Ron Artest: "I used to drink Hennessy at halftime."

In an interview with the Sporting News, Lakers forward Ron Artest was very open with reporters. Perhaps too open. He gave animated accounts on a variety of topics ranging from his relationship with Ben Wallace, his headcase persona, the Malice at the Palace, and much more.

But the major story is that Artest admitted to drinking during games while he was a Chicago Bull. "I used to drink Hennessy … at halftime," Artest says in the interview, which hits newsstands this week. "I (kept it) in my locker. I'd just walk to the liquor store (near the stadium) and get it." Are you kidding me? Can you picture Artest walking into a liquor store in his Bulls jersey and a fresh pair of AirJordans asking for the clerk for a bottle of Henny? This is outrageous! No wonder he was throwing tantrums and destroying cameras during that. How could the coaches not have seen this? He must've had the protective brown paper bag around it. You can never tell when hobos do it, so why would the coaches? Right? Give me a fucking break here.

But his drinking habits didn't just start at Chicago, he was the life of the party at St. John's. "I was wild. A lot of marijuana and alcohol—even before (that age). … I (still) party and I have fun, but not like I used to. I used to drink every night and party every night." His college coaches had no idea of this. "It's a surprise because every day at practice, he came out in a mood to play. He came out in a basketball rage," said Fraschilla, now an analyst for ESPN. It never came up that he had any sort of a problem with alcohol. This is the first I've heard of it."

Alright to be honest, this is quite disgusting to hear as a sports fan. Ideally, I'd like to picture professional athletes doing nothing but trying to make themselves better, not buy a bottle of Henney before warmups start. But I realize that these guys may not be too different from me. I mean, as the Blackest White Kid You Know, I have dabbled with Hennessy but I wasn't too big of a fan. Hey, I never said I was black! But can I really give him a hard time for this? I have gone to class drunk, high, hungover, and cracked out on adderall. Wouldn't it be hypocritical of me to cast stones at Artest for essentially doing the same thing?

Obviously this guy is a headcase, but he certainly gets more shit than he deserves because of his perception by the public. Yes. He did go into the stands and fight a fan. But if you ask me, that punk in the stands had it coming. If you throw a beer on someone in any situation, do you really expect to get away with it? Hell no! Especially if you throw a beer on Ron Artest. Had it been a bottle of Henney he might have sent over a thank-you card. Who would've known?

The guy has made some bad decisions (I won't even get into his rap "career") but the fact is, Ron Artest is just brutally honest. You may not like everything he has to say, but you should respect that he's saying it. There used to be a time where telling the truth was an honorable thing, even if the truth hurt. Yet in today's society people seem to be rewarded for putting a "positive spin" on negative events.

Take Tiger Wood's current debacle. His admittance to committing adultery came only after he couldn't cover it up anymore. But before that he was seen as almost perfect. And now people think he's some sort of monster who runs into fire hydrants and runs through sleazy groupie waitresses. What changed? Only what the public knew. He had been with those girls in prior years.

The point is the perceived perception of Ron Artest is extremely negative. And no matter what he does or says, his bad boy persona will be following him like his shadow. I'm not approving of what he said. For his sake, he should've just kept his mouth shut. But that is not Ron-Ron. And had he not said anything, we might think something is wrong with him and still think poorly of him. I'm excited to see how the backlash of those remarks with play out for the rest of the week.