Ron Artest's championship ring is for sale, inquire for price

[Gary]

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ba...pionship-ring-is-for-sale-inqu?urn=nba-268518

Ron Artest's championship ring is for sale, inquire for price

By Trey Kerby

The fact that Ron Artest(notes) is promoting mental health in schools today is amazing in its own right. Considering Artest went from throwing medicine in the garbage to being a government-approved mental-health spokesman in a matter of years, he knows as well as anybody the effectiveness of seeking out help. If that were the end of Artest's foray into mental-health awareness, that would be more than enough.
But since that was only the first graph of a blog post, that's not the end of the story. And really, since it's Ron Artest, there should be no surprise that there's more. Here's the latest development, which just might be more surprising than Artest's school speaking adventure. From NBA.com's Scott Howard-Cooper:

Artest finally won a title in June after 11 regular seasons of trying ... and now he's planning to sell the championship ring as a fundraiser to put more psychologists, psychiatrists and therapists in schools.
"I'm never going to put it on," he said.
Artest plans to soon announce details of what he hopes will become a worldwide auction, and he takes possession of the jewelry in an Oct. 26 pre-game ceremony before the Lakers open against the Rockets. It's an incredible gesture. But it's even more meaningful as a statement.
"You work so hard to get a ring, and now you have a chance to help more people than just yourself, instead of just satisfying yourself," he said. "What's better than that? For me, this is very important."
​

Awesome? Awesome. No one was happier to win last year's title than Ron Artest, so to see him give up something that obviously means the world to him — just to help people — is really cool. Better than cool, actually. Splendid? Heartwarming? Delightful? No words, really, but let's go with "astonishing." Yeah, that fits.
Ron Artest is a complicated dude — one day he's getting pulled over for driving a miniature race car and the next he's selling his championship ring for charity. Seems like a chill bro, nowadays. Pretty decent basketball player, too.

 

[OptimusRhyme]

Ron Rons the man.

 

[Kings Faithful]

He may be a Laker traitor but I think he's genuinely a nice guy. Its a shame people viewed him as a monster throughout his career.

 

[TyroneShoeLaces]

how effen cool is that? you know i was totally on the fence during the finals because i wanted Ron Ron to get his ring, but at the same time was hoping Kobe, Gosal, and the rest of the Fakers would fail. but i was sooo happy Ron Ron got to finally be a Champion. This is cool cause he will never where the ring he won for the Fakers (and yes he certainly helped them win that ring) and he's cool with that because he knows in his heart he will alway be a Champion.

i read the posts on Yahoo and it was hella funny that people think he's stupid because he coulda just donated the money instead of givin up his ring. it's called sacrifice, dummies. he's giving up something that was precious to him (self sacrifice) for something that is even more precious to him. I believe Ron Ron has his issues and he knows this....and wants to make sure kids that are like him have a fighting chance to make it. people don't get the fact that he just made a personal sacrifice for something he feels strongly about. right on Ron Ron! you don't need that ring to know that you are a true Champion....

 

[BMiller52]

Wow, if he actually does this and some kid who has a mental health disorder gets help early on it might actually prevent a serial killer or something. That's a pretty great/amazing idea he has actually.

 

[TyroneShoeLaces]

BTW - It was Ron Artest who entertained us all when he kept predicting the playoffs. And we DID make that first year he came....and everyone thought he was smokin' crack cause he was the only one who believed we would. that's what i always loved about that dude...he never quit believing. even tho most of us had. that's why i'm not afraid to predict another playoff birth. cause you never know. we have players that play hard, practice hard, have chemistry, and they too also beleive. that's all you need, really. the rest is just as inpredictable and will sort itself out. so nobody can say we won't make the playoffs until all is said and done.........