All language subtitles for Quiet Storm- The Ron Artest Story 2019

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The entire Ron Artest
story is the story of America.

It is the story of endless
possibility and endless...

ability to recover from
complete failure.

And that is the ultimate
test of humanity.

And Ron Artest, wow, who would
have ever thought?

This is like a movie.

[Kobe] The only time I had ever
had to have a conversation

with Metta World Peace was we
got finished playing the game.

He wasn't as physical
as he normally is.

So after the game, I'm out at
dinner and I'm eating,

and Metta comes walking in.

And I said -- I said, "Metta!"
He comes over and I said,

"Wh-- What's...Where's the
physicality?

Where's the -- the toughness?"
He was like, "Oh, man.

You know, I'm not trying to,
you know, upset anybody

or do anything like this, you
know?" I said, "Your name

is Metta World Peace, right?"

He said, "Yeah." I said,
"How do you think peace

is accomplished?" He
goes, "I don't know."

I said, "Through war.
[laughs]

Win the war and then you have
peace. Got it? All right."

[announcer] Final minute of
the season

for the Indiana Pacers.

The Celtics have ...
of the Pacers...

The Celtics advance to the
second round.

You're not gonna do anything.

-Come on, my nigga!
-Get the fucking security!

Get your motherfucking
security right now!

[man] It was like a tornado
Or a hurricane.

And that was Ron. He'd be
quiet before the storm,

and then he'd be quiet after
the storm.

[man] Ronnie seemed to go from
one to 100 real quick.

You know, you weren't gonna
get a lot of warning.

[man] I never questioned Ron's
ability. Never.

Where he was mentally. Every
single day, I questioned.

[man] I always remember
somebody telling me,

"This would be the last guy
you'd wanna fight."

[commentator] Artest is
in the stands!

Oh, this is awful. Fans
are getting involved.

When Ron-Ron ran in the
stands, like, I was just, aww,

just...

[commentator] This is a
disgrace.

Because that is Queensbridge

♪"Quiet Storm (Remix)" by
Mobb Deep♪

[thunder rumbling]

♪It's the real

♪Hip-hop
hip-hop♪

[Donnie] Ron's helped a lot
of people revealing his

demons.

His disease.

♪"Life's a Bitch" by Nas

♪Life's a bitch and then you
die, that's why we puff lye♪

♪'Cause you never know
when you're gonna go♪

♪Life's a bitch and then you
die, that's why we get high...♪

[officer] Police, open up!
We've got a warrant.

Police, open the door!

♪Life's a bitch and
then you die♪

The idea of a criminal
enterprise in New York

had been basically
limited to the mafia.

It was contained. Bad
people, you know,

doing bad things
to other bad people.

And then crack came.

[VO] Crack, the most
addictive form of cocaine,

is now sweeping New York.

[Mark] And it completely
democratized the idea

of what an illicit enterprise
was. So instead of having

to be initiated into some
secret society,

all of a sudden, all you
needed was baking soda,

coke, a microwave, and a 9mm.

You were in business,
you were a gangster.

[man] Federal drug enforcement
agents have been saying

for a long time that the crack
situation in New York

is out-of-control.

[Fredro] That was the home of
guys like the Supreme Team.

You know, those were the guys
when I was

comin' up in Queens.

When crack hit, it was a way
out for some,

and then for some people, it
was a way to hell,

you know what I'm sayin'?
Because you might sell crack

to your uncle, to your aunt,
to your mother.

Like, that's how the
epidemic hit.

A lot of people got killed.

Crack affected a lot of
people around me,

a lot of family members.

[boy cries]

[crying] Don't take my
mother, please!

[Mark] It destroyed families,
it destroyed countless lives.

And it was an incessant level
of violence which you had

in those days in New York, was
the normalization of violence.

[Mr. Cheeks] One night back
in the late 80s, you know,

my man got killed right in
front of me.

At the corner store, we were
usually around the corner,

and the dude shot him and...

That was something that I
wouldn't...

I mean, I'm thinking about it
everyday.

Everything was for crack. You
know, everything was about

hustling. The crime
levels just shot up.

If you disrespected somebody
and, you know,

a guy might be a hustler
or whatever

and you come up short, you
might get shot in the ass.

[Havoc] Queensbridge was one
of the grimiest places

that you could grow up in.

And you could ask anybody
from anywhere else,

from any other borough that
ever came out there

and they'll let you know,
like, "Yeah.

Queensbridge is crazy."

It reflected in everything
that we did, whether it was

you know, the music
that we was writing

to the ball that we was
playing on the block

or, you know, how we
acted in school.

You know, we -- we took
Queensbridge with us.

We wore it with pride.

Just the whole atmosphere
just -- It really --

It just brought out
the beast in us.

It was the first time
in New York...

that...

Queens took the front
pages for crime.

Queens was where cops were
being assassinated.

[man] Four young men accused
of executing

rookie cop Edward Burn. He was
gunned down while guarding

a witness in a drug case. It
happened in Jamaica, Queens.

The same neighborhood
where three

of the four suspects...

[Mark] Queens was where
the most notorious

kingpin crack dealers
held court.

They controlled everything.

Basketball and the violent
life of New York

became enmeshed.

Your mother would tell you,
"When the lights get down,

you know, I don't care who's
playing. Bring your ass home,"

'cause nine times out of ten,
they was gonna start shooting.

[man] Six blocks and
96 buildings.

The Queensbridge Houses is the
largest housing development

in North America, and for
years, its reputation sullied

by gang violence and shootings.

Queensbridge, if you can
imagine the, um...

[inhales deeply] ...the
poverty because of people

living, um, in low-income
circumstances,

like, living on top
of each other.

[N.O.R.E.] You could live in
Queensbridge

and go to a certain part
of Astoria that is beautiful.

But you can also turn the
wrong corner and you will die.

This is the part that people
don't understand.

Queensbridge is divided by
North side and South side.

And each side is composed of
three blocks.

You got 12th Street, 10th
Street, and Vernon

to make up the North side.
Then on the South side,

you've got 12th Street, 10th
Street, and Vernon,

and it's separated like that.

Ron grew up on 10th Street.
grew up directly

across from me.

[Ron] That was my original
apartment.

And that's the apartment I --
I had the most memories of

as a child.

And, um... [chuckles]

That kind of welcomed me to
Queensbridge.

Fun times, you know, bad times.

Father and mother fought a lot
in that house.

Obviously, a man should never
hit a woman, right?

But they would fight.
They hit each other.

It was times where, you know,
police would come

and my parents, they tell each
side of the story,

and they're back in bed with
each other.

As a child, when you see the
first argument,

it's very shocking.

You're just like,
"What happened?"

And then as it continuously
happens,

and then all you want
is the best for both parents.

I really never took sides
when my parents would

argue or fight.

I was just like, "Can this
be over already?"

He was, like, eight years old
the the summer of 1988

and me and his mother
were separated

at that time.

I remember my dad
coming to 41-08

telling me he's never
coming back. [chuckles]

And I was like, "Are
you ever gonna come

back to see us?"

[Ron Sr.] I did stay close by.

Close by. I saw him
everyday, uh,

as long as we
were separated.

It helped -- it helped
him set

on the right track.

[Ron] A lot of that stuff
really scarred me.

And then I alw-- I always
walked around

with this chip, you know, on --

on my shoulder.

I just couldn't get over
the fact that

my parents and mom
were separated.

At school, he was having
difficulty with anxiety problems

the way he was feeling
after the separation.

And he would get in
trouble a lot.

[Ron] I was suspended
every year for fighting.

Kindergarten, first grade,
second grade, every grade.

All fighting.

It was probably the dumbest
reasons, quite honestly

It was, um...

Somebody'd say something,
somebody'd brush you,

skip in front of the
lunch line. [laughs]

All that type of stuff.

I had to get after him
a few times.

You know, the old-school
discipline way.

I never felt nothing
wrong with that.

So, uh, I kind of kept him
in line a little bit.

My mom sent me to a service
that they had counseling

inside one of the apartments.

A free service.

A lot of the kids from the
neighborhood was there.

Um, some kids had autism,

some kids had --
was bipolar.

Some was on medication.

It was like two of us in
there that had, like,

anger problems like me,
but the counselor was in there

trying to figure things out.

She used to advise him
to take up a sport

and he chose basketball

and that helped him
out tremendously

'cause while he was
on the court, he'd

channel all his energies
to basketball,

and that kind of helped
him out a lot.

♪tense music

[Capone] Me and Ron's dad
always had a close,

close relationship.

You'd see him coming,
and he'd be like,

"What's up?"

And he'd scare you
with his "What's up?"

You know what I'm sayin'?

Ron's dad was tough.

When Ron started playing ball

I seen a different side of him.

I seen, like, his toughness
wasn't like

an abusive father toughness,
but it was

"You gonna make something
out yourself" toughness.

[N.O.R.E.] One of my earliest
memories of Queensbridge,

it's snowing.

And I remember
Ron-Ron out there

with his father, and him
just running drills on him.

I remember seeing
that on 12th Street.

On motherfuckin'
12th Street.

That's one of my greatest
memories is just

going out there with seeing
Havoc, you know,

drinking E&J and
falling out.

And Ron-Ron, you know,

playing defense on his pops.

[Havoc] It could be 10
degrees outside,

and they would be the
only two outside

on the basketball
court playing.

And, you know, his father
didn't treat him

like a little kid.

His father used
to be like...

You know what
I'm sayin'?

Elbowing him, pushing him.

I probably had some
hate towards him,

because I would
go at him.

And he would push me
down, not let me score,

be playing one-on-one
full-court,

and me and my
dad all night.

I think that's why I build
my endurance up.

It wasn't scientific,
it wasn't planned.

He might feel like that.

Just me out there
playing with him

and being a little
rough with him.

Not dirty, nothing
to hurt him,

but just being a
little rough

or doing things that
they all call a foul

if you did in a game.

At the end of the day,
it was nothing that

that was stopping
their process.

It was nothing that was
stopping Big Ron's focus

on making Ron-Ron the best
ball player he could be,

the strongest he can be.

And if shots rang
off, cool,

they know they ain't
getting shot at.

They catch a
stray bullet?

Go to the hospital,
get taped up,

and come right back
out to the court.

That's how it was.

It was like nothing's easy,

and that's how we play it.

I started beating my
dad when I was 15.

That's when he couldn't
beat me no more.

And then when I was
able to beat him, I'm like,

"This is how I gotta play
[chuckles] to win."

[man] That's it. So the
bottom line is the win,

- so I'm winning...
- Leave the refs alone.

[ man] The bottom
line is a win,

and that's what we're tryin'
to do on three, win.

[Havoc] The pickup games
in Queensbridge,

they was equally as brutal
as me watching

Ron and his dad
on the court,

if not worse.

When you playin' against
dudes, you know,

on a court that's not
your family, you know,

you could get an elbow,
you could lose a tooth.

[Ron] On my block, it was
no layups. [laughs]

My block was very
intense, you know?

We had a guy
named Yammy

and when he would lose,
he would bring out his gun.

[chuckles]
Really simple.

I remember Lloyd
Newton being killed.

