ShareThisCHICAGO - At a time when many public figures are going to great lengths to keep their transgressions of the past hidden, Ron Artest continues to take the opposite approach.
First came Artest's revelation earlier this month that he drank cognac before games as a member of the Chicago Bulls. Now the Los Angeles Lakers forward has written a blog entry on his Web site acknowledging that he had previously cheated on his wife.
In an open letter to Tiger Woods posted Tuesday morning, Artest urges fans to support the embattled superstar golfer despite his alleged infidelities and acknowledges that he, too, has "made the same mistakes."
Artest admits he fathered a child with another woman after having two with then-girlfriend Kimsha, who is now his wife, though he insists he has been loyal to her more recently in spite of the many temptations he faces.
"I want to be home every night, but with traveling I can't, and sometimes I might want to go to a bar or club and be one of the fellas," Artest wrote. "Most of the time I stay in, because I have my kids and wife.
"I cannot sit here and say the thought to have many women has never crossed my mind. If I were Jesus I could."
Asked on Tuesday to explain why he'd stand up for Woods, Artest explained that he believes much of the criticism leveled against the golfer is unjust. Artest said that Woods has been a role model to his kids when his own erratic behavior earlier this decade made him unfit for the job.
"I think it was important that I extended my feelings and showed him support because I feel indirectly he supported my kids," Artest said. "He's somebody to look up to. I thought it was important that I reassure anybody who read that that I've made way more mistakes than Tiger."
Artest bristled at the line of questioning from Chicago-based reporters about whether he had damaged his reputation by revealing that he drank liquor before games as a member of the Bulls.
"You didn't do your research on the article," Artest said several times. "It's all about research."
Another perspective on Woods came from Lakers coach Phil Jackson. Asked to compare the media firestorm that has engulfed Woods to the one surrounding Kobe Bryant's sexual assault accusation in 2003, Jackson said that in our society, "we build up icons and then tear them down. ... I saw it with Michael (Jordan) here. Part of his retirement was the idea that all of a sudden there was the scandal of his gambling."
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
Must credit The Press-Enterprise of Riverside, Calif.
