasn't much money, and Artest's parents had a sometimes volatile relationship. They divorced when he was barely a teenager, and he became a father figure for his siblings. When he was 15, his 10-week-old sister Quanisha died of sudden infant death syndrome. She was buried with one of Artest's trophies, and he has her name tattooed on his arm.
``There's certain lines you (don't) cross when you're dealing with a man who came up like he did and who's been through the trials and tribulations like he did in his life,'' said Pacers teammate Stephen Jackson, who had a rough upbringing of his own in Port Arthur, Texas.
``Obviously there are certain things he's not going to be happy about and a certain way that he's going to react,'' Jackson said. ``But he understands now that the reaction has to be positive and it can't be at the job.''
Basketball was Artest's ticket out of Queensbridge. He and future Chicago Bulls teammate Elton Brand were on the same Riverside Church AAU squad for three years, including one season when they were 64-1. His senior year in high school, Artest was a McDonald's All-American and co-player of the year in New York City.
He had scholarship offers from around the country, but chose to stay home and go to St. John's. The Red Storm went 50-19 in Artest's two years, and their trip to the NCAA regional finals in 1999 was their first in eight years.
Artest averaged 14.5 points, six rebounds and four assists his sophomore year, numbers so impressive the Bulls took him with the 16th pick in the 1999 draft. When his name was called, tears rolled down his cheeks.
He was one of the team's few bright spots in his 2 1/2 seasons with the Bulls, averaging 12.5 points and two steals a game. After he was traded to the Pacers in February 2002, he emerged as one of the game's best all-around players. He could shut down an opponent's best player, overpowering him with his linebacker's body, and also was dangerous on the offensive end.
In 2004, he made the All-Star team and was named the NBA's defensive player of the year.
``He can score offensively, but No. 1 he's a defensive stopper,'' new Minnesota coach Dwane Casey said. ``You can stick him on 1s, 2s, 3s and some 4s and say, 'OK, let's go to work.' That overshadows his offensive game. Once he gets a defender going to the basket, he's tough to guard. And he can post up against some and create mismatches because he's so strong.''
He also was walking a fine line.
Artest is one of the nicest people you'll meet off the court. Genuine and endearing, he has a childlike enthusiasm and a quick smile that lights up his face. Nothing is off limits as he skips from topic to topic: his kids, his troubles, even his desire to play for the Indianapolis Colts in a few years.
But Artest has struggled to control his temper on the court for years. He smashed a TV camera at Madison Square Garden, and he led the NBA in flagrant fouls in 2002-03. He's been suspended or fined seven times by the NBA since 2002, and he was held out of two games at the beginning of last season after saying he needed time off because he was worn out from promoting a rap album for his record label.
``People don't understand that a lot of stuff he's done and the reason he plays so hard and is so hungry is because he wants to be great,'' Jackson said. ``I think a lot of time Ron gets frustrated because he knows he's better than what he's been playing. He wants to be the best player in the game. That's what drives him, that's what motivates him.''
Walsh was seeing a change before the brawl. The Pacers were favorites to win the NBA title, and Artest was trying to channel his intensity solely into the game.
``I think he had calmed down quite a bit,'' Walsh said. ``I think that was some kind of explosion that he didn't prepare for.''
The Nov. 19 game was an early season matchup between the East's top two teams, a preview perhaps of the Eastern Conference finals. But the game was surprisingly lopsided, with the Pacers leading 97-82 with less than a minute to go.
With 45.9 seconds left, Artest fouled Ben Wallace on a layup attempt. Wallace turned around and shoved Artest hard with both hands. While some of the players traded shoves and pushes, Artest walked over to the scorer's table and plopped down on top of it, putting his hands behind his head.
``He had kept himself away from Ben Wallace, and that's what he was trying to do,'' Walsh said. ``He was trying to go through the year without the flagrant fouls and technicals and things he had gotten in the past.
``And then that happened.''
A fan near midcourt threw a cup filled with ice and a drink, hitting Artest in the face and setting off the worst brawl in U.S. sports history. Artest ran into the stands and pushed the fan he thought threw the cup. He also punched a fan who came onto the court, hitting him with a vicious right.
Teammates joined the fray, and the melee continued for about three minutes. When the Pacers finally left the court, they were pelted with beer, popcorn and a folding chair.