He was a idol of ours,

really smart point guard,

tall point guard.

Somebody just pulled a
chair leg from a table

and threw it and it went
through his heart.

I wasn't there, but when
that happened,

it changed the whole
complexity of

of neighborhood basketball.

The street culture had
come in with the game,

and it had perverted
the game,

and -- and it -- it had
infected the game

with its violence.

As Ron got older, it was
either drugs or sports

then, you know
what I'm sayin'?

You was either slinging
crack or you was playin' ball.

Hustling was something
that was very intriguing.

I learned how to cook crack,
learned how to cut up

the cookies and stuff.

It's like, "A'ight,
cool, here we go."

I remember making
my first sale.

It was a crackhead

who would always come
and buy it from my family.

I remember giving the
crackhead the money

and just running
back in the house.

I didn't even take
the money

and my cousin was like,
"Yo, where the money at?"

I'm like, "Yo...

I--I--I didn't have time
to take the money."

[thunder crashing]

I was scared. I was
scared to selling --

to be selling drugs,
quite honestly, you know.

I didn't like it, I didn't
like feeling, you know?

Um, it just was not for me.

It was that simple. I knew
right then and there

I was not gonna be
a drug dealer.

[thunder rolls]

[N.O.R.E.] KRS made this song
called "The Bridge is Over."

♪The Bridge is over
the Bridge is over...♪

And you wanted to hate
every word he said

when he said "The
Bridge is over."

But the record was
so fuckin' hot!

♪Manhattan keeps on makin' it
Brooklyn keeps on takin' it♪

♪Bronx keeps creatin' it and
Queens keeps on fakin' it♪

♪Yeah

[Fredro] That was a hit
record KRS-ONE had,

and every time
they played it,

"Queens keeps on fakin' it,"

that was just like a blow
to the whole Queens.

Wherever you was from in
Queens... [record scratch]

that -- that was a dis.

Damn...

But it also pumped
something in every

Queens kid's heart.

And it said, "Nobody
will ever say

'Queens is
fakin' it' again."

♪"Made You Look"
by Nas♪

♪Now, let's get it
all in perspective♪

♪For all y'all enjoyment
a song y'all can step with♪

♪Y'all appointed me
to bring rap justice♪

♪But I ain't five-oh
y'all know it's Nas, yo♪

From that moment,
KRS-ONE birthed

every greatest Queens
athlete ever.

He's also birthed every
greatest Queens MC ever,

because we will
never, ever, ever

let that statement
become true again in life.

And that's why you got
people like N.O.R.E.

You got people
from, like, Nas,

you have people like
Mobb Deep, LL Cool J

and Run DMC.

Because we had to let
y'all know that

that statement was
just a battle rap.

[laughs]

And that's clearly it.
We here.

♪I made you look

♪You a slave to a page
in my rhyme book♪

The music, you know,
during that time in --

in that era, the content that
was coming out was, like,

really gritty, hard,

it told stories of what
we was goin' through,

what we wanted to be.

You know, the situation
that we was in,

how we wanted to
get out of it.

Queens was the capital
of lyricism,

you know what
I mean? And to me,

you know what I'm
sayin', the good music

came out of Queens.

One thing you don't
want to do

is you don't want
to be going to jail.

You gotta -- You gotta,
you know,

pretty much attach
yourself to something

positive, and music was it.

As I started to
go outside,

then you hear about
Mobb Deep.

And you heard,
"Oh, wow,

these guys are
pretty famous."

Like, "Oh, word?
Those guys that

live on the third floor?"

"And they got records
on the radio."

"Oh, that's pretty cool."

Then you hear about Nas.
"Who's Nas?"

"Nas from Vernon."
"Yo, he's from Queensbridge?

That's pretty dope."

Ron loved music, but when
I seen Ron start to rap,

at first I was like, "Come
on, man. Put --

What are you doing?
You know what

I'm sayin'? What are
you doing?

Stick to ball, man."

I was, uh, a star
at La Salle

and they brung...
[sighs]

the skinny kid
from Queens.

He played for the same
AAU team I played for

so I -- I knew Ron.

[Ron] There was a all-boys'
school. Catholic.

[Ron] I think I got in a fight
in the hallway. [chuckles]

I remember being suspended.

I remember them saying,

"If you do this again,
we're kicking you out."

And they sat me
the first 13 games

of my freshman year,

and it sucked.

[Shammgod] He didn't really
have a skillset at this point.

I used to always tell him
to come in the mornings

just to work on his skills.

I'm like, "You need to
learn how to dribble,

shoot, stuff like that."

[crowd cheering]

[Bill] His reputation, of
course, preceded him.

That he was a tough,
tough player.

And he wouldn't take
anything from anybody.

I gotta attribute that
a lot to his father.

I guess he said, "If I can
play against my father,

I can play against anybody.

I always found Ron
a hard kid

and then a hard
guy not to like.

There -- You know, despite
the rough exterior

and the fact that he
looks like he's a --

you know, like
a raging bull,

there's actually, like
a soft spot

and a sweetness to him.

He worked hard that summer.

You know, he was playing
AAU or Riverside

and they had Elton Brand,
they had Lamar Odom.

I knew right away from
the first time I --

I played against him
that he would be the

toughest competition
the rest of my life.

[Bill] That was one of the
greatest AAU teams of all time.

Ronnie and Elton Brand...

You know, that was a
hell of a front line alone.

Lamar Odom...

You're not -- You're not
gonna beat that team.

[laughs]

[Mark] I think that for those
kids they formed a kind of

aristocracy of -- of talent.

What that team symbolizes

was that there was
no going back.

The shift was now final.

The -- The path of the
game was inexorable.

The real team,
the money team,

was going to be the AAU squads,

not your high school team.

[crowd cheering]

[Elton] Lamar Odom had a
six-inch growth spurt.

You know, he went
from 6'1" to 6'7"

from, like, ninth
to tenth grade.

Silky-smooth point guard.

It was almost not fair,
'cause I'm, like,

a 6'4" center
[laughs]

and they're telling me I got
talent. I'm watching him

and just move and pass the
ball, unselfish,

just amazing player.

And Ron Artest
was the enforcer.

You know, that's --
that's who he is,

that's who he was.

Defensive stopper.

That's where we learned
how to play unselfishly.

We always knew Lamar
was the most skilled,

Elton was the best,

I was pretty damn good.

[Mark] Ron always made the
right basketball play.

It's like he learned the game
at a Jewish summer camp.

All that being said,

there was something
scary about the guy.

There was a look
in his eyes,

you didn't want to
mess with him,

because he could
go off on you.

[woman] Oh, no, he
didn't!

No, he didn't!

We were playing a
tournament in St. Louis,

and this is their home
tournament and

the guy was scoring a little
too much for Ron's liking

and he ended up, you know,
punching him in the face,

coming off the pick.

There was a -- a jaw
that was, uh, displaced.

But that's who
Ron was, he's --

He had pride
in his defense.

I remember --
[sighs]

We was watching a
high school game

and there was a game
before us and this guy

got on my nerves

and I threw him
down, like,

20 sets of bleachers

from really high up.

Um...

It was pretty bad.

Ron just picked him up...

over his head and, like,

just threw him down
the fucking stairs.

That shit, that was crazy.

Ron, when he goes there,
ain't no stopping him.

[Ron] I didn't really care.

You know, when I was
younger, I didn't really

care about anybody,
what they thought.

You know, all I know is

I'm here to play basketball.

Get the hell out of
Queensbridge

for a little bit.

[indistinct shouting]

[Bill] When Shammgod left,
he became the focal point

for the next two years.

And we had very, very
successful years with him.

The final year, we played
Christ the King,

who was loaded, uh,
in the semi-finals

of the city championship.

And, uh, we were
down at half.

I remember yelling at the
kids, saying, you know,

"We rode this guy's
back the whole year.

Let's continue the --
the ride."

And he went crazy
the second half.

I remember he started
off the third quarter

with a monstrous dunk.

And, of course, we ended up
winning.

We were the last team
since 1970

to win the city championship
undefeated.

It was him that, quote unquote
"willed us" into that --

that record.

When I took
him out of the game,

when the game was
basically over,

he had so many kids and
people from Queensbridge

that was there,
it was incredible.

And he actually went
up in the stands

and they hugged him.

It was very emotional.

[Ron] At that age, at -- What
was I? 17 years old?

There was a bunch of things
going on at that time.

My little sister passed away.

She was two-and-a-half months.

She passed away
in the bed.

Sudden infant death syndrome.

Dedicated every game to her.

I remember, it was just hell.

And I also had a baby
come at that time also.

I was trying to
become a parent...

...and a family man
at 17 years old.

My brother, he did ten years.

He got snitched on when
he was drug trafficking

and he didn't tell.

I remember,
I remember the day.

I was right at the same spot
that Capone shot a cop

maybe, like, three
years earlier.

And that kind of hurt
me because

I had no guidance.

And I look back at that and
I'm like, "Wow, you know?

Um, how did you do that?"

You ready?

Yeah, I'm ready.

I just feel like a big
storm is coming

I--I don't know. I
don't know, man.

I don't know.

[applause]

I picked St. John's
because New York --

New York fans and

there's no better basketball
other than New York.

[Jarvis] If I knew how it was
gonna've gone,

I might not have taken the
job, to be honest with you.

Ron -- R-- We had a lot
of fights. [laughs]

It was -- It was, at times,
you'd think it was --

you were watching
the circus.

Every time I'd meet somebody

that I played with back
in the days, they like,

"You remember this story?"
I'm like, "No.

I don't remember
the -- [laughs]

the -- my 100th
fight." [laughs]

[Jarvis] He was the first.

He was also the last
player I ever had that

had those kinds of
mood swings.

I knew there was something
that was off.

Something wasn't
quite right.

Well, he was bipolar.

He had a -- I guess it was
a chemical, uh, imbalance.

You know, people would
say, "Ah, he's crazy."

He wasn't crazy.

I mean, first of all, he's too
smart anyhow, you know.

But second of all, um,

he had a -- he --
he had a...

He had a disease, he
couldn't handle it.

We'd be having a practice,
things would be going great.

And then all of a sudden,
something would happen

and Ron would just go off.

And I would blow the
whistle, call a timeout,

and I would pray.

99 percent of the time,
that worked.

Ron would calm down,

and then I'd say, "Okay,
get a drink of water,"

and we'd go back to work.

This particular
Sunday evening,

about 20 minutes later,
I call my second timeout.

And we pray again,
and we come back out.

Maybe 20 minutes later,

I gotta call a
third timeout.

I said, "Ron...

...I want you to
leave the gym."

Well ---
[inhales]

As -- On his way out,

he picked up every ball
off the two-bar racks

and threw it up into
the balcony in the --

in the arena.

Then, he took the ball
rack and threw that up.

And then he slammed
his way out the gym.

It was too much.
Too much, um...

Way too much intensity.

[chuckles]
Way too much.

[Jarvis] I go up to my office,
I open the door.

...the second secretary
used to have this

old-fashioned
typewriter

on her desk as you
enter the locker room.

So the l-- The -- The
typewriter wasn't there.

