Personally, though I doubt deep down anyone is surprised to hear that Ron Artest used to drink Hennessy at halftime during his short stint with the Chicago Bulls, this little tid-bit, put on record by Artest himself a few days ago, caused some of the NBA community to be up in arms.
Artest has always been a little wild, once having shown up to a Pacers practice in a bathrobe and being suspended for almost a whole season for turning a brawl against Ben Wallace into a war against basically the entire Detroit Pistons team and their fans, ending up in the stands, was apparently a looser cannon than even met the eye. Unhappy with not only the Bulls performance as a team at the time, but also with himself, Artest used to apparently bring a bottle of Hennessy into the locker room before the game, store it in his locker, and then have himself a couple of rounds during halftime. To be honest I'm not sure how no one noticed such behavior, but my guess is that it was a combination of Artest always acting a bit crazy, and the Bulls organization having a bit more than Artest's crazy ways to worry about. In either case I must say I have mixed emotions about this confession. On the one hand, I do find it funny, especially since it adds to Artest's insane ways, but on the other hand I almost feel ashamed to belong to a city which once held a player exhibiting such behavior. Having a temper is one thing, as is having a God-complex, but getting drunk at halftime? Really now?
No member of the Chicago Bulls organization has yet to comment on this piece of information, but many others have expressed their opinions, ranging from let the past be the past to saying that Artest should be punished, no matter how long ago this happened.
On the one hand, fining and/or suspending him for his actions years ago seems a bit far fetched, as Artest has greatly changed his ways and is one hell of a player. But on the other hand, I have to admit that if players like Dwight are getting fined for what they write in their own personal blogs, and players like Ben Gordon are getting fined from grabbing their crotches during an intense moment of a Playoff game, it seems only fair that Artest get punished in one way or another as well.
In any case, I hope Artest has grown up a bit since then and have no doubt in my mind that both Kobe and Phil Jackson would have a mouthful to tell him if he ever pulls a stunt like this again. For now lets just hope he stays far away from Wallace, someone he admits still ticks him off and he would not hesistant fighting with, despite knowing he would get both suspended and fined.
Oh NBA ballers, how crazy some of you are...
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