Ron Artest Plans To Raffle Championship Ring, Raise Money For Mental Health
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It appears Ron Artest is serious about helping others seek psychological help and is even willing to raffle off his 2010 championship ring to raise money for the cause.
From NBA.com:
Ron Artest of the Los Angeles Lakers is motivated to win another NBA championship because he plans to auction his ring from last season's title to raise money for mental health counseling in schools...
"When I grew up, mental health was something that wasn't talked about. People were scared to say they were seeing a psychologist and stuff like that. Even before the championship I was telling people I was seeing a psychiatrist. When we won the championship, it was on a much more larger scale -- 'Wow, he really said that.' "...
He said some celebrities and investors have offered him between $50,000 and $100,000 for the ring. But he wants to have a raffle auction so fans everywhere will have a chance to end up with it, with tickets likely going for between $1 and $3.
"The fans are going to totally smash that number," Artest said. "We're going to help as much as that ring can do. I don't know how long it will last, but I know it can help."
When Artest paired with Rep. Grace Napolitano earlier this month to raise support for the Mental Health in Schools Act, an effort to provide communities and schools with funding for mental health programs, everyone considered it a punchline -- so much so that a source with knowledge of the situation told me Artest was considering backing out of his public appearances with Napolitano.
Ron Artest a spokesman for mental health? What? Dennis Rodman wasn't available? That was the general response.
But now this has developed into something bigger: a cause that transcends basketball.
Artest's willingness to give up the championship ring he worked so hard to get is proof that raising awareness about mental health isn't one of his flash-in-the-pan fancies (like, say, Afghan Women). It's something he's going to stand by.
Raffling off a championship ring a year after its been won is, admittedly, really strange. Then again, when has Ron-Ron ever done something the traditional way?
Tom Cruise may not approve, but I think it's encouraging to see Artest using his celebrity to help the public good.
To reach editor Patrick Crawley, click here.
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