The typewriter was

lodged into the wall.
[laughs]

So I'm saying to myself,
"Damn, I didn't believe

anybody could be
that strong."

The typewriter's basically
part of the wall now.

The next morning, uh,
you know, I had called Ron.

He came in and he
was remorseful.

He was really, really,
really sad.

I never had a player
or anybody like that

in my life

that could go from being,

I mean, the kindest,

most gentle,
soft-spoken,

mannerly, sweet,
lovable person

to being,

like, totally the opposite.

Never had anybody in
my life like that, ever.

[commentator] This game
is sold-out.

It's the first sell-out at
Madison Square Garden

for St. John's in
three years.

[man] For St. John's Ron
Artest led only the

second triple double
in the school's history

against Seton Hall
a few weeks ago.

An outstanding
all-around player.

The only reason I started
scoring is because

media, NBA fans, they
wasn't recognizing defense

or deflections, you know?

Or being disruptive.

And they didn't see that,
so I said, "Okay, I'm

just gonna start
averaging 20, 20+."

That's when I started
working on my game

was because they
wasn't paying people

who was having no points
and no rebounds.

[commentator] Artest moves
closer...

Good! With one
second left!

[man] Artest, does he
come out big or not?

[man] Some shot by Artest,
and he's done all of this

with four fouls on him.

And anybody that thought
that he couldn't play

beyond the foul line,
this kid, with time,

this could be a
really, really great

offensive player as well.

Everybody knew how
good his defense was.

And I think for Ron,
it just gave him

that confidence that a kid
from Queensbridge needs.

When I watched him
play at St. John's,

I just thought to myself,
"This guy's gonna give

a heart attack to
guys in the NBA,

because he's gonna
go after them.

He's not gonna back off."

And I'm talking about
the best guys in the league.

[Ron] I was really focused
on the court.

And, um, you know,

and I wanted to
just go to the NBA.

With the 16th pick in
the 1999 NBA draft,

the Chicago Bulls

select Ron Artest from
St. John's University.

[cheers and applause]

Nah. [laughs]

Playin' with the
camera a little bit.

[Bill] I think getting
out of New York,

-going to Chicago...
-How you doin'?

...Being away from
his following,

I think that was
good for him.

Hi, baby.
Congratulations...

-I see y'all later.
-Okay, now.

[Bill] And, of course, Elton
Brand was also drafted from,

so it wasn't like he
was going to a team

that he knew nobody.

We did it, we did
it together.

And Ron and I were the
"baby Bulls." [laughs]

We were on the same
team, so it was just --

It was just a whirlwind.

[Havoc] I seen Big Ron on
the block. He said,

"Yo, your boy going to
the league and all that."

You see him?
He's a monster."

I was like, "That's
what you made!

You know what I'm sayin'?
You made a monster!"

And then that's what
he became:

a monster in the league.

♪tense piano

[Ron] I was often fearful

of going to the NBA
because I seen

Antony Mason's arms.

[chuckles] And then
you see Oakley. [laughs]

And Malone.

I always asked myself,
"Could I do this?"

And then I said, "Yeah, I
just have to be mean."

I really had to have
a lot of hate for people

when I would play.

You know, um...

And I would think bad
things about people.

I was very stressed
at that time.

You know, I was very
stressed because..

Really, I don't know why.
I had money. [laughs]

But I was super hungry,
you know? Um, still.

And when I made it,
I became more hungry,

and more crazy, and more
everything, you know?

Everything was magnified.

Uh, so it was really
a lot of things

going on in my head.

I remember there were him

wrestling with Glenn
Robinson,

them falling out
of bounds.

[man] Oh! And Artest is

really upset with
Robinson!...

I remember, uh, seeing
Ronnie play for the Bulls,

and he was good
for the Bulls.

But something happened
between them.

Brad Miller did
something to Shaq,

then Shaq went after him.

And here comes Ronnie
and he jumps on

Shaq's back. [laughing]
And I'm thinking,

"Oh, you gotta be crazy."

But that was him.
He --

You know, he was all-out.

I went to a lot of places
with Ron in his early years.

His early years was like...

I'm looking like,
"Is he -- Is he

gonna make it a long
time in the league?"

I wanted to be the best
from -- from day one.

But I wasn't doing things
to be the best.

I wasn't taking care
of my body. I was out

partying and stuff.

He was a first-round
draft pick,

and he ends up,
during the summer,

he had nothing to do,
so he went and got a job

[laughs] in Chicago
in Circuit City

and I'm thinking,

"Now, that's really
different." You know?

He's in the NBA and he
had a part-time job

at Circuit City.

I used to drop
him off at work,

picking him up sometimes,

tried to get a discount
on some DVDs players

and stuff like that.

But he really worked
there in the back.

Like, during the NBA.
And then, uh...

[laughs] Jerry Krause found
out and made him quit.

Well, I had counseling
in Chicago.

I first got diagnosed
in the NBA in Chicago,

most of my other family
members were all

on medicine.

So they thought I was
gonna be on the same

medication as
my dad was.

They just said, "Well,
whatever your dad is on,"

the doctor,

"we're gonna give you
half that." [laughs]

So I said, "A'ight, cool."

You know, 'cause I wanted
to play basketball

and stop being so mad.

But that lasted for, like,
a day. I couldn't --

That -- The medicine,
I didn't like it.

I mean, we all --

I think everybody
who -- who ever walked

the planet Earth has dealt
with mental illness

or anxiety at some
scale or level,

so nothing really
out-of-the-ordinary.

Some people just have it more.

I remember Bill Cartwright
saying, "Listen,

If you keep acting like this,
they're gonna move you.

I don't wanna move you. I want
you here."

I said, "Okay, I'm not gonna
mess up again." [laughs]

And then I did something else
stupid. They traded me.

[Donnie] I -- I thought it
would be a good trade.

I got Brad Miller,
him, and Ron Mercer.

And the more I watched him
play, the more I thought,

"Boy, this guy is effective."
'Cause he was, like,

about 6'6", 6'7".

But his shoulders were like
that.

[Jermaine] I remember getting
into our first practice,

and he just -- he chased
down everything.

Wanted to impose his physical
nature onto

the person that he was playing
against.

And I knew, with my mentality

and some of the people that we
already had,

that would be a great mix.

[crowds cheering]

[Donnie] And then Jermaine
O'Neal was a very good player.

Reggie Miller was a very good
player.

I knew we had the makings of a
good team and we did.

But if you get somebody who's
out there just

doing sporadic things that are
unusual,

you know, the players are, like,

ducking all the time.

And so I didn't want to see
that happen.

♪dramatic spacey
music♪

I could see that he was
up and down

and that he reacted to
whatever mood he was in.

Like, you know, he'd come in
and some days,

he'd say, "I'm
not gonna practice today."

"Oh, you -- you're gonna
practice, you know. [laughs]

You gotta practice."

In many cases, I'd try to
reach out to him

to try to better understand
him w--

You know, and a lot
was off the court.

And he was a little bit, you
know, kind of

stand-offish when it
came to that,

so I didn't necessarily un--
understand him.

And the ability for him to do
that

brought more tension between
me and him.

I don't think any teammate,
um, the organization,

anybody really understood Ron.

And I'm not sure if he wanted
to be understood,

you know, at the time. I think
everything he did

was a reaction.

[whistle]

[Donnie] He'd get angry quick.

And you'd think, "Oh, the --
Oh, the..."

You're afraid he's gonna clear
the whole gym out.

[Ron] I'm going to practice
and I hated everybody.

You know?

And then I would take that
hate back home and come

back to practice the next
day with the same hate.

And then when you get
into a game, I'm playing

with people that I hate,
but I don't really hate them.

I only hate them because
we just had a practice.

You see what I'm sayin'?

I was afraid that he'd do
something in a game,

after a game, before a game,

that the league would have to
get involved with.

[crowd cheering]

[crash]

[commentator] Somebody just
threw something into the...

Really, most of my problems
came when I lost.

I was a sore loser.

You know? Um, so...

We'd lost a game and I
remember just wanting

to get my hands on something.

The camera cost $120,000.
[laughs]

I had to pay for it.

[commentator] And Ron Artest,
losing his cool

-after the game.
-He will receive a bill

for throwing the
monitor right there.

[commentator] That's just
immaturity.

That's -- That's disgraceful.

Sometimes he straddles the
line,

sometimes he goes over it.

[Donnie] That's the kind of
incidents I was worried about.

You know, they're explosive
incidents that --

there's no warning. It's like
that. [snaps fingers]

If he perceived he got hit or
something

in the wrong way,

you know, he'd react to it
right away,

and you were afraid, "Oh, this
guy's --

You know, he's gonna start
beating people up out here."

[commentator] And now, Bell
and Artest are nose-to-nose.

And Artest has been thrown out.

That's his second technical
tonight, so he's gone.

[commentator] ...That started
before the game.

You and I were watching it.

-[buzzer]
-...fouled...

Ron Artest, strong enough to
finish even with the foul,

now having words with his
assistant coach Keith Askins.

And Pat Riley is fired up.

Artest's been hit with a
technical foul.

Oh, it had nothing to with Pat
Reily. He was in the way.

It had to do with the coach.

He was being supportive of his
players,

and I hated him and his
players.

[laughs] It was real simple.

Ronnie seemed to go from one
to 100 real quick.

And...

...at a point, I just questioned
whether he could control it.

And so that's why we tried to
get him help,

and we eventually did.

[man] Artest has received
treatment

for his anger problems.

However, he's declined to take
medication despite the fact

that some close to him think
it might be the best thing.

♪soft emotional
music♪

[Ron] Your records transfer from
team to team.

Teams have to know
what they're getting.

I had a long talk with Donnie,
and then we found, um,

a psychologist in Indiana.

I -- I could tell that he
didn't want to do it,

but eventually,

I remember him saying, "Yeah,
all right.

I'll talk to him."

[Ron] Well, I went a lot, after
every practice. [laughs]

Um, after every practice.

You know, because, uh, I was
always mad. [laughs]

[man] ...you're doing?

You're not gonna do anything.

-Come on, my nigga!
-Get the fucking security!

Get your motherfucking
security...

That's not the kind of thing,
you know,

you take a pill and
you're --

you're okay.

I knew that it was gonna take
time.

I knew that Ronnie going
into it

was kind of suspicious
of it.

We did see his, uh,
psychiatrist.

She did -- She travelled with
us quite a bit.

Um... And so that part we
understood.

The problem is that at the
time, we could never really

get to understand, you know,
who Ron was

because he wouldn't --
he wouldn't speak about it.

I didn't have a good
relationship

with those guys, 'cause I was
very -- I wasn't social.

I -- I can't recall --

I can't count on my hands how
many times I had lunch with

one of my NBA teammates.

You know, I think a lot of it
is just -- just lack of --

lack of control at the time.

You gotta understand what I'm
saying.

It is two different parts.

Ron was one of the most
unbelievable competitors

that our league had seen at
the time.

[whistle]
[crowds cheering]

[commentator] Artest,
defensive player of the year,

shows why with a steal
of Wade

and a slam on the
other end.

I just always remember being
the best defender,

finish -- finishing number six
in MVP voting.