``I think it's totally, totally, totally unfair for anybody to say Ron Artest is the reason why this happened,'' said teammate Jermaine O'Neal, whose original 25-game suspension was reduced to 15 games.
``He wasn't the reason why it happened. He was a part of it. I was a part of it. Stephen Jackson was a part of it. The fans were a part of it. And in all actuality, Ben Wallace was almost a bigger part of it.''
But Artest got most of the blame.
Fans were horrified as they watched scenes from the brawl replayed over and over in the following days, as was NBA commissioner David Stern. Two days later, Stern announced that Artest would be suspended for the rest of the season -- 73 games, plus the playoffs -- the harshest punishment ever for a fight.
Four other Pacers were suspended, with punishments ranging from one game to Jackson's 30 games. The players and some fans also were charged with crimes.
``I think any person on the street would have done the same thing,'' Artest said. ``I just learned that if somebody from the stands throws something at you, don't do anything back or you'll get suspended.''
While that may not sound contrite, Artest has apologized several times. He also apologized to his teammates, sorry that he cost them a chance for a championship.
Indiana was gutted by the suspensions and injuries for most of the season, yet still managed to get to the Eastern Conference semifinals before losing to Detroit.
``Nobody blamed Ron. We did that as a team,'' said O'Neal, who played in only 44 games because of his 15-game suspension and a shoulder injury.
Artest stayed in Indianapolis during his suspension, keeping in shape by playing basketball every day with his younger brother, Daniel. He reveled in being able to spend more time with his wife and four young children.
``They were happy I was home,'' he said. ``I was able to read bedtime stories and all that type of good stuff, so it was cool.''
He also did a lot of thinking. A loner in the locker room, he developed a new appreciation for his teammates and the game. While he insists he won't change his aggressiveness as a player, he promises he won't cross the line again.
He's seen what can happen to the Pacers if he does.
``Having to think about the consequences of your actions,'' he said. ``Some things you do or you're about to do, you can just be like, `Hey, don't do that because it means trouble.' So I've got to back off.''
Of course, Artest can talk all he wants and it won't mean anything until the first time he takes a hard foul or fans boo him mercilessly. Until he proves he's able to walk away, there always will be skeptics.
``Everybody has learned,'' O'Neal said. ``Me and Ron, we've talked millions and millions of times about the situation and what we could have done to prevent the situation from happening. Knowing is always half the battle.''
The Pacers say they can see a difference in Artest, pointing to the smallest of details. He abandoned the No. 91 he wore last year in honor of Dennis Rodman, and is back to his No. 15 from high school and college. Instead of sleeping in the back on team flights, he's now one of the guys up front, playing cards and joking around.
``It hasn't been a secret that me and Ron's relationship hasn't been the best for the last couple of years, but right now our relationship is probably at an all-time high,'' O'Neal said. ``Being away from the game has given him a chance to really think about everything.''
``I admire the kid,'' team president Larry Bird said over the summer. ``Not for what he did, but how he's come back and he's worked and he's done things to improve himself. I look for a great year out of him.''
Though it's been almost a year since he played in a regular-season game, Artest still looks in All-Star form. He's averaging a team-high 16.8 points on 49 percent shooting in six exhibition appearances, with six rebounds, two steals and two assists a game.
``What I would ask the media to do is give him an opportunity to write the ending to his story,'' O'Neal said. ``Everybody in their lives has made mistakes, but nobody wants to be judged by that one mistake every time somebody sees them.
``He has a chance to make things right, and I think he's going to do that.''
AP Sports Writer Jon Krawczynski in Minneapolis contributed to this report.
By NANCY ARMOUR, AP National Writer
October 29, 2005
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Some folks know Ron Artest only from the TV clip that played incessantly last fall, a brawl with Detroit fans that got the Indiana Pacers forward tossed out of the NBA for the rest of the season.
To them, he's a thug, an out-of-control athlete who symbolizes everything wrong with the NBA -- all of professional sports, really.
``Maybe I did something on TV and somebody is like, `Man, that kid's out of control.' Or they say, `He needs to change a little bit.' But they care,'' Artest said. ``The people who want to know, they don't just judge because they hear or they see a couple of things in the paper. For those type of people, I don't mind letting them know what I'm really about.
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``But some people are like, `Oh, he's a jerk. He's this, he's that.' So you just tell those people to kiss my ass.
``You can't judge a book by its cover,'' he added. ``That's so elementary. It gets no more simple than that. You can't judge a book by its cover.''
