A rap video by our newest Los Angeles Laker, Ron Artest.
He doesn't actually tell us what the problem is, but the images he shows are so raw they leave little room for doubt.
You have to admire Ron Artest for his bravery in dealing with this issue. The NBA is filled with Muslim men who, I am guessing, will not take to kindly to his message.
However, there's not much they can say, because the way he portrayed the message is out of compassion. No criticism.
Maybe I ought to take a lesson from Ron Artest?
Nahhh!
15 comments:
"The NBA is filled with Muslim men who, I am guessing, will not take to kindly to his message."
I would actually like to see them voice their anger to Ron-Ron. That's about as smart as poking a Grizzly bear with a stick.
LOL
Yeah, I can imagine.
There's one Muslim who is bigger than Ron, though. Shaq.
But, have you ever noticed, Shaq is a pussy. The only guys he has ever challenged were smaller than him.
I think he even got in a fight with Kobe once, if I remember correctly.
Pastorius,
Its a nice song, which is an extreme contrast to many of the images. I have to admit that I appreciate the singers bravery.
Pastorius,
Shaq, is a Muslim?
Damien,
Yeah, I appreciate his bravery. The rapping could have been stronger though.
And yes, indeed, Shaq is a Muslim:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaquille_O%27Neal
O'Neal, whose mother, Lucille (née O'Neal), is a Baptist and stepfather a Muslim, has not formally announced affiliation with a specific faith though in 2002, the Los Angeles Times identified O'Neal as being Muslim. The newspaper quoted him as saying, "It's a Muslim thing", with regard to the greetings he exchanged with opposing player Hedo Türkoğlu before each game of that year's Western Conference Finals series. The newspaper also quoted Türkoğlu as saying that he was not surprised at the gesture from O'Neal "because Muslim people support each other."
I cannot name a single man I know or have met in my life - not one - who would permit his wife, mother, (grand)daughter, aunt or neice to be 'disciplined' by any other man . . .& live.
Additionally, he has declared Louis Farrakhan to be a "family friend."
http://www.hiphop-elements.com/bb/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=26931&view=next&sid=f9432a37670ef2918e93a4f7f93b5157
TIRED of his partying ways, Shaquille O'Neal not only got married, he changed his religion as well. Spies said the Los Angeles Lakers star, formerly a Christian, is now a Muslim and good buddies with Nation of Islam head Louis Farrakhan. "They are very close," said our source. Farrakhan was even said to have presided over O'Neal's wedding to the mother of his three children, Shaunie Nelson, on Dec. 26 at the Beverly Hills Hotel. But a rep for People magazine which covered the wedding said, the official officiator was Judge Greg Mathis, although Farrakhan was a guest. "Shaq is trying to keep his conversion under wraps because of all the anti-Muslim sentiments right now," we're told. O'Neal's agent, Mike Parris, said, "I don't comment on my clients' personal lives or religious beliefs.
All that being said, I think Shaq is a good man:
http://cuanas.blogspot.com/2005/09/im-only-talking-about-shaq-that-shaq.html
Pastorius,
Well I would have been even more surprised if Shack turned out to be a Jihadists. I never said that all Muslims were bad people.
Pasto,
This is a bit off the subject but do you remember Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf? For those who don't know, he was an NBA player who caused a controversy in 1995 for refusing to stand during the Star Spangled Banner. He claimed that the U.S. flag was a "symbol of oppression" and that the USA has a "long history of tyranny". He adds that standing for the anthem would "conflict with his Islamic beliefs". Islam, of course, is a symbol of peace and has a long history of promoting prosperity, equality, human rights, and freedom to wherever it spreads.
Now that I think about it, based on his reasoning, showing any respect to Islam would conflict with my "American beliefs".
WOW !!! This is great !!! The message is spreading and getting celebrity backing. I LOVE THE LAKERS ! Therefore, I have been a Ron Ron Artest fan. But now he has jumped to the top of my NBA list.
Damien,
You said: I never said that all Muslims were bad people.
I say: I can tell you don't believe nutty things like that, Damien.
You seem like a pretty rational and fair-minded human being to me.
Total,
You said: This is a bit off the subject but do you remember Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf?
I say: I sure do. David Stern sure did smack that mofo down didn't he?
Have you ever notice you don't see guys walking around with Muslim names in the NBA ever since then?
And, that was before 9/11, wasn't it?
There for awhile, Sharif Abdur Rahim was still sporting his Muslim name, but as great a basketball player as he was, he never really did catch on in the NBA. One wonders why.
Back in the 70's, 80's and 90's there were lots of dudes in the NBA with Muslim names, if I remember correctly.
Not many now. Just a few with Muslim first names, like Rasheed Wallace.
CJ,
I was shocked to see this come out of Ron Artest. I always bought into the theory that he was just a punk.
Apparently, the man has more on his mind than almost anyone in the NBA.
I wonder what Phil Jackson thinks of this video. I'm sure he knows it's like setting a match to dry kindling.
I have a feeling he still admires Artest for this though.
Pastorius, excuse the delay i never received your intial email regarding this post.
I too am shocked, I knew he was plugging a whole Chinese/Asian angle (I saw a video of a Chinese artist/gal pal he was promoting early in the year), on top of some home video of an Asian cook???
This makes me very proud of him, what a great guy to undertake this, totally UN-PC of him to do!
As for Shaq and his whole Muslim angle, when he lived in Miami he had alot of parties at his mansion that were not very Islamic in nature and I am pretty sure his recently divorced wife was not Muslim....oh well, to each his own.
Thanks for sharing this, apparently he had a big game last night in Houston, old stomping ground, but as you can imagine I have been distracted with NYY Championship baseball...
2 Championships for me in 1 year, for time since '00, with LA and NYY doing it both that year...
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