[Kobe] Literally, if you put the
ball around this guy,

if you show him the ball, he's
going to take it from you.

Not some of the time, all of
the time.

I -- I just never seen
anything like it.

I mean, I used to say his left
hand was like a glue trap,

because if he just got one
finger on that ball,

he's popping that ball lose
and he's taking it from you.

You're not gonna have any idea
how that happened.

[commentator]: ...Now Artest
really leveling...

[commentator]: ...at the other
end.

I mean, he took it to him
offensively and sacked him

down to the baseline,
and ate him up.

Look at the hands of Artest.
He is a -- Oh...

...pushes him down!

[indistinct chatter]

[Jermaine] He hated Paul.

He felt like he was
just tougher than Paul.

Like, we knew how great Paul
was as a player,

but he felt like he was the
one player

that can change everything
about Paul.

[Ron] We had wars over the
years.

He a Hall of Famer...

...and I -- I feel like I had
something to do with that.

Because I pushed him.

We had wars. I'm proud -- I'm
proud that we had wars.

Our time was now,

and even our differences that
we had away from

the actual games,

um, we were able to put it
aside and just go compete.

And that's why we ended up
having

the best record of the
year.

[whistle]
[cheering]

[Ron] Back home, there
was no layups.

It was that type of basketball
that made me who I was,

so I brought that to the NBA.

And some people called it
dirty,

but I was just relentless.

[Chauncy] We were about
the same team.

Both teams just played with
the mentality of,

you know, we -- we -- we gonna
win the game or the fight.

He was always, um...

On the edge of it, [laughs]
you know what I mean?

And you never quite knew,

you know, what was
bothering him.

[Chauncy] It was maybe the
hardest series

that I ever played in.

Every single game was physical.

I mean, the winner of that
series was gonna win it all.

It was a battle of attrition.

And obviously, the biggest
play of the series

was Tayshaun's block.

[commentator] ...Reggie Miller!

And it's blocked again!

How did ... get there?

[commentator] I didn't think
it was any way possible

for him to get this shot.

That is one of the most
amazing blocks

that I have ever seen.

[Jermaine] After the game
that Tayshaun made

the incredible block, uh,

we didn't see Ron for
two days.

And that was one of the first
times

that I felt anger towards him
in a way that I

typically have never felt
anger towards, uh,

a teammate.

An older group of guys would
have settled that up quickly.

But they were a young group of
guys who were, like,

"Oh!" [laughs] You know...
Pointing fingers.

[Chauncy] I called a play
for Rip.

Rip was a irritant, you know?
Like, he's --

he's running all over the place,

he's fouling and scratching
people,

and talking stuff. And I
remember, um,

Rip kind of baiting Ron into
the foul.

[commentator] Pacers been led
by as many

as 14 in the first half.

[commentator] Oh, wow.

Artest just leveled Rip...

[Ron] He was smart.

It was tied up,

and he kind of threw his
butt back towards me.

It kind of felt like an
elbow.

It was an offensive foul, hit
me in the groin area.

And then I immediately forgot
that we were trying

to get to the finals, and
I elbow him in the face.

[Jermaine] That was a tough
pill to swallow.

You go through so much, you
know, to try to get to that --

that place where you can get
to the NBA finals, right?

You dream about that.

[Ron] He shoots two free
throws and they score.

they go up four.

And, um...

They won by four.
They go to the finals.

It is very stupid.

I don't care how unstable I
was mentally.

You know, it's stupid.

You know, there's no excuse --
[laughs] um, for that.

[commentator]: And for the
first time in 14 years,

the Pistons go to the
NBA finals!

They're the 2004 Eastern
Conference champions!

At the end of the season,
after we lost,

I met with the management
and I felt like that

the time was up and we
needed to make a change,

because I didn't believe that
we were gonna be able to

ultimately reach our -- our
full potential as a team.

Am I aware that, uh, Jermaine
was upset with Ron?

Probably, yeah.

But, you know, there are guys
upset with guys every year.

[Jermaine] I just didn't think
that it was gonna change.

We had a lot of aggression on
that team,

but then what people don't
understand,

that aggression becomes
hate.

You know, or dislike.

And you have no shot in --
in sports and really in life

if you are on a team with
some people that you

hate or dislike.

Well, I wasn't gonna listen to
anybody telling me to trade

anybody, if -- if you really
want to know that.

I didn't care who it was.

I get a call from Larry Bird,
uh, saying,

"Stephen, welcome
to the Indiana Pacers."

I was excited because I knew I
was playing with guys that

I knew. Me and Jermaine
O'Neal, class of '96.

We would play the McDonald's
All-American game.

I was excited because I got a
chance

to play with Ron Artest.

Coming into that season, it
was my first year, you know.

And they just had played
against, uh, the Pi-- Pistons

in the -- in the Eastern
Conference finals.

They had a long season
together.

So when I got there, Jermaine
and Ron was

white and black, night and day.

They was nowhere -- They
wasn't close at all.

We didn't talk to Ron at any
point between the time we

lost against the Pistons until
we got to training camp.

Not one word.

The relationship was -- It was
broken.

It -- It was really broken.

When he told us that he
needed time off

and the season hadn't even
started yet,

I was like...

I was just like, " This
motherfucker crazy, man."

I was just like, "Oh, I can't
believe it.

I can't believe
it."

Jermaine is looking at me
like, "Are you kidding me?"

[Jermaine] Leaving the team to
go down to the Source Awards

when we thought he was going
home

to take care of family issues.

He apologized but, you know,
when things continuously

happen, you know, it's --
it comes upon deaf ears.

I don't want anything to break
this team apart,

to tear this team apart.

Ron understands the situation,
he understands...

that that's something that
can't come up.

That any other
distraction is -- is...

is something that we don't
need as a team.

Allure still coming out on
November 23rd

and, uh, I want all the ladies
to know go get the album,

the album's hot. You know what
I'm saying?

And, uh -- You know, we in the
house and I'm on the album,

rapping on the album. You know
what I'm saying?

So it's just go get the album.

[woman]: What kind of teammate
would you say you are?

Um...

Uh, at times, difficult.

Uh, you know. CEO, you know?
Like, well, like I said,

Allure coming out
November 23rd.

We six and two right now.

And Allure's album is coming
out on the 23rd.

I don't how many times I gotta
tell you.

Tru Warier Records.

All the ladies, go get the
album,

'cause the album's fire.

[woman]: Do you think he's
learned?

[Jermaine] Ask him.

He's the best defender in
he game right now,

so hopefully that doesn't come
up and, you know, we just

contin-- we just continue to
win games and --

and prepare for winning the
championship this year.

I knew his passion for music,

but I didn't think he would
put his music

before basketball.

And, once again, he wasn't
thinking,

but when things came back to
him, it clicked.

[Jermaine] He was coming off
defensive player of the year.

At the time, he was averaging,
like, maybe 22,

23 points a game.

[Ron] It was cool to be able
to say that.

I was one of the best at one
point in time, you know?

My average went up. I was
trying to get MVP.

You know? Um, and I felt like
I was on my way,

from a basketball standpoint.

I never questioned Ron's
ability.

Never.

Where he was mentally, every
single day, I questioned.

I was looking to see -- All
these guys are young and they

got these little petty things
going on among them.

Is it gonna get straightened
out

or I'm gonna have to trade
these guys.

Well, I was gonna wait and see
if we won with it.

And we were winning until we
got to the Detroit thing

and then it blew up.

It was a statement time. They
had just beat us in the

conference finals the year
before.

We knew it was a national
televised game.

Um, we were had -- had the
best record at the time.

We wanted to send a message.

We had made it clear publicly
that we felt like we were

the better team.

And I think that was kind of a
build-up

and, you know, obviously, as
defending champions, um,

they felt like they needed
more respect.

I mean, warm-ups in the game,
being in that arena,

you can feel it.

Nobody had to tell him. You
could feel it.

Fans was "You suck, you're
that."

It's coming from all over.

We were everything under the
sun.

Racial slurs, assholes,

talking about our families,
our girls.

It was all kind of stuff.

It was -- It was hostile and
every time I played in

Detroit, in was hostile.

I remember not being able to
deal with it.

I remember not wanting a fan

to scream at me. It was j-- I
just hated it.

So not to say that we didn't
care about the game,

but we didn't focus on the game.

It wasn't circled on our
schedule like it was them.

And they came in and they did
what they had to do.

And, uh, they -- they smacked
us. They really did.

I was killing them. I had 24.
[laughs]

And, um, they couldn't stop me.

[commentator]: Artest is
really playing

a disciplined game
tonight.

[commentator]: Oh, one of
first...for Ron Artest,

best known for his defense,
has half of the Pacer points.

[Bill] But this was not just
any game.

This was two fierce and bitter
rivals on a Friday night.

They're the champions and
you're in their building and

you're torching them and
you're the guy who's doing it.

And that doesn't just happen.

Towards the end of the game,
when the Pistons were getting

whooped pretty bad, I had
moved up a few rows and

let one of my workers come
down and see what it was like

sitting, you know,
court-side.

[Chauncy] Coach Brown, he was
taking all of us

out of the game. You know?

Um, all of us -- I had just
checked out.

The only reason Ben didn't
check out,

if I'm not mistaken, is
because he was on

the free throw line.

And then a little exchange at
the end,

uh, with Ron, um, Ben had kind
of warned him, like,

you know, "Just chill. Y'all
won.

Y'all got the came won. Just
chill.

Don't -- Don't hit me no more."

You know what I'm saying? "Or
elbow me, whatever."

And I guess, um,

Ron didn't really listen.

And at the end of the game,
I'm guarding Ben.

We're up 13, 14 points.

I'm letting Ben just go right
by me and score and we --

I'm trying to let the clock run
out so we can get out of here.

[commentator]: Oh! Ben Wallace
is fouled.

And Wallace st-- Oh!

Right at Artest!

This is potentially serious if
they don't get between...

I never knew why he fouled him
like that,

because the game was already
over.

You know, not even sure why
Ron was still in the game.

It was a bad foul by Ron.

The dumbest thing he could've
done, probably.

It was something about Ron on
Ben a foul.

[commentator]: Wallace upset.

Players trying to hold each
other off.

I remember Ben Wallace being
open for the layup

and not wanting to give up a
layup.

I didn't want to change my
mentality

because we were winning.

I always played to the last
second.

That's the only way I know.

I have to finish my -- finish
the game and finish it hard.

And he was open for a layup

and I did not want him to get
the layup.

Just took so damn long, man.
The --

From the push...

...to the confrontation

to Rasheed Wallace, Richard
Hamilton,

everybody's in the middle.

You know, it just took way too
long.

We were just kind of in shock.
We were like,

"Whoa, look at this." And then
they were going at it and

we were like, "Oh, here it goes.

They're gonna get at it."

Ben was mad. Now, he had a
right to be.

He had a right to be mad.

He kept throwing stuff at Ron
trying to antagonize Ron.

[Ron] He threw a towel.

Then he hit me with the
wristband.

I went to the ref. I said,
"What the hell is going on?

You know, I got -- I got the
foul. You called the foul.

I got pushed, no tech.

I got something thrown at me,
no tech, no ejection.

