“As a hip-hop fan, you realize that homophobia is still an issue everywhere, but especially in the black community. When people are scared to talk about it, that’s how the disease spreads,” Magic told the Huffington Post.

“I have a lot of friends in [the hip hop] industry and so what we’re trying to do is rally them to get behind the cause, deliver the message to these young people that HIV and AIDS is big and it’s not going anywhere.”

Maybe Magic can call on fellow basketball player rapper Ron Artest or Metta World Peace.

Ron Artest has been confirmed as the newest contestant on Dancing With The Stars, and it looks like he will not be the only NBA player to be competing during the lock out…. CBS Sports is reporting Dwyane Wade is also to be in the running to win the Crystal Ball Trophy.

Fellow athlete and former winner Hines Ward confirmed the rumors and told Sports Radio Interviews: “I don’t know, but I did hear rumors and his name did come up. I also heard Ron Artest too.”

The official lineup will be announced after tomorrow’s episode of The Bachelor Pad. No word yet if Wade joins the cast LeBron and Chris Bosh will come as a packaged deal.

With ABC casting the new season of the reality competition, Artest is up for the challenge… kind of, “I’d want to go,” Artest said, “but I’d want to lose in the first round.”

Artest has showed his musical side before releasing his own rap single after the LA Lakers won the 2010 NBA Championship, but Artest is not so sure about dancing, “I don’t want to put my hips in a situation where I’m looking like Rick Fox,” Artest said. “Rick Fox is a great dancer, but I don’t want to put my hips in a situation where people are questioning whether I’m a rapper or a singer.”

According to Artest, “We’re gonna put them through an intensive experience, give them hope and confidence to change their lives.”

Artest himself is no stranger to second chances, not only was he reinstated to the league after being suspended for the 2005 season, but was also arrested for domestic violence in 2007 and spent ten days in jail.

While Artest’s reality show has a production company, no network has picked it up yet… but maybe Artest can start with Plaxico Burress.

Ron Artest

Who doesn’t Ron Ron… Who doesn’t!

Artest told CBSsport.com that he does not plan on resigning with the Lakers or with any other NBA team once his current contract runs out in 2014. Artest will be 35-years old and has plans to try out for an NFL team:

“God willing, after my NBA career, God willing I’m still athletic enough – which I’m trying to take care of my body as best as possible and be prepared for this day, for this tryout of an NFL team… It’s a fantasy of mine. It’s an opportunity because I’m athletic. So if that fantasy can be fulfilled, and if it’s something that can really be reached as far as a goal, I’m going for it.”

While Artest plans to continue in the athletic field after the NBA, other basketball veteran Ben Wallace wants to go to law school. The Detroit Pistons center told Yahoo Sports, “That’s my ultimate goal. It’s always been one of my dreams. I think I can argue a pretty good case. I think I can convince a couple of people to see things my way.”

Wallace has played 15 seasons in the NBA and just signed a two-year contract with Detroit worth $4.3 million. “I know my time is limited as far as being a player,” Wallace said. “That’s something I’ve already accepted and come to peace with.”

Both Artest and Wallace have won an NBA Championship. Wallace in 2004 with the Pistons and Artest this past summer with the Lakers.

Ironically, these two players who are both taking different paths post-NBA were at the center of one of the NBA’s biggest controversies, the 2004 Menace at the Palace.

On Larry King, Artest said he is not raffling off the ring for money but more for the message: “We did what we had to do last year to win a championship, and it presents all these opportunities and these ideas. For it to go toward mental-health awareness, I’m pretty happy about that. That’s already in motion.”

“We did what we had to do last year to win a championship, and it presents all these opportunities and these ideas,” said Artest. “For it to go toward mental-health awareness, I’m pretty happy about that. That’s already in motion.”

Artest was once the NBA’s most hated player. In 2004, Artest was the culprit for the Menace at the Palace, when Artest got into a fight with fans during an Indiana Pacers Detroit Pistons game.

Artest received his ring just this week at the Lakers’ opening night banner raising ceremony. The ring is 16 white diamonds set in 16-karat gold.

Laker Ron Artest was on Chelsea Lately this week to talk about winning the NBA Championship with the LA Lakers… but that’s not all the defender and rapper had on his mind! Artest put the moves on Chelsea, who is newly single after breaking up with her longtime boyfriend Ted Halbert who is the CEO of Comcast Entertainment and E!.

According to TMZ, the tickets are valued at $9,000 a piece and were given away on Los Angeles’ Power 106 radio station.

“Most of my fans can’t afford the ticket prices to come to any of the games, let alone the Finals,” Artest told TMZ. “I wanted to treat a fan to something they would normally never have access to, so they could feel like one of the stars for the night. I wanted to be able to share my first Finals experience with one of my regular fans.”
Artest paid for the tickets out of his own pocket, which is pretty generous until you remember he makes $6.6 m a season!

Ronald William “Ron” Artest, Jr.

Source Wikipedia