What? You were expecting someone else?
Naturally, the first athlete to publicly acknowledge L’affaire Josh was Ron Artest, a man who has never been afraid to tackle race relations head on.
The Sacramento Bee emailed Artest about the controversy, and below is his measured response.
“I think josh howards comment is a reflection on education. I think the schools need to teach deeper in the history classes and make the students aware of racism but also teach them that all people are not bad.
“I can relate to not feeling wanted by my own country at times but as I dug deeper I realized that America is divided and we need leaders to bring America closer together. An example where I felt unwanted by my country was when I didn’t get a chance to tryout for my national team. I believed it was because my history. I hope he overcomes this. Family 1st”
I’m not sure what Ron means with the “Family 1st” thing, but his response is interesting nonetheless. Always warms my heart when Mr. Artest proves to be the voice of reason in what is quickly turning into a predictably ugly debate.