Like, what's going on here?
You know what I'm saying?"

So now, I'm at this point. I'm
like,

"I gotta protect myself
now."

Oh, he did what he was
supposed to do.

He was told, like, "If you
feel yourself getting

too agitated, then get
away from it

and sit down and just be by
yourself for a minute.

The foundation of my
psychology at that time,

we did talk about, uh,
often, um,

going to happy places. [laughs]

So that's why he went over and
laid down

on the scorers table.

[Ron] There was nowhere
else to go.

Scorers table was very
comfortable at that time,

quite honestly.

I could've went to the chair,
but it just didn't feel --

it felt awkward.

People have asked me why I
went to the scorers table.

Where else am I gonna go?

Into a -- the -- a cafe? Or am
I gonna go to...

...the locker room?

We have 20 seconds left.

The scorers table was right
there,

so I can sit, I can stand on
top of the scorers table,

I can lay, I can do pushups.
[laughs]

There's so many -- Wha--

I laid down.

Well, I'm just thinking,

"This is just Ron being Ron,
you know?

It's just Ron-Ron just doing
his thing.

Like, he's relaxed and he's
chilling.

Listen, they came here,
got the win.

He's just kind of showing out
a little bit.

But it's no big deal. This is
gonna be over soon," you know?

And -- And boy, I didn't --

I wasn't right about that.

You know, Ben wore a thousand
armbands and headbands,

so he was just -- I mean, he's
just steady throwing them.

Just throwing them. And so
people started

throwing stuff from
the stands.

So he was throwing them at
Ron,

and the next thing you
know, you see cups and all

this stuff fly in.

We were all kind of booing him
and telling him,

"Get off the scorers table."

And kids were kind of throwing
popcorn down at him.

I was sitting there talking
with my buddy and -- and, uh,

I said, you know, I was
drinking a Diet Coke

with ice in it and he said --

I said, "I bet I could hit him
from right here with that cup."

And, uh, and he goes, "No,
we're too far away."

And, uh... And I just launched
it in the air

underhand and it kind of went
up in the air

with a perfect arc and hit
him right in the chest.

[indistinct shouting]

A beer or any type of beverage
is thrown in someone's face,

that's assault.

In a lot of states, that's
assault.

I'm sitting there. I'm like,
"Holy cow," you know?

I -- I didn't really think
I was gonna hit him.

And then, uh,

Artest turned around and
looked up in the stands

and the kid sitting next to
me, he's yelling at Artest

going, "Yeah, you got it!"

[commentator]: Now Artest has
jumped over the scorers table

and is trying to get down to...

When I seen him raise his
hand, I'm like --

When I got hit, I'm like...

"That guy hit me.

There's nobody else that
could've possibly hit me."

[laughs] So I ran right in
that direction,

and my --

What I wanted to do was choke
him. [laughs]

Not to death, but...

[laughs] just to let him know,

"Don't you ever hit me with a
cup in your life."

I just started getting
adrenaline and my heart

started racing and seeing him
come, I started to get,

like, I was like, "Oh,
man. Here it goes."

[commentator]: Artest is in
the stands!

[crowd screaming]

I thought he was coming at me

and he passed me and went and
grabbed this kid.

I don't know if I blame him.

Um, but if you're gonna go
into the stands,

hit the right person.

Right? He hit the wrong person.

And Artest was looking at this
kid saying,

"Oh, you threw it."

So he take -- takes off in the
-- into the stands

and grabs this kid

and, uh, just starts, like,
bodyslamming this kid.

And then beer started flying
and...

I felt bad right away. I went
and grabbed Artest

around, you know, like a bear
hug

trying to pull him off this kid.

I have to be honest, I wasn't
necessarily

whispering in his ear saying,

"Hey, I'm the one that
threw the cup." [laughs]

I was very upset. All I wanted
to do was go up in the --

go in the stands and tell this
fan, "You asshole.

Don't ever throw a cup at me."

And I thought that was gonna
be it. [laughs]

I didn't know it was gonna be
more and more

and more and more.

Not a very proud moment, but
hey, it just --

it's one of those things, you
know? It was kind of a...

spontaneous, you know, instant
chaos that, you know,

got me engulfed and, uh, I
just reacted.

He had time to reflect and to
think and...

And then...

...And then he just lost his
mind.

And for a long time,

I kept asking myself the
ultimate question

for people who do lose
their mind.

And that is that

to lose something

at some point, you have to
have it in the first place.

And I questioned that
that night.

I wasn't afraid at one moment.

I wasn't worried at one moment.

You know, my whole mind was,

you know, protecting myself
and protecting my teammates

and, uh, we'll get out of here
together and deal with the

consequences later.

[indistinct shouting]

[commentator] And now another
fight's breaking out

in front of the Pistons bench.

It's a -- It's a fan on the
court.

This is very, very dangerous.

[Ron] But a guy comes at me.

At the time, I'm like, "This
guy is crazy."

You know, now, I'm like, you
know, I always wanted to know

what he was thinking,
but if he --

he's really lucky
there was beer on the floor,

because I slipped. I couldn't
quite get a grip,

'cause the punch would've
connected even more.

[indistinct shouting]

I think about the animosity
that we had

amongst each other
as teammates.

But that very moment, we came
together

to protect each other.

It was all put to the test
that night.

As the captain of the team,
um, you

are put in positions and have
to make

decisions for your team.

And, um, when you're making
decisions for your team,

you're standing with your
team.

I believed in what I did

and I would absolutely do it
again.

I would absolutely do it
again, because at that point,

people are trying to kill you.

Over a basketball game.

[commentator] Fans are
throwing cups

with liquid in them now
onto the court.

Ron Artest has a look in his
eye

that's very scary right now.

That incident magnified
everything.

It magnified where I was in my
life,

and it magnified how much of an
asshole these guys were.

[laughs]

There were security guards
coming, cops coming everywhere

and I was looking at my buddy,
I'm like, "Holy cow."

He goes, "Yeah, let's get out
of here,"

so we took off. [laughs]

And, uh, and then it started
--

We were heading out and we
saw it kind of escalating

down on the court.

[commentator] You wonder if
the official

is gonna let this game
continue.

Now they're throwing bottles
out onto the floor.

15 -- You know, 12 to 15 of you,

uh, as a team, um, and then

you look and all the exits are
blocked

because the people are running
on -- on the court.

[commentator]: They're trying
to get the Pacers to go back

to the locker room.

[laughs] It was crazy. It was
crazy, 'cause, like,

it literally was like a movie,
man. It was like a movie.

[commentator] You have these
ridiculous fans trying to...

I remember Chuck ... trying to
protect me, but m--

I -- I wanted to go back in
the stands again,

because more people was
throwing beer and popcorn.

I'm like -- I'm trying to figure
out --

I'm trying to find the faces

of the person who threw the
popcorn and who threw the --

more beer and more soda,

'cause I'm ready to take on
more people.

[commentator] Somebody could
really get hurt.

[Stephen] We were coming
off the courtand we had

just made it through
the tunnel.

You know, from getting hit
with soda, popcorn,

all kind of stuff.

our adrenaline's still pumping
and, uh...

Chuck Person's got Ron. He's
bringing Ron.

There's a number of cameras
right there.

[commentator] This is a bad
showing from the

Pistons fans here.

[indistinct shouting]

I'm the mode at that point
where, you know, I got --

I had my brother's back.
I'm proud of it.

So I'm looking at these people
run and throw chairs and you

got people rocking chairs and,
I mean, it just --

stuff coming and people got
these water bottles and

running up to us and just
lining us up.

Would you be the person that
go to my home

and tell my wife and my kids
that their dad

is dead from one of these
chairs that you see

on these camera angles?

When they -- we got whole iron
chairs flying

and people throwing them at us.

[commentator] This is one of
the worst scenes

I've ever seen.

This is a low moment in NBA
history.

When I knew it was really bad
was when

we got in the locker room
and Coach Brown...

You know, coaches always
address the team after,

and Larry was crying.

He was crying. I looked at
him, he was crying.

And when he finally calmed and
came to,

he said that we gave the game
a black eye,

um, tonight and we will always
be remembered for that.

I'm sitting there looking at
my socks.

Just blood everywhere, my
legs are all scratched up.

And he -- and he's leaning
back in the locker room

and he was like, "Jack...

[sighs]

You think we gonna get in
trouble?"

I asked Stephen that because I
just wanted to [laughs]

confirm that we are in some
... trouble.

In my mind, I had a lot going
on,

and I remember asking this
to room,

"Do you think we're gonna be
suspended?"

Because I already been
suspended so

many times already.

I say...

"Trouble? You lucky if we have
a job."

And Jamal ... and everybody
bust out laughing 'cause

they couldn't believe that he
would ask this question.

"Bro, we just beat up fans. We
just went in the stands.

This has never been done
before, okay?

We brought the hood to
Auburn Hills, okay?

This has never been done
before.

You might've played your last
basketball game, Ron.

Me -- [laughs] Me too.

We might be, uh, going
overseas together, brother,

okay?

Uh, just letting you know. I
--

Now you know I'm your
friend, okay?"

He definitely said, "We might
not have a job again."

He definitely said that.

No, that was the dumbest
question ever.

I don't know what he was
thinking asking

that question, but that lets
you know

he wasn't in his right mind at
the time.

And I just went directly to him.

You know, I tried to fight him.

They really didn't make it to
each other,

but he got up upset.

And it spiraled to J.O.

really did -- he was so mad at
Ron that

he turned to the coaches

and said, "When we're fighting
or get into a -- a argument

or a type of scuffle, do not
grab us."

He's talking to the coaches.

So at that time,

the players and coaches
charging each other.

And a c-- a couple of us jump
in.

We're like, "No! No! No,
no! We're here together!"

So it got bad. It got bad

and that comment sparked a lot
of stuff in the locker room.

It sparked a lot.

[commentator]: And another
incident for Ron Artest.

So unfortunate, and again,

the fan... Hopefully, security
is able to get the fan

and he'll receive proper
punishment.

I always liked Ron

because here was a guy who had
realized the ultimate dream,

to make something of his life
using basketball.

And then...

...He threw it all away.

And for what purpose?

For a quick moment before I
went to bed,

I had a moment. [laughs]

I was a little upset.

I might've cried a little bit.

But when I woke up, I'm like,
"Yo,

this is not my fault, man.

This guy was an asshole.

And what did you want me to do?"

The fan made a $50 bet

that he couldn't hit me.

So when John threw the cup,

um, he had to pay the fan that
raised his hand $50.

So everybody's feeling sorry
for this stupid-ass fan.

His ass made the $50 bet.

[John] That night, when I got
home,

I was with a few of my buddies,
and I could see my wife

sitting on the porch smoking a
cigarette.

And I'm like, "Oh, this is not
good,"

'cause she doesn't smoke.
[laughs]

And, uh, all she could say
was,

"Did you guys have fun
tonight?"

And, uh, I said, "Yeah, it was
a good time." She goes,

"You and you and you need to
get the ... out of here

and you need to come inside
and watch."

She goes, "They're looking
for you."

And sure enough, they're
showing my face

with a halo over it saying,
"We're looking for this guy."

