My faith in Ron Artest has been restored.
I never took Artest as a moist dude, so I figured when he was being promoted as the host of a “F**k Lebron” party in the NYC he had no knowledge of it.
That was confirmed by a statement that was sent to me and others in the media that says the following:
“I am in no way associated with the night club party that is being promoted in New York City on July 16th that disparagingly refers to a fellow NBA player,” Artest said in a statement.
“We are in the process of pursuing legal action against all entities involved who are using my name, image and likeness in an illegal manner, without my prior knowledge or authorization.”
This is not uncommon for a club or party promoter to put a celebrity on a flyer just to try to get more women to show up along with the male groupies.
Using Artest picture was brilliant marketing strategy, but because I brought it to light Artest was made aware of it and cleared up the situation.
Athletes need to be aware of what their likeness is being used for at all times. If this party was able to go off without Artest’s knowledge people would have assumed he co-signed on it and that wouldn’t been a good look for him.