Artest And Selective Disrespect

by Tom Lewis on Jul 31, 2008 10:11 PM EDT in Indiana Pacers News

Ron Artest's smooth transition to Houston didn't quite last a day as Ronnie and Yao Ming swapped comments in the media before hugging it out on the phone. Ronnie's initial response to Yao was classic Ronnie, taking us round and round with words caught somewhere between sincerity and nonsense. Of course, his verbal self-defense included downplaying the Palace Brawl.

ESPN's Chris Broussard was on 1070 The Fan on Thursday with Eddie White and Bob Kravitz and naturally the conversation turned to Ronnie at one point. Broussard killed me with one of his comments. Here's the exchange which started with Eddie reading part of Ronnie's comments.

Eddie (quoting Artest): ... If you go back to the brawl, that's a culture issue right there. Somebody was disrespecting me, so he's gotta understand where I'm coming from.

Kravitz: That was a stupid issue, not a Black issue.

Broussard: Yeah, I thought Ben Wallace was disrespecting him too and he didn't decide to go after Ben. Now, don't tell Ron I said that, you know.

Hilarious. Life is so much better when Ronnie is in the mix shaking things up, isn't it? I still love the guy but it's far more enjoyable following his exploits without his name on the Pacers' roster. Also, I have to say, the talk of the brawl and the excuse for ESPN to play clips of the melee haven't bothered me a bit. Maybe it's all the new guys or the offseason tone being set by the folks at the Fieldhouse, but it hasn't come close to raising my blood pressure as in the past. Maybe I'm finally over it.

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The Stages of Recovery

I think most of us are finally over it. And I believe that it’s because the new guys and
the off-season tone actually represent stage two in the healing process.

Much of the groundwork, the heavy lifting, was done last year, as Jim O’Brien and six
or seven players quietly went about the business of re-establishing high standards
for behavior, teamwork, chemistry, community relations, and effort.

This got lost in the shuffle. Our attention was on declining attendance, a poor won-
lost record, and the latest “exploits” of two or three players. But the stage was being
set throughout last season for a Pacer rebirth. The events of June, ‘08, would have
been viewed with more suspicion by Pacer fans and by the media had not a
decent foundation been laid a year ago.

This season should be quite interesting and enjoyable. Not only are we now free
to view Ron Artest as a source of comic relief—we can also watch a bunch of new
good players (and good people, to boot) audition for roles in a brighter future for
our franchise.

by fanaticus on Jul 31, 2008 11:48 PM EDT reply actions