[David] John Green will face two
counts of assault and battery.

One involving a cup that
struck Ron Artest

in the chest and face area.

The second is also an assault
on Ron Artest

from behind when he struck
him.

John Green, uh, we will depict

what, in my mind,
single-handedly

incited this whole interaction
between the fans and players,

and probably is the one
that's, um,

most culpable.

[John] I mean, I threw a cup
up in the air, you know?

I -- I...

They charged me with assault
from throwing a cup

up in the air, you know?

Then they charged me with
assault

for punching Ron Artest,

which I didn't even
understand, because he

came up into the stands and
grabbing some kid

and I'm trying to defend this
kid, so...

They -- They found me not
guilty for throwing the cup

and they found me guilty for
punching Ron Artest, so...

Then I was given, uh, 30 days
in work release.

Ron Artest will face one count

of assault for mistakenly
striking

and pushing and shoving the
fan by the name of Mike Ryan.

[Donnie] I felt when he went
into the stands,

that's automatic.

So I knew there was gonna be
suspensions.

Somebody hit him in the face
with a, uh, drink

and anywhere in the world,

you'd know, I throw a drink in
this guy's face,

he's coming after me.

And he went after him

and that's what happened. It --

You know, he violated one of
the biggest principles

of the game by going into
the stands.

[Ron] It's not about the
stands.

It was about somebody had a
issue.

Somebody ... hit you.

His -- Whether it was at
Starbucks [laughs]

or whether he was at, uh, IBM
in the office

and then [laughs]

the mailroom guy [laughs]

throws a water in your face,

the CEO of IBM's gonna kick
his ass.

[Mike] I'm always tempted to
compare him to Tyson.

For Ron, like Tyson, there's
always this

tacit expectation, "When's the
guy gonna blow?

When's he gonna come undone?

When's he gonna go nuts?"

And that night,

in Detroit, you saw it.

[Ron] That had nothing to do
with any

anger management issues.

In my neighborhood, you wasn't
--

you're not allowed to get
bullied. Or if you been

bullied, you're never gonna
let it happen again.

Your first reaction is, "See?

I knew that guy was gonna go
crazy."

And for years and years,

this is not just what the
league feared

or the sport feared or all
American sports feared.

This is what middle America
feared.

And, you know, the hammer had
to come down.

I announce the, uh, following
suspensions, uh, resulting

from the actions at the
Indiana Pacers

and the Detroit Pistons game
on November 19th.

Uh, Indiana's Ron Artest has
been suspended

for the remainder of the season.

Indiana's Stephen Jackson has
been suspended for 30 games.

Indiana's Jermaine O'Neil has
been suspended for 25 games.

I got the word on TV

that I was suspended
indefinitely.

And then,

I'm like, "Okay, I might
never, ever

be in the NBA again."

Whatever assistance he has
received to this point

did not keep him from doing
something that was

unforgivable on Friday night.

It was hard, it was hard,
'cause I lost my LA Gear deal.

I had my own sneaker. Carl's
Jr. commercial's coming.

Um, a ESPN and TNT commercial,
you know?

Um, the face --

Well, one of the faces of my
team at that time.

And one of the faces of the
league at that time.

Players cannot lose control
and go into the stands.

And, as a corollary, have to
hold fans accountable

for their anti-social behavior
as well.

[man] What was your personal
reaction when you saw,

for the first time, what had
happened Friday night?

Um, I would say shock, uh, and
revulsion.

And fear.

[Lamar] I was upset.

I just didn't want him to
always be remembered

for that incident. I mean, he
gave so much to the game,

he worked so hard just to make
it to the NBA,

as all of us have.

I just didn't want him to --
to remember that,

and I didn't think he
deserved that.

[Ron] And after that happened,
I said, "You know what?

I'm gonna retire."

So I started to promote my
R&B album.

I had a great album at that
time, too.

I produced a record, it was
called Chapter III .

All R&B, Allure.

And I remember, when I had the
brawl on November 19th,

the album came out on
the 23rd.

That's not the image that
David Stern

wants to put forth. He don't
wanna put forth

a negative image,

and I've been working real
hard on doing a lot of

positive things.

And, uh, you know, got this
album coming out.

It's positive, it's about
love, you know?

It's not rap, it's not hardcore.

But everything's positive and,
uh, look at this.

-Ron, we -- we appreciate --
-Y'all have a good morning.

That album had to take a
backseat.

We shelved it.

Well, he wasn't around. You
know?

I got suspended 30 games, I
came back.

I ended up coming back
and playing.

We ended up
going to the play-offs.

Ron wasn't around, so...

Nobody had seen him, nobody
heard from him, you know?

Nobody -- nothing, so he kind
of just, like, faded to black.

Well, I'm sure it killed
Ronnie,

'cause Ronnie needed basketball.

He really did.

We would've won the
championship, everybody

knows that.

Reggie would have a
championship right now.

That's one thing I regret and
I know he regrets too.

But, uh...

that's just the way it went
down.

[Jermaine] I never thought
Ron was a bad person.

I never -- I never thought,
even to this day,

I never thought Ron was a
bad --

I thought Ron didn't necessarily
understand everything,

because he was still trying to
understand himself,

so how do you expect for him
to understand

other people's feelings
and he's still reaching and

trying to grab help from other
people?

And that's the part where I
wish

I would've understood better
as a teammate

instead of being angry as a
teammate.

Ron kind of separated himself
from everybody

because he felt like everybody
was mad at him.

You know, he felt like
everybody turned --

turned their back on him.

When he was eligible to play
his first game,

it was a summer league game

and I actually flew to the
game to cover it

and to watch him. And you
could tell

that he was just different.

He really looked like he had
put through the ringer.

He almost had, like, this
glazed look about him

where maybe he was feeling the
pressure of "Yeah, I'm g--

I'm being given another
chance,

I gotta try to make the most
of it."

I mean, nothing changed that
particular year.

Um, you know, Ron was on the
cover

of Sports Illustrated with
Larry.

[Stephen] With all that he's
been through, with all

that he's done, they stood
behind him.

You know, we stood behind him.

And, uh, we felt we had a
chance

to right our wrongs.

[Jermaine] It's about Ron
right now, though.

It's about Ron. Ron Artest
being back.

Ron Artest's back! All-star.

You are back. A lot of
people wondered

how long it would take you to
get back in your playing form.

How comfortable are you?

I'm real comfortable. You
know, the team is doing well.

You know, we -- we ready to
win and that's it.

That's what we come here
to do

and, uh, that's about it.

We were practicing and, uh,

all of a sudden, I -- I...

Ronnie comes out and says he
wants to be traded.

If you want the truth, I
looked at the pages like

"I told you. I told you."

And...

It put an incredible divide
between me and the Pacers.

I say, "Ronnie, did you just
say you wanted to be traded?"

"Nah, nah, nah, I don't want
to be traded."

And he again said it.

The reason I wanted out of
Indiana was because, um...

I didn't really want out, I
just couldn't deal

with the pressure.

So I couldn't just

go professionally to
Donnie Walsh

and to my agent and say, "Hey,
I don't want to be in Indiana

because it's too much
pressure."

I did it through the media.

I made excuses.

"This is really not a, um, a
comfortable spot for me.

You know, is there any way you
could help me

get traded?"

I'm really, um...

...playing basketball and
protecting myself from media,

and I'm protecting my, uh,
mental, uh -- [laughs]

uh, stability. Um...

My guard is up.

You know, so it's so much --
so many things that was coming

with putting that Indiana
Jersey on.

His action that night put this
whole franchise in jeopardy

for a whole year,

and it was gonna take a lot of
work to get it back up again.

And I thought, "And here, this
guy is saying

'I want to leave?'

Okay, you can leave and we'll
do it without you."

[Jermaine] I thought it was
kind of... [sighs]

It was cheap by him, you know,
breaking out on us.

It -- It pissed a lot of
people off.

It pissed a lot of
people off.

[Donnie] It was very hard to
trade him because

it had gone out, like, "This
guy's crazy."

And I remember thinking to
myself that

somewhere along the line,
there'll be a guy that will say

"That guy was the hardest
playing guy

I ever saw in my life."

Out of nowhere, I got a call
that, uh,

it was Sacramento would want
to do a trade for him,

so we traded him.

[Ron] When I came back,

it wasn't as bad as I
thought it was.

It was a lot of barbershop
talk.

[commentator] It's an
offensive foul.

Artest is down on the drive by
Ginóbili.

Well, Ginóbili elbowed me in
the mouth.

I had a big,

swollen lip

and had to get stitches.

Ginóbili deserved to be
smacked in the back

of the head.

But I didn't. I just gave him
an elbow to the chest,

said "You asshole." [laughs]

So that was, like, a situation
where that's --

People be reaching. It was
definitely white or black.

You either like Ron at that
time or you don't.

[man] Obviously, the, uh...

You know, the events of --
of this past Monday, uh,

remain a very, very serious
issue, uh, going forward.

[Ron] First, I wanna, uh,

apologize to my wife,

to my family.

[breathing heavily]

[whispering] Take a minute.

I want to apologize to the
Kings. [sniffling]

To my teammates, the NBA.

Everybody that, you know,
supported me and, uh,

for another incident to come,
uh, to come up

is very unfortunate.

I definitely want to apologize
for my behavior.

You know, Ron Artest, uh, once
again is, you know,

in the media for something
other than basketball.

I definitely apologize, once
again, to the fans

hoping that, you know, Ron
Artest can, you know,

pretty much stay on a
straight path.

And, uh, I want to prove to
them that I can.

I figured out that, uh, I need
help. I figured that out.

And I figured out that in
order to fix some, um,

people call them "demons"
or "mental health issues"

or, um, "depression."

Or, um, the opposite of
depression, "anxiety."

Right? Those were the things I
had.

Yeah, hereditary, um...

Um, biological, and then also,
environmental.

So many things that can
mold anybody.

And I realized that,

so then just addressing all
those different issues.

There's a lot of stigma when
it comes to mental illness,

things like that. Well, it
doesn't mean you can't

have a normal life.

Or a successful life.

Um, definitely, there was some
damage control.

We had to do some of that.

And I remember not wanting to
overnight change.

I wanted to just let it happen
naturally.

You know, um, and then that's
what happened.

You know, you just --

People get over it. It was --
It took a long time for me.

I'm in Boston and I'm just
there because

I want to see the game.

I also wanted to experience, um,

championship.

'Cause I'm like, "Oh, I'm
getting older.

I need to get a ring.

So how is it gonna be when I
get here?"

[commentator] After a 22-year
absence, the Boston Celtics

are NBA champions once again.

Banner number 17, soon to be
raised to the rafters.

[Ron] I felt bad for the Lakers
'cause Lamar's on that team.

So I go in there and I say to
Phil,

"I want to say 'Good job'
to Kobe.

Kobe's in the shower

and I don't feel like waiting
around long."

I was naked in the shower and,
um...

[laughs] I just -- I just hear
my name

and I turn around and
it's -- it's Ron.

He was just like, "Hey,

I'm -- I'm gonna come help you.
I'm gonna come join you.

This is not gonna happen again.
I got you."

Obviously, I would love to
play with Kobe, but, um...

