The Los Angeles Lakers announced that Metta World Peace, the former Ron Artest received an honor from UCLA.
It is in recognition of the work he has done and money raised in support of mental health treatment in Southern California.
Presiding at the ceremony held Friday, January 18, 2013 were David T. Feinberg, President of UCLA Health System; Daphna Edwards Ziman, Founder and Chairperson of Children Uniting Nations.
A reception followed and then World Peace did what he has done in the past. He met with patients at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.
The Los Angeles Lakers star is able to talk through his personal problems with those that suffer along with him.
He may seem to lead the discussion among mental health patients, but at its core, the exercise is more a group therapy experience for him.
Last summer, the Los Angeles Times reported on his process.
"I’m still learning about myself,” he said. “This actually helps me in telling my story so I can continuously improve myself, stay mentally stronger and not let stuff bother me as much as it used to when I was younger. I still make mistakes.”
After he talks about his struggles and how he tried to rise above them, falling back often in the process, patients are given the opportunity to ask questions.
Sprinkled among those that inquire about his background, his defense and coping mechanisms are inquiries about the Lakers. That is to be expected.
When World Peace signed with the Lakers in the summer of 2009, he ended up with a championship ring.
It was won against the Lakers arch-rivals, the Boston Celtics in a seven-game series for the 2010 NBA championship.
It was after the final buzzer sounded that we learned about the then Ron Artest's reliance on his therapist and the struggles he had keeping himself focused and out of trouble. See video posted to the left.
He auctioned the ring and donated hundreds of thousands to mental health charities, including the one that he set up.
He visits patients as he travels around the country and his quirky personal manner makes him perfectly approachable by those who will benefit most from his story.
Now, if he could only help take the Lakers from the muck and mire of the 2012-13 season as easily.
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