Open Letter to Ron Artest

An open letter to Mr. Ron Artest:

Please stick to playing basketball, and leave cultural commentary to others. Please refrain from defining your antics, tirades, and tantrums as just “representing your (Black) culture” to the fullest. Stick to slam dunking and turnaround jumpers. Please, for the love of man, stick to simply entertaining. For the record, I am a huge fan of your game. I appreciate all of its aspects, and actually have been wanting you as a member of my favorite team (THE Los Angeles Lakers), antics aside, for many years. I’m even down with your desire to pursue a music career, wild and ridiculous hairstyles, and super-inflated sense of self…just so long as it doesn’t interfere with your actual productivity on the court. I know that is an essential part of becoming one of the best/finest at what you do, so I dig that. What I cannot co-sign with, is your claim that Yao Ming’s concerns over team chemistry (after your recent acquisition) are simply a result of him never having a Black teammate that has “really represented his culture” as much as you do. You go on to state that you are “still ghetto”, and that you will never change. You even go as far as to claim your role in the Detroit Palace brawl (2004) was simply a “culture issue”. As though, the decision to go into the stands and randomly assault the wrong fan (inciting one of the most disgusting sports brawls in history) was somehow the ’Black’ thing to do. That is a blatant disregard/disrespect towards our history and culture. It reminds me of that scene ‘When Keepin’ it Real Goes Wrong’, from Chappelle’s Show (Comedy Central). Maybe you didn’t see that one Ron-Ron, but just in case: In that instance (the brawl), Keepin’ it Real went VERY wrong for you.

Let me help you out Ron-Ron. When A. Philip Randolph organized the Brotherhood of the Sleeping Car Porter’s Union, that was a cultural issue. When Martin Luther King led the Montgomery Bus Boycott, that was a cultural issue. When Malcolm X founded the Organization of Afro-American Unity, that was a cultural issue. When Huey Newton and Bobby Seale founded the Black Panther Party for Self Defense, THAT was a cultural issue. You play basketball. You shoot a round leather ball into a hoop. What you are doing, whether on/off the court or in the stands, is not a cultural issue. If you are going to continue to make comments about Black Culture and what it is to “represent“, then please keep that fact in mind. Your charitable works and community service should be your definition of ‘representing’. If you really want to be considered a ‘Tru-Warrior’, then find redemption through ‘true’ deeds. Not holding onto a false sense of self….a flawed and completely backwards mentality of ‘Ghetto=Black’.