I'd much rather play against
Kobe.

The next season, he went to
the Rockets.

You know, gave us some
headaches.

[commentator] Ron and Kobe
pushing on each other.

Pushing and shoving Ron and
elbowing Kobe.

Kobe, right back at Ron. Ron,
back at Kobe.

I think a lot of players let
him get away with stuff

because he's so strong and,
you know,

tends to scare people a lot.

Um, but every time he hit me
with a elbow,

I threw one right back at him,
twice as hard.

[commentator] Boy, Bryant
threw that arm out

and Artest will not back
down to anybody.

And then he started talking
trash. And I said, "You know..."

I said, "Ron, is this something
you're sure you want to do?"

He said, "Oh, I..." I said,
"Excuse me?

Okay." And then I went and
proceeded to score

whatever next point straight or
whatever and

winded up winning the game.

[commentator] Ron pokes it
away, Kobe tracks it down,

spins left, shoots ... three
at the buzzer, nails it.

He basically let Ron run right
past him

so he could get an open look
at a three...

[whistle]

[commentator] Loose ball for ...

I love Kobe. Yeah, Kobe's my
man.

But at that time, we're super
competitive.

[commentator]: Ron Artest
against Kobe Bryant.

He's gotta be very careful that
he does not get a technical.

He said that, uh, he's gonna go
over here.

He's talking to Kobe.

Wow, here -- here we go.

Uh oh.

I just kept thinking, "Don't
get ejected."

That's all I kept thinking.
"It's play-offs.

Don't get ejected."

[commentator] He went right
over to Bryant.

Artest has, uh, gotten very,
very upset.

I think they have thrown Ron
Artest out of the game.

I don't think that shit
should've surprised anybody.

You know what I'm saying?
You've got two

strong-headed
alpha males.

[man] Yeah, Ron, Kobe, was
quoted as saying

he's "not sure you're -- Lakers
are a better team with you."

Do you feel you have to win
him over?

Uh, I gotta win myself over
first.

I gotta -- I gotta make sure
I, um...

I'm doing everything.

It's not a given. The Lakers --
He's right.

There's not a given that just
'cause you --

you add me to a team, you
know, it was just gonna be,

you know, the number one
team.

We gotta put that work in.

I was in a position where the
Houston Rockets

didn't bring me back.

The Lakers was the only team
that offered a contract,

so what am I gonna do?

[Lamar] I didn't think they knew
what to think.

Not too many people...

...had the competitive skill or
the heart enough

to stand, um, stand up against
Kobe like that.

[Kobe] The first time I saw him
when he joined our team,

I told him, I said, "Listen,

you're coming here to replace
a player that was like a

brother to me and still is to
this day.

Like, Trevor came here and
played lights-out for us.

He didn't miss a three in the
play-offs,

and he was tenacious on defense.

And showed up to work every
single day,

came to practice early, stayed
at practice late.

And this is who you're coming
in here to replace.

So I better not get any bullshit
from you."

And it was really that direct
and him understanding this is

not a place to come in and
goof around or

to act out or anything like
that.

I'm expecting you to be
extremely sharp

and be extremely crisp and
I won't have it another way.

[Mark] I think they provide a
very interesting symbiosis.

However tough Kobe wants to be
seen, he's a middle-class kid

who's fluent in Italian, who's
seen the world,

who has a sense of -- of -- of
culture.

And you have Ron...

...from the projects...

...who's scary.

And that season, they found
something together.

I knew practice was gonna be
intense because

if he's anything how I am, I'm
intense in practice.

I build up hate for whoever's
on the other side.

Um, so -- But Kobe was always
--

we was always on the same
team,

so [laughs] I had to somehow
take the hate

that I went into practice with
for Kobe

and turn it into... You know,
and turn it into love.

[Kobe] Like, on defense, we
knew we can get after guys

and just scare the living shit
out of them.

We knew that.

We'd said, "Okay, we're gonna
go get this player.

Let's just make his night a
complete living hell.

Let's just harass him, let's
beat him up,

let's intimidate him."
And we --

we'd have fun doing that.

[commentator] Bryant shoots...

...and comes up short. Artest...

[cheering]

[commentator] Ron Artest!

[Lamar] That was like a dream
come true.

I knew we were gonna win -- I
knew I was gonna win

a championship ring with
somebody that I grew up with.

So I was kind of looking
forward to that.

[Kobe] On the finals, he had
a thing with Paul going back

to his days in Indiana.

Right? I -- I think that's
kind of where it started.

Game one, right during the
tip-off,

they get tangled up like this,
like fighting for position

and the ball go up. They
fighting for position

and they throw each other
down. Shit like that.

They always went at it.

[commentator] Pierce and
Artest already grappling.

It took 27 seconds for these
two to go at it a bit.

He would cheap-shot Paul all
the time and

be extremely physical with
Paul.

Um, but to Paul's credit,
Paul didn't back down.

[commentator] I don't
know if they deserve

the technicals, but that's a
heck of a takedown by Artest.

And I was in a zone that
play-off series.

♪intense music

[cheering]

I wasn't getting a lot of
shots, but I was in a zone.

And I wanted to stay there.

[whistle]

[cheering]

That was the only thing I was
trying to do was

protect the zone that I was in.

[Kobe] I think, for him, it was

the mental aspect of the game.

He used to let a lot of things
affect him.

Previous plays, uh,

bad shot turnover, he would
carry it with him

to the next play.

And what he saw from me is how
I wouldn't do that.

I'd stay in the moment.

[Ron] I was only different
psychologically

when I was a Laker because
I had more help.

So all the work that Donnie
Walsh did,

and all the work that my
counselors did,

it led me up to the Lakers.

[Donnie] Well, I hope that we
had something to do with that.

That was a -- a tough price to
pay for it.

Without your mental health, I
mean, you can't do shit.

You can't be yourself.

You can only be a shell of
yourself.

And I think Ron realized that
and he realized to

get where he needed to go
in life, he had to be right.

[Ron] It happened over time
for me. I was determined.

After I got over the anger
management

counseling sessions, it became
sports psychology because

I never had a chance to just
focus on the game.

You know? So when I was able
to get past everything else,

then it was like,

"How am I focused in the
fourth quarter?"

It became fun.

[Lamar] It's game seven in LA.

Paul Pierce is from LA.

There's no way we can let him
walk out there

with that trophy.

The night before, I called Dr.
Santhi and said,

"I need you to come tomorrow."
[laughs]

And she hopped on the flight,
came from Houston.

We had a session after the
shoot-around.

Well, we just talked about,
um, I hated Paul Pierce.

[laughs]

That's really what that was
about. I'm not gonna lie.

I hated Paul Pierce.

Not because I hated him
as a person.

On the court, like I said, I
have to build up hate.

But that hate, it -- it got in
the way.

I did not want it getting in --
in the way.

[Lamar] And it was -- it was
just real intense.

It was tooth and nail.

We couldn't rely on Kobe just
to get it done.

[commentator] Bryant nearly
falls, gets back up,

... puts it up, and it grazes
the rim.

Artest with the rebound!

[Ron] I just wanted to be
focused on the game.

That's all I wanted.

And one of the things that we
practiced was breathing.

Don't matter if you're
fighting for post position,

don't matter if it's shooting
a free throw,

don't matter if you're locking
somebody up or dunking,

the breath was always the
same.

[indistinct shouting]

-No more threes!
-Hey!

Kobe switched up, and then
when -- when ... came down,

you didn't switch!

Come on, now! This shit ain't
over!

Let's end it! We gotta end
it!

And I'm just taking the same
breaths. Throughout the game,

no matter how fast the game is
going.

It was a technique that we
practiced,

and it took me a while to
master, you know.

And I was able to do that
throughout the play-offs.

[commentator] Coming up on a
minute remaining.

I've had teammates in the past
that were scared

to shoot that ball.

And, uh... You know, when I
kicked it to him

and he loaded up to shoot
the ball...

[Ron] Paul, he took one step
back, I came back.

I was just kind of like, "Go
in, go in, go in, go in."

It wasn't so much like "Don't
shoot it."

It was more like "Just go in."

[commentator] Bryant looking.

Artest, that's a three.

[cheering]

Lakers by six...

[Lamar] I was right there.

I was ready for him to swing it
one more time, 'cause I was

ready to shoot that bitch.

And he got it, and he lined up
like he always does,

straight up, and he made it.

[commentator] The Lakers
repeat back-to-back titles!

The LA Lakers, the 2010 NBA
champions!

First, I want to thank
everybody in my hood.

[N.O.R.E.] When I seen him
do that -- [laughs]

I just...

...I just looked and I just
looked at all

my Queensbridge buddies,

And I just remember just

looking at my guys,
you know.

Being honored, like, how do
you -- how do you do that?

How do you win, like, one of
the biggest honors

and you shout-out

one of the craziest projects
in the world.

Notorious. People definitely
don't want to go there.

And you stand there and you
shout them out.

I definitely want to thank my
doctor, Dr. Santhi,

my, um, my psychiatrist.

I started laughing. [laughs]

Only Ronnie would get up and
thank his psychiatrist

for winning the championship.

She really helped me
relax a lot.

Thank you so much.

[Mark] To me, it was his
three-pointers

that saved the game,

beat the Boston Celtics in the
seventh game at Staples.

Saved Kobe's reputation. At
least, in part.

And what does he do? The guy
thanks his shrink.

If that's not an evolved man,
I don't know what is.

[Ron] So difficult to play...

And so much commotion going on
in the play-offs,

and she helped me relax.

I thank you so much.

-Ron, you were able to hit --
-I knocked down that three

just like you told me.

Who gets to have his worst part
seen

on national TV

and rescue himself

by copping to it?

"Okay, I'm a little crazy.

I -- I -- I don't use the term
casually.

But okay, you got -- I'm --

I gotta take my meds. I'm
gonna thank my shrink."

How many people are big enough
to say that?

[cheering and shouting]

One of the best defenders of
all time.

You saw it this series.

One of the best ever!

Ever!

[Ron] I got Wheaties!

I got a Wheaties box! Get my
Wheaties box.

I got Wheaties!

-You don't seem excited!
-[laughter]

I'm leaving!

Y'all don't seem excited. I'm
all excited.

I feel like a -- I feel like
the oddball.

I never saw Ron that happy or
that -- that excited.

Hey, people over there on your
laptops!

[laughter]

Hey!

Hey, all the way over
there on your laptop!

-Acknowledge me, please!
-[laughter]

Hey!

It was he was like -- Like --

like in a manic state, so to
speak.

This is Diamond, my daughter,
and my wife.

This my son, Jeron.

This is my sister, Angelica.

She got to meet Kobe, she's so
happy.

This is my mom.

This is my big daughter.

-Where's Ron-Ron?
-Ron-Ron's with Kobe.

Ron-Ron's with Kobe?

My other son's with Kobe instead
of me, huh?

All right, whatever.
This is my dad.

You see his muscles?

I think the championship
validated me because...

...the career that I was
supposed to have, I had.

I hit a big-ass shot.

He passed me the ball. He
never passes me the ball.

And he passed me the ball.

Kobe passed me the ball. And I
shot a three.

