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LOS ANGELES TIMES:

"Amid labor discord that threatens to delay, if not wipe out, the NBA season, there is suddenly World Peace.

He is 6 feet 7, wears No. 15 for the Lakers and once participated in the infamous "Palace Brawl."

Anyone now making his acquaintance will be meeting Metta World Peace. Those on a first-name basis can call him Metta, while those a little farther removed can buy jerseys with his last name of World Peace stretched across the back.

The most ballyhooed name change of the year became official Friday morning when a Los Angeles Superior Court judge commissioner approved Ron Artest's request to be called something else.

According to World Peace's publicist, Courtney Barnes, the Lakers forward had been contemplating the switch for years but "it took years of research and soul-searching to find a first name that was both personally meaningful and inspirational." Metta is a Buddhist term that means loving kindness and friendliness toward others.

Artest -- er, World Peace -- had hoped to adopt the new moniker last month but was rebuffed because of an outstanding traffic ticket. Ticket paid, World Peace can now reign.

And it may be spreading fast. Artest's 8-year-old daughter, Diamond, has said she wants to adopt her father's new surname.

World Peace was scheduled to attend Friday's hearing, but his attorney, Nahla Rajan, announced at 9:50 a.m. that he would not be coming. Commissioner Matthew C. St. George approved the name change a few minutes later in a hearing that lasted about 30 seconds."




im ready to buy a #15 World Peace jersey

just plain stupid...

Isn't Ron... err Metta changing his number again? I read something about it gonna be 70, the number of MLK's cell when he was in prison.

http://www.lakersnation.com/ron-artest- ... 011/08/30/

Anyway, that whole name thing is kinda ridiculous...

Bring this clown off the bench. Seriously, he can't even jump anymore. Start Ebanks aka Ariza 2.0

This guy has officially jumped the shark.

Can we trade him for Ariza?

You young bucks are finicky.....I'm good with what he's doing.

i second him...the man has changed himself for the better, and i see no reason why he shouldnt be able to express that...on top of all that, dudes a laker.

I'm in the process of changing my name as well (should be official in about ten days), although it's not nearly as dramatic as that of World Peace.

For those that don't understand, it's simply a tangible metaphor for a larger change in someone's life.

And to be quite frank, for most African Americans their last name means absolutely nothing when it comes to their true identity.

For the man previously known as Ron Artest, he has taken one step (albeit a small one) in realigning, reclaiming, and reconfiguring his name with his true self ... and beginning a NEW legacy to boot.

Absolutely nothing wrong with that.

He just wants someone to buy his Jersey

People getting up in arms over something that has 0 effect on his performance on the court... what?

I dont really care about people changing their name but imo I would never change my last name. The name I got from my father.

you gotta be kidding me lmao

That's when you know Ron Artest had no one in his life that loves him.....if he did they would tell him how stupid of a decision that would be which would stop him from doing what he did.

World Peace has arrived and as such, so have the haters in this thread. Smfh.

Well.. as long as he doesn't being peace and love on the court, I'm fine with whatever he does off it. We signed him up to be a bad mfker on the floor.

poll added. to me he'll still be ron artest.

think he'll bring that peaceful attitude on the court?

"FOUL NUMBER 15 WORLD PEACE. LAKERS FIRST TEAM FOUL. PAUL PIERCE SHOOTING TWO."

"SORRY PAUL, ARE YOU HURT? NEXT TIME I WON'T BE AS PHYSICAL. GO AND DRIVE BY ME. "

I hope not. respect Metta for his new outlook in life for himself though.

it was dumb when ochocinco did it, and this is worse

I thought Artest was suppose to be the intimadator, who's gona be scared of World Peace