Huling pagkakataon nang isilang bilang Ronald William Artest Jr. tungo sa pagpalit ng pangalang Metta World Peace, nagwagi ng kampeonato sa National basketball Association (NBA) noon para sa Los Angeles Lakers.
Ipinaliwanag noon ni Artest o Peace ang dahilan ng pagpapalit pangalan na, “Changing my name was meant to inspire and bring youth together all around the world. When fans get mad at me, they can’t say, ‘I hate World Peace.'”
Noong 2014, inako ni Peace ang pangalang Panda Friend habang naglalaro sa China.
Hindi naman napigilan ang 2004 NBA All-Star at Defensive Player of the Year sa muling pagbago ng kanyang pangalan na inihayag niya sa Inside the Green Room podcast kasama si Danny Green.
“Right now, it’s funny because I got married, and my name now is ‘Metta Sandiford-Artest.’ I actually took my wife’s (Maya) last and added it to mine, “ dagdag niya.
Binalikan din ng four-time All-Defensive Team member ang kanyang unang laro bilang Metta World Peace.
“I was like, ‘This is the dumbest thing ever.’ I was coming off of the bench at that time, in 2011, and they say, ‘Metta World Peace!” And I remember not wanting to take off my warmup. It was embarrassing. So I did think about changing my name back, but then, people got used to it,” wakas niya.
Nagkatuwaan sa show na hindi niya ginustong maging Corona Artest o Metta COVID dahil sa kalagitnaan ng coronavirus pagndemic. (Lito Oredo)