If ... shoot the three, I
heard him.

And he's the zen master, so he
can speak to you without...

[laughter] You know?

He can speak to you, and he
don't need a microphone,

he just -- You can hear him in
your head.

"Ron, don't shoot, don't shoot."

[laughter]

I said, "Whatever. Bong!"

Whoo! Yes!

[Stephen] Everything he does
is -- is sincere.

As misunderstood as he is,

I think he felt it meant more
to him,

and it would mean more
coming from him

to these people if I'm thanking
you at my highest point.

I'm winning the championship,
I got a ring.

I got all eyes on me.

When I was younger, I bailed
out on my Indiana team.

I was so young, so egotistical,

and I bailed out on Donnie, um,

Larry, Jermaine...

I wanted to let them know,
like, you know, on --

national TV, like, you know,
"Thank you.

Um, and I appreciate you guys
and always wish

I could've won with you guys,

and thank you guys." 'Cause
they was always there for me.

I think, at that time, in
2010, um,

it was still very raw.

You know, we were still, you
know, still on the --

on the probation.

You know, um, we were still
the team with a lot of

remnants of -- of -- of that
situation.

And then to see him do
everything he did

leading up into the brawl

and then basically have our
team dismantled

because of that, to go to
another team and win it...

That's a hard pill to --
That's a hard pill to swallow.

And I feel some -- sometimes
like a coward, you know,

when I see those guys, 'cause
it's like man,

now I'm on the Lakers, we got
a chance to win.

I had a chance to win with
you guys, you know?

And I feel, you know, almost
like a coward.

God says, "Forgive -- Forgive
everybody."

But at the time, I had never
even had

a conversation with Ron.

I was not happy for him when
he won the championship.

The next person I'm about --
I'm about to bring out,

I've known since I was 12
years old.

-Um --
-[cheering]

Uh, we come from the same
family tree in New York City

of basketball, and, uh, I just
want to let him know

that his family's proud of him.

The one and only, Ron Artest.

[cheering]

I really don't care about the
ring. I just wanted to win.

I hate losing.

The -- the ring's not
important.

I don't even wear jewelry.

So, um, so what else can you
do with the ring?

So I had interest in helping
people, you know, who --

or trying to bring awareness to,
you know, mental health

and everything like that.

And I was like, "Wow, you know
maybe the ring"

and then it was that simple.
I was like, "Yeah, it's perfect"

You know, uh, that's something
that can, um, help others.

Something materialistic, you
know.

We raffled it. The strategy
was to raise

enough money to give back to

some mental health
institutions.

P. Diddy said he would pay
$220,000 for it -- [laughs]

which is pretty cool. I said,
"That's not gonna be enough."

And I raised $670,000 in three
months.

And the person who won the
raffle, his mom

had mental health issues.

It's Ron being Ron, you know?

He -- he's gonna say or do a
lot of things that most people

would look at and be like,
"What?"

But he's doing it from his
heart.

Yes, how's everybody doing
today? Yes.

I went through, um, parenting
counseling,

I went through anger
management counseling,

I went through marriage
counseling, and I was like,

"It was so expensive, but it
helped me."

So I'm like, "How can a kid in
East LA,

in Queensbridge projects,

in Detroit, you know, in
Little Rock, Arkansas,

how can they get the same
help, you know,

that I've -- that I've gotten?

You know, without paying so
much."

You should never be surprised
with Ron Artest's --

what Ron Artest does.

You know, most of the things
that he does is --

is selfless.

Let's not lose sight of the
completely unpredictable

beauty in the arc of his story.

He starts off in Queensbridge

with his father beating him up
to toughen him.

We know that he's impaired,
and he ends up

winning the title, thanking
his shrink.

How great is that?

And when you think of mental
health, you know,

I don't think you have to
be, um,

you know afraid. It doesn't
mean you're crazy.

That just means that, you
know, um, you have

some issues in your life and
you're a young teenager

or a young kid,

you know, that does not know
how, you know, to handle it.

And...

This is gonna be a way where,
I think, you know,

you'll be able to talk to
somebody about your problems.

I reached out to some Twitter
followers saying,

"Anybody that can find me this
man, I'll take you to lunch."

I didn't say his name because

I didn't want people to think
I'm looking for John Green

for a fight.

It was in the summertime.

We were actually getting ready
to go out jetskiing.

This fan said, "I found a
number, you owe me lunch."

I called the number, his wife
answered.

I told her who I was, she was
like, "Get the F out of here.

Stop playing a prank."

She was like, "Excuse me? This
is who? What?

I'm -- I'm, like, looking at her
going, "Who is it?"

And, uh,

she looks at me with her
eyes and her kind of mouth

wide open and she's kind of
handing me the phone

and she goes, "It's Ron."

I said, "Ron? Ron who?" And
she goes,

"It's Ron Artest."

So I grabbed the phone, I
said, "Hello?"

So I hear this voice on the
other end of the phone,

real soft-spoken.

He says, "Hey, John?" And I
said, "Yeah."

And he goes, "Hey, this is Ron."

John answers the phone.

"Hey, Ron. What's up?" Like he
knew I was calling.

This guy's crazy.

I was amazed that this guy
actually went to the trouble

to pick up that, you know,
400 lb phone

and make a phone call to me.

I mean, I -- I thought about it
for a long time,

and I was like, "Man, that's
really amazing."

I reached out to John Green
because...

Just to, like, get rid of, um,
animosity and stuff.

I just don't like to hold
grudges too long.

Some things don't make it
right,

some things you take back.

John was a alcoholic and he
had taken AA meetings.

He was going through things
with his family.

And who knows what the kid who
actually made the bet

was going through.
[laughs]

So us three, we're pretty
stupid-ass people.

[John] We were able to talk
a lot about the -- the --

that night.

He shared with me that he's
gone through some

mental illness and, uh, he's
been seeing a counselor and

I've been through a lot of the
same situations myself,

you know, with, uh, I'm a
recovering alcoholic.

I remember turning on the TV
maybe four, five years ago

and I saw him and the
guy, um...

basically are friends now.

And that touched me the
wrong way.

Because that impacted a lot of
people.

That was very personal to me.

I watched -- I -- it's hard to
watch a city

be stripped down like that.

Out of all the times that I
tried to reach out to Ron,

I tried to be a good teammate
to him,

and then you go and you reach
out to this guy.

Literally reached out and
found -- found the guy.

But never spoke to me.

So that was -- that was a
problem.

[Ron] And Jermaine always,
always was there for me.

Always -- always was there
for me.

More than anyone.

[Jermaine] He got my number.

He's reached out to me
multiple times talking

about his regrets towards
me and the Pacers and --

And I knew it was really --

he's really thinking about
this.

And our friendship is now
just starting.

[Ron] It's years and years
and years of psychology

and then, um...

...and that's it.
"Content" is a great word.

I love content. Content is very
important.

A lot of people's not content.

Metta is receiving the mental
health heroes award

because of his courage and
willingness to come forward

and talk about mental health.

This is not common, as you
know,

amongst professional athletes.

But Metta is setting the tone
and bringing attention

to mental health disorders

and the importance of seeking
help.

So ladies and gentlemen,
please welcome

Metta to the podium.

[cheers and applause]

[Ron] I was affected by
mental health.

Uh, my dad had functioned
on medication.

My auntie has been in
institutions

since she was --
since I was 10

and I'm 38 now. And, um,

and one of her sons has been
locked away in institutions.

My little sister is, um, uh,

been in and out of institutions
since she was 13.

She's about 23, 24 now.

And she's trying to get off
medication and

trying to make a life for
herself. And so...

I'm like, "The way I played
defense

is the way I attack this."

It was the last day of my game
with the Lakers.

I was post-traumatic syndrome.

I was going through a little
bit.

I'm like, "Oh, my goodness.
What am I --

what am I gonna do? I have
nothing to do this morning.

I'm not preparing for
a next season next year."

And that was kind of haunting.

I got myself together

and I called, uh, UCLA.

I said, "I want to go back to
school."

And I went to UCLA and took
digital analytics.

Then I signed up for a coding
class,

with technology being very
important.

So I got a digital marketing
team

and my digital marketing team,

I mean, we can do anything,
you know?

Books... [laughs]

...sneakers -- [laughs] We
can market anything.

Can I have a hug before you
go?

You all right? You good?
Give me a hug.

I'm happy with my kids. My
kids are doing well.

They're smart, and I'm so
proud of my children.

Happy with where -- where I'm
at.

I got a pretty simple
lifestyle. [laugh]

It's not too complicated.

Don't worry about fucking up.

Get your basketball body going.

If you've got two people in
front of you,

if you've got a little bit of
space, attack that shit.

Great thing to my mind about
Ron Artest,

the everlasting
accomplishment

is that you see athletes all
the time

come back from drugs, come
back from orthopedic ruin,

come back from jail time.

Who comes back from what we
dismiss as crazy?

You know how much balls it
takes to come back from crazy?

[Ron] People evolve, man.
That's -- that's it.

People evolve.

It took a long time to get
there...

...to be great. [laughs]

I never thought I would be
able to laugh about it.

And it wasn't a consistently
great career, stats-wise,

but it was definitely a great
moment,

and that's gonna go down
in history. It's recorded.

Interterrestrial aliens don't
really give a shit. [laughs]

But we down here on Earth give
a shit.

Hell of a moment.

Unless, somehow, all the
electricity goes out

in the world,

that moment's gonna be
replayed a long time.

♪It's the Q to the B
with the M-O-B-B♪

♪Queensbridge Brooklyn
and we D-double-E-P♪

♪Y'all wish I lived the
life I live♪

♪Ayo Prodigy, tell 'em what
this is Dunn♪

Somebody asked him one day,

"Who's the illest player you
ever played against?"

He said, "Mike Chatfield."

Yo, listen to me.

I was in DFY with Mike
Chatfield.

I could ne-- Listen.

I could never steal the ball
from him.

Like, I was good at, like,
getting the ball.

He would just be like this --

So when he said that, I was
like, "Ahh!"

He said Mike Chatfield!

He could've said he played
against Michael Jordan

was the hardest person he
played against.

He could've said Kobe! He
could've said LeBron!

He said Mike fucking
Chatfield, yo!

That's amazing! I was in jail
with him!

...I'm so sorry.

I went too far.
I went too far.

Okay, let's get back to the
question.

What was it? You didn't
even ask that question.

I'm so-- I'm so sorry I went
there.

[commentator] He's not the
perfect player,

he's not the perfect person,
but anybody who knows him well

swear by his loyalty and
what a big heart he has.

♪Yo, Sevada
d-d-drop that beat♪

♪minimal synth
beats♪

♪♪♪

♪ Artest, back to
three♪

♪ Artest, back to
three-three♪

♪ Artest, back to
three♪

♪ Artest, back to
three♪

♪ Artest, back to
three♪

♪ Artest, back-
back to three♪

♪ Artest, back to
three♪

♪ Back to three
back to three♪

♪ Artest, back to
three♪

♪ Artest, back to
three-three♪

♪ Artest, back to
three♪

♪ Artest, back to
three♪

♪minimal synth
beats♪

♪♪♪

♪♪♪