(Image source: Vibe)
BY AUSTIN FAX
Another NBA superstar found himself in court Friday morning—but not for reasons you might suspect. As Los Angeles’ KTTV reports-- this hearing was all about keeping the ‘peace.’
“Lakers power forward Ron Artest is going to court this morning to make it official, to change his name to Metta World Peace to spur awareness of world peace and mental health issues. The issues are near and dear to him.”
But there was a roadblock-- USA Today’s Bruce Weir reports a Los Angeles County commissioner decided Ron Ron needed to pump the breaks—after failing to pay outstanding traffic warrants.
ESPN-LA’s Brian Kamenetzky says it wouldn’t matter if Artest was Superman in a Lakers jersey, rules are rules.
“Because whether renewing a drivers license or reinventing yourself to the world, nothing gets done until the state collects its bills. No ruling on whether he has to change back his already-converted Twitter handle.”
But hold the phone. The Los Angeles Times asks, “Traffic warrants? What traffic warrants?”
“The Lakers forward wants copies of the citations and will pay them if ‘it’s found to be unpaid,’ according to a person close to Artest who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly on the matter. Artest was issued two tickets for ‘moving violations,’ {according to a person close to Artest} but wasn’t informed how much they cost and what incidents earned him those citations.”
The judge set a new hearing for Artest on September 16. Until then, Artest will have to wait to unveil his new jersey he shared with George Lopez earlier in the week.
METTA WORLD PEACE: “You know what, I’ve got something for you. This is next year’s jersey.”
GEORGE LOPEZ, LOPEZ TONIGHT: “Nobody’s got that. That’s Ron’s jersey.” (TBS)
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