There is no anger, no animosity, as Artest speaks. He's relaxed as he lounges courtside after a recent Pacers workout, stretching his arms across the chairs on either side of him and smiling often.
Indeed, there is much beneath his rough, hardscrabble cover.
``There's 24 hours in a day, seven days a week. The two minutes he might do something seems to wipe out the rest of the time,'' Pacers CEO Donnie Walsh said. ``I guess to a degree that's to be expected. But I don't think you can judge him by those moments all the time because he is a very sweet guy, a caring guy.
``And not, when you meet him, what you expect from probably what you're reading or hearing or whatever. Or what that incident showed.''
Artest is proud of his gritty roots, saying he remains ``ghetto'' despite his NBA millions. The oldest of eight children, he grew up in New York City's Queensbridge projects, one of the toughest in the country. There were gangs and drugs everywhere, and gun violence was the neighborhood soundtrack.
There wasn't much money, and Artest's parents had a sometimes volatile relationship. They divorced when he was barely a teenager, and he became a father figure for his siblings. When he was 15, his 10-week-old sister Quanisha died of sudden infant death syndrome. She was buried with one of Artest's trophies, and he has her name tattooed on his arm.
``There's certain lines you (don't) cross when you're dealing with a man who came up like he did and who's been through the trials and tribulations like he did in his life,'' said Pacers teammate Stephen Jackson, who had a rough upbringing of his own in Port Arthur, Texas.
``Obviously there are certain things he's not going to be happy about and a certain way that he's going to react,'' Jackson said. ``But he understands now that the reaction has to be positive and it can't be at the job.''
Basketball was Artest's ticket out of Queensbridge. He and future Chicago Bulls teammate Elton Brand were on the same Riverside Church AAU squad for three years, including one season when they were 64-1. His senior year in high school, Artest was a McDonald's All-American and co-player of the year in New York City.
He had scholarship offers from around the country, but chose to stay home and go to St. John's. The Red Storm went 50-19 in Artest's two years, and their trip to the NCAA regional finals in 1999 was their first in eight years.
Artest averaged 14.5 points, six rebounds and four assists his sophomore year, numbers so impressive the Bulls took him with the 16th pick in the 1999 draft. When his name was called, tears rolled down his cheeks.
He was one of the team's few bright spots in his 2 1/2 seasons with the Bulls, averaging 12.5 points and two steals a game. After he was traded to the Pacers in February 2002, he emerged as one of the game's best all-around players. He could shut down an opponent's best player, overpowering him with his linebacker's body, and also was dangerous on the offensive end.
In 2004, he made the All-Star team and was named the NBA's defensive player of the year.
``He can score offensively, but No. 1 he's a defensive stopper,'' new Minnesota coach Dwane Casey said. ``You can stick him on 1s, 2s, 3s and some 4s and say, 'OK, let's go to work.' That overshadows his offensive game. Once he gets a defender going to the basket, he's tough to guard. And he can post up against some and create mismatches because he's so strong.''
He also was walking a fine line.
Artest is one of the nicest people you'll meet off the court. Genuine and endearing, he has a childlike enthusiasm and a quick smile that lights up his face. Nothing is off limits as he skips from topic to topic: his kids, his troubles, even his desire to play for the Indianapolis Colts in a few years.
But Artest has struggled to control his temper on the court for years. He smashed a TV camera at Madison Square Garden, and he led the NBA in flagrant fouls in 2002-03. He's been suspended or fined seven times by the NBA since 2002, and he was held out of two games at the beginning of last season after saying he needed time off because he was worn out from promoting a rap album for his record label.
``People don't understand that a lot of stuff he's done and the reason he plays so hard and is so hungry is because he wants to be great,'' Jackson said. ``I think a lot of time Ron gets frustrated because he knows he's better than what he's been playing. He wants to be the best player in the game. That's what drives him, that's what motivates him.''
Walsh was seeing a change before the brawl. The Pacers were favorites to win the NBA title, and Artest was trying to channel his intensity solely into the game.
``I think he had calmed down quite a bit,'' Walsh said. ``I think that was some kind of explosion that he didn't prepare for.''
The Nov. 19 game was an early season matchup between the East's top two teams, a preview perhaps of the Eastern Conference finals. But the game was surprisingly lopsided, with the Pacers leading 97-82 with less than a minute to go.
