Two years ago Sunday, Ron Artest entered the stands after being struck with a water bottle, sparking one of the worst player-fan altercations in sports history. Since then, Artest has become the leader of the Sacramento Kings, the Indiana Pacers have become a joke, and the NBA has become a nanny state.
Every one of David Stern’s moves since the brawl has been to ‘improve’ the image of his players. The age limit, the dress code, the zero-tolerance referee policy; all of it has been to steer the league away from it’s horrible, evil ‘hip hop’ image and towards a much more nonthreatening, pure as the driven snow, ‘No-I-won’t-shoot-you-but-I-will-dance-a-jig’ Cuba Gooding Jr. image.
Did Ron Artest know what he was doing when he lost his mind? Did he know he would change the NBA irrevocably? Did he know that he would give the Gary Thornes and Michael Richards of the world the opportunity to blast his league, to turn it into nothing but generalizations? Knowing just how intelligent Artest is not, I’ll say no. Artest nearly threw away his career and damaged his entire league all for the sake of beating up some worthless cretin who has likely produced more feces than intelligent thought during his life. Ruining the NBA for John Green? Some ugly, balding middle-aged excuse for a human?
Ron Artest destroyed the Indiana Pacers, and for what? Ron Artest gave racists a golden opportunity, and for what? What did he gain from it, other than that vacation he wanted to make his God-awful rap/r&b album? What did he gain from it, other than an opportunity to meet noted gasbag Bernie Goldberg in an HBO Real Sports interview? How can someone act only on his feelings of rage and not consider what he is doing to whom and what effect that will have on the future, not only of himself, but of the entire NBA? What did he think he was going to do when he got into the stands? Did he think he would have a 7th Heaven moment, where Stephen Collins would come down from the eighteenth row and counsel him on what Jesus would do? Did he think he’d kill the guy? No, of course not. Ron Artest, that noted idiot, this century’s fool, didn’t think at all. Instead, he acted, leaping up from off of the scorer’s table and attacking someone who–surprise, surprise–didn’t actually throw the cup at him in the first place.
The NBA saw a seismic shift on November 19, 2004. Ron Artest changed the league more than Magic Johnson or Michael Jordan ever did. Ron Artest undid everything positive the league had done, giving CNN an opportunity to run pictures of players punching fans as if every single player on both teams was just slugging the crap out of every patron they could find. Ron Artest is responsible for every negative development in the NBA, every restriction on player freedom. He made the stereotypes seem legitimate. And once those stereotypes were legitimized, David Stern decided to adjust the rules accordingly.
And last night, as his team lost to San Antonio, Artest played in a league where the players had no power, no voice. Where a new and almost unanimously criticized ball was used for game play and simply looking at a ref the wrong way warrants a technical foul. Where shirts must be tucked in, shorts must be a certain length and any type of clothing remotely resembling hip-hop culture is prohibited. Moreso than any other player in the league, Ron Artest has no right to complain. He has no right to blast the new ball, or the new dress code or any of the new rules he created through his idiocy and short-sightedness. He ruined it for all the players and all the true fans who know what’s behind David Stern’s decision making. And all for that worthless dog, John Green.
