Amid an age in which the Internet has engendered Facebook friends and 140-character communication called tweets, you would think that grown men would still act like, well, grown men.
Especially someone who grew up in New York's Queensbridge Projects, the largest public housing development in North America.
Who saw his home go up in flames at an early age.
Who lived among 12 people in a two-bedroom apartment.
Who was raised in a neighborhood so rough that he claims to have witnessed murder on a basketball court.
And who has since been judged and jailed, shunned and shuffled, pounded and punished.
You would think these experiences would produce a person so mentally stout that it would take a near-death disaster to stagger his psyche, if it's at all possible.
You would also think I am talking about a bum who boasts a slab of cardboard that reads, "Obama ain't the only one who wants change."
Or a delinquent drug dealer.
Or heck, even the troubled Lawrence Taylor.
But brace yourself, because instead I am recounting the thin-skinned, strikingly-sensitive Ron Artest.
Yes, the same Ron Artest who wanted to go fisticuffs with a Detroit fan who poured a drink on his face during a 2004 Pistons-Pacers game, for which the NBA suspended Artest 73 games plus the playoffs, the longest non-drug or betting related suspension in league history.
On Thursday night, Artest apparently posted various tweets criticizing Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson —tweets that came after the Lakers took a 2-0 advantage in the Western Conference semifinals.
Instead of approaching his coach about his complaints, Artest hid behind the text of Twitter, like a 12-year-old girl hides behind AOL Instant Messenger to end a relationship she never really wanted to be a part of in the first place.
If the Lakers were on the brink of postseason elimination, I could understand why Artest may feel the need to vent his frustrations via his Twitter feed.
Or perhaps if he was unreasonably benched by Jackson.
But with the Lakers having emerged victorious in their last four games and now just two wins away from advancing to the conference finals for the third straight season, there is no rational reason why Artest should be complaining about a common occurrence in sports—coaches critiquing their players in the media.
On Ron Artest's Wikipedia page , the author notes that Artest "earned himself nicknames such as Tru Warier" while "playing in some of New York City's high profile summer basketball tournaments."
Since its creation, Wikipedia has been discounted for not being completely credible. Ron Artest's entry is simply another example.
After all, the author forgot to type "Princess" in between "Tru" and "Warier."
You can contact Josh Hoffman at JHoffMedia@gmail.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment