So I woke up this morning, and the first thing I did, just like every other weekday, is turn on SportsCenter. Whose face do I see?…Ron-Ron’s. It was “Sunday Conversation” time, by far some of the best sports interviews on television. Artest answered questions on what he felt like during the months he was supposed to be traded, and how the Maloofs made him feel in his debut in Sacramento, etc. But an even better question came up about Ron Artest’s image. He replied that he really didn’t care about changing his image. To quote him, “I don’t want to do no Coca-Cola commercial.”
He was doing so good, it really seemed like he moved on from what happened in Detroit and that this Ron Artest was just going to play basketball, and try to stay off the radar. My favorite comment of the interview was that he was “too hood for that” when he was explaining why he wouldn’t clean up his act. That got me to thinking what is the big deal with street cred in the NBA? Now to set the record straight before anyone plays the race card, yes I am white, yes I had a priveledged upbringing, and I am a product of San Diego suburbia. I didn’t live in the same rough neighborhoods that guys like Ron Artest, Allen Iverson, Stephon Marbury, and Carmelo Anthony did. Queensbridge, where Artest is from, from what I have been able to gather is not Shangri-la, and you are lucky to make it out in one piece. Crime and poverty were main-stays in daily life. The “hood” as far as I know is only what I can make of it on television and from “Boyz in the Hood.” But since this is an opinionated article, I’m going to say that I am sick and tired of hearing about how NBA players need to keep their street cred. Granted I know nothing about Ron Artest except for what I have seen, heard, and read. Trust me, from that I could write a book. I know that you can’t judge anyone until you have walked in their shoes, but come on, this guy talks as if he plays professional basketball 3 nights a week and then goes off and hustles on the streets on his days off.
I’m all for representing where you grew up and having a serious sense of pride for your hometown and all it represents, the good and the bad. But for Ron Artest simply just to shrug off the idea of maybe changing his image from a simple hot tempered hoodlum to a hard-working all-star basektball player absolutely escapes me. But he’s too hood for that. He is simply a hood rat. If I was a teenage boy regardless of race or ethnicity, that interview would have told me that being a head case and a thug is perfectly acceptable. That I could be uncontrollable and a poor sport and still get paid millions of dollars to do it. I would know that the rules don’t apply to me, and that no matter what I do I always have a reason for the way I act. Then I don’t have to take responsibility for my actions. I honestly think that Ron Artest is the most ignorant person in the NBA. I really wish that Ben Wallace would have been given the chance to show Ron Artest what he thinks of him on that night. Sometimes all troublemakers need is a really good beating.
Don’t get me wrong, Ron Artest, when he wants to be, is the best two-way player in the game. There is no denying that. Nobody works like he does and gets the same results. He is a 20-10-5 guy every night and he can guard the positions 1-4 and 5’s on some nights. But for the sake of impressionable kids, show some common sense if you have any. There are kids out there who see your game and want to emmulate you and guess what, they will emmulate your attitude too. Be who you want to be Ron, don’t change the player you are or the person you are. But like so many other players in the league who have had hard upbringings, try to make yourself a better person than the ones you grew up around.
It’s true that you are a product of your environment. But I am sure that Ron Artest and others like him looked at their lives and said ‘I need to do better for myself and for my family.’ That is why they play the game, amongst other reasons. But he needs to realize that even though he doesn’t want to be a role model or a nice guy, or whatever, that there are responsibilities to being a professional athlete.
In closing this is the way you answer the question that was asked to you:
“What hapenned in Detroit was a mistake, I admit it. There were a lot of people who were wrong and I was one of them. As far as my image goes, I don’t see myself as a LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, or Kevin Garnett type. Me, I’m a hard worker who gives it his all everynight and tries to display the grit and determination of where I grew up. I’m not a role model, but as for my image goes I just want to be known as a tough basketball player who left it all out on the court.”
As the saying goes though, you can take the player out of the hood, but not the hood out of the player.
3 replies on “"I’m too hood for that"”
2 black men Without getting into the evolution of African-American racial identity allow me to share with you the two black you see and the reason why you are fed up with the “likes” of Ron Artest.
1. The black men David Stern sold you…
Dr. J, Michael, Grant Hill, Lebron, — The well mannered, corporate citizens that the league can package, sell to the networks and bring suburban America out of their wallets for. These guys are make you feel safe, heck you may not even mind if one of them dated your daughter. These black men allow you to feel safe, you give them awards at banquets hold them up as model negro men.
2. The black men America has always feared…
Iverson, Artest – Why should these guys walk the corporate line? Why should they pander to a world that has always tried to shut them out? Artest as an example grew up in one of the most civilized cities in the world, New York is a place where you can find anything you need at any time of night. But Artest never knew that side of New York. There is nothing more limiting than growing up in America’s inner city. Our cities, and ghettos are built to keep kids like Artest hidden from the rest of America. I don’t think you’re a racist, perhaps a bit underexposed to inner-city life, but I’m not going to jump to racist, but please don’t call Artest a “hoodrat” just because he is not ready to buy-in to a world that has always shut him out.
Iverson, Artest, Marburry doen’t necessarily want to be a role models for suburbia but if you look at the work they have done in their communities you might be pleasantly surprised to see that they serve as role models for that other American life.
The only problem I have is with Marbury and that’s because he sucks.
I think it’s amazing how Iverson came into the league and decided he wasn’t playing the MJ game and was still able to be one of the most popular players in the world. Remember, before AI, no one wore cornrows. Now Samuel F’ing Dalembert is sporting them.
Did anyone read that article on Carmello Anthony in ESPN? It seemed like he was trying too hard to “keep it real” and that’s off-putting.
Artest is who he is and I’m fine with that. The guy is a headcase but he can ball. He’s not the smartest person in the world but last I checked, he wasn’t hurting anyone. For the record, I defended Ron Ron after the melee in detroit.
reply Thank you for your comments I genuinely appreciate them. It is nice to know that I can write something and actually make people think about it and formulate their own opinion. That’s what it’s all about. I definitely see the difference between the players Stern sold me and who’s left. I did write that story with guys like MJ, Magic, LeBron in mind. But just to re-emphasize what I was getting at is there are guys in the league that still keep to who they are off the court. AI is the perfect example, he came in and did the rap cd, cornrows, and stayed who he was. But he gets the fact that he is a role model even though he doesn’t want to be. Another prime example is Charles Barkley. He spit on a little girl some years ago, ’85 I think, and Charles did that commercial saying he didn’t want to be a role model. But he got it too, that no matter what he said or felt people were going to look up to him because of who he was. I would call guys like AI and Chuck socially responsible becuase even though they don’t see themselves as a Michael Jordan they are like him in a way that kids look up to them.
I didn’t mean for it to seem like I was tired of AI and Stephon because I am not. I’m tired of Ron Artest. Not because of Detroit, but it just doesn’t seem to me like he takes responsibility for anything. He doesn’t seem genuine. You are definitely right that I probably don’t see the things he and other players do in their own communities and what they give to charity, but what I saw, and I am sure other people saw, is a man who simply is irresponsible.
If he doesn’t care about his image…he doesn’t care about his image. He will do whatever he wants. I would never call for every athlete to need to be straight laced and perfect gentlemen, because lets face it even MJ wasn’t. All I’m saying is it would be nice to see Artest man up and say I get the fact that I am a role model and I do make impressions on some kids, I’m going to be me, but I’m going to take responsibility for what I do.
Thanks for the feedback, I really appreciate it.