With 45.9 seconds left, Artest fouled Ben Wallace on a layup attempt. Wallace turned around and shoved Artest hard with both hands. While some of the players traded shoves and pushes, Artest walked over to the scorer's table and plopped down on top of it, putting his hands behind his head.
``He had kept himself away from Ben Wallace, and that's what he was trying to do,'' Walsh said. ``He was trying to go through the year without the flagrant fouls and technicals and things he had gotten in the past.
``And then that happened.''
A fan near midcourt threw a cup filled with ice and a drink, hitting Artest in the face and setting off the worst brawl in U.S. sports history. Artest ran into the stands and pushed the fan he thought threw the cup. He also punched a fan who came onto the court, hitting him with a vicious right.
Teammates joined the fray, and the melee continued for about three minutes. When the Pacers finally left the court, they were pelted with beer, popcorn and a folding chair.
``I think it's totally, totally, totally unfair for anybody to say Ron Artest is the reason why this happened,'' said teammate Jermaine O'Neal, whose original 25-game suspension was reduced to 15 games.
``He wasn't the reason why it happened. He was a part of it. I was a part of it. Stephen Jackson was a part of it. The fans were a part of it. And in all actuality, Ben Wallace was almost a bigger part of it.''
But Artest got most of the blame.
Fans were horrified as they watched scenes from the brawl replayed over and over in the following days, as was NBA commissioner David Stern. Two days later, Stern announced that Artest would be suspended for the rest of the season -- 73 games, plus the playoffs -- the harshest punishment ever for a fight.
Four other Pacers were suspended, with punishments ranging from one game to Jackson's 30 games. The players and some fans also were charged with crimes.
``I think any person on the street would have done the same thing,'' Artest said. ``I just learned that if somebody from the stands throws something at you, don't do anything back or you'll get suspended.''
While that may not sound contrite, Artest has apologized several times. He also apologized to his teammates, sorry that he cost them a chance for a championship.
Indiana was gutted by the suspensions and injuries for most of the season, yet still managed to get to the Eastern Conference semifinals before losing to Detroit.
``Nobody blamed Ron. We did that as a team,'' said O'Neal, who played in only 44 games because of his 15-game suspension and a shoulder injury.
Artest stayed in Indianapolis during his suspension, keeping in shape by playing basketball every day with his younger brother, Daniel. He reveled in being able to spend more time with his wife and four young children.
``They were happy I was home,'' he said. ``I was able to read bedtime stories and all that type of good stuff, so it was cool.''
He also did a lot of thinking. A loner in the locker room, he developed a new appreciation for his teammates and the game. While he insists he won't change his aggressiveness as a player, he promises he won't cross the line again.
He's seen what can happen to the Pacers if he does.
``Having to think about the consequences of your actions,'' he said. ``Some things you do or you're about to do, you can just be like, `Hey, don't do that because it means trouble.' So I've got to back off.''
Of course, Artest can talk all he wants and it won't mean anything until the first time he takes a hard foul or fans boo him mercilessly. Until he proves he's able to walk away, there always will be skeptics.
``Everybody has learned,'' O'Neal said. ``Me and Ron, we've talked millions and millions of times about the situation and what we could have done to prevent the situation from happening. Knowing is always half the battle.''
The Pacers say they can see a difference in Artest, pointing to the smallest of details. He abandoned the No. 91 he wore last year in honor of Dennis Rodman, and is back to his No. 15 from high school and college. Instead of sleeping in the back on team flights, he's now one of the guys up front, playing cards and joking around.
``It hasn't been a secret that me and Ron's relationship hasn't been the best for the last couple of years, but right now our relationship is probably at an all-time high,'' O'Neal said. ``Being away from the game has given him a chance to really think about everything.''
``I admire the kid,'' team president Larry Bird said over the summer. ``Not for what he did, but how he's come back and he's worked and he's done things to improve himself. I look for a great year out of him.''
Though it's been almost a year since he played in a regular-season game, Artest still looks in All-Star form. He's averaging a team-high 16.8 points on 49 percent shooting in six exhibition appearances, with six rebounds, two steals and two assists a game.
``What I would ask the media to do is give him an opportunity to write the ending to his story,'' O'Neal said. ``Everybody in their lives has made mistakes, but nobody wants to be judged by that one mistake every time somebody sees them.
``He has a chance to make things right, and I think he's going to do that.''
AP Sports Writer Jon Krawczynski in Minneapolis contributed to this report.