Ron Artest, Ricky Williams: Detached From Reality?

As NBA fans may or may not be aware, a few days ago, Ron Artest of the Indiana Pacers asked to take a month off from his team because he was tired after promoting an R&B album due out later in the month. Mind you, this was only two or three games into the season and was right after training camp, so claiming to be "tired" seems completely out of the question. The coach of the Pacers rejected this plea and benched Artest for two games for his troubles.

Today, Artest claims that the Pacers can count on him and also, that if the Pacers win the title this year, he'll more than likely retire to fully devote himself to his music.

Now, the questions surrounding this are many, but for the sake of this thread:

1. Can the Pacers still trust Artest, or should they trade him if they can?

2. Was a two game benching punishment enough, or was it not enough? Or, was it too much and do you side with Artest on this?

Finally,

3. What is happening in the world of sports, where athletes seem to have become detached from reality?

Where a player can suddenly retire from the NFL (Ricky Williams), because he doesn't want to play anymore, only to attempt to come back when he is told he must repay all the money of his contract; when Latrell Sprewell claims that a $10 million dollar contract is not even enough to feed his family, then claims he's not interested in helping the T-Wolves because they haven't "Done anything for him lately"; and where an incident like this occurs?

Are all of these players unaware that they have some responsibility for their actions and words?

In the Artest case, I believe, as others have stated today, that this is a bigger problem than just lack of responsibility or maturity, but is rather a deeper problem that would probably be best helped if Artest gets some form of counseling as his erratic behavior has become almost commonplace.

What's your take?

Take care all.

Williams was a fool for leaving his team before his contract was up.

I find the Artest thing funny. If he's a free agent after the season, then I don;t care if he retires. He's a pretty good player, so he'll go out in his prime. If I ran the Pacers I wouldn't trust him, but they really need him out there as evidenced by the 40 point beating they took without him.

Athletes have never been the sharpest knives anyway, so I don't pay much heed to what they say (except Piazza). I base my opinions on how they play and how much entertainment I get from their abilities on the field, and leave it at that.

Artest has me wondering though, as even back to his days in St. John's, he always seemed to have something bothering him which resulted in his destructive behavior when he first entered the league and now his erratic behavior. I worry about him as Ron Artest the man, not the basketball player.

Take care all.

I can't afford to worry about sports figures. If he needs help I suggest he buys the best available. :D

Charles Barkley suggested that Ron Artest truly does have some sort of psychological condition. I'm usually not one to listen to a word that comes out of Charles Barkley's mouth, but I think he's really, truly correct. Artest has never seemed right in the mind.

As for Williams...it's easy. It's about the drugs. He had spent so much of his money after retiring, he needed more so he could buy more, so he asked to make a comeback.

Latrell Sprewell...well, the man is a complete idiot. I'm not sure if there's another way to put it. I don't think it's a mental condition, it's just his narcissism.

1. I really don't think they can. If they get a good offer, I say they should take it.
2. I think it would have been a real bite in the butt had they suspended him without pay for a month, and let him realize that he wants basketball, and then when he wants to come back, say that he can't.
3. It's simply their own own hedonism. There's not that many differences between now and in the past. Just there are more media outlets to let such arguments and sitatuations be known to the public. Babe Ruth was sold because he was a complete ass, and didn't want to follow team rules because he thought he was so great. I don't see much of a difference today.

Charles Barkley is one of the great philosophers of the modern era.

There are just some professional athletes who don't realize that it's not about them, it's about the team. And those people are idiots.

Pssst... Dont say anything about Artest when my sis is arund... She'll maul you! Living in Indiana I'm close to the action. I really dont think this happened. otherwise my mother and sister would go ballistic. (BIG pacers fans) Are you sure of this? I should know if it were true.

Yes, NBM, it's true. It's been all over the sports news. Of course, the knowledge that Ron Artest isn't correct in the mind has been known for year. But asking to leave for a month because of his R&B Album, yes, that's true.

anytime you build up an ideal image of someone in your mind, you are bound to have that image shattered.