Ron Artest Once Saw A Guy Get Stabbed In The Heart (UPDATE: For Real)

The NBA Playoffs are getting very chippy—even more so—but at least no one has been murdered on court with a broken table leg yet. Because Ron Artest would hate to see that happen....again.

Artest was ejected from Game 2 against the Lakers last night despite (sort of) trying to play the peacemaker. He was rightfully upset about Kobe Bryant's wild elbows and may have lost his cool a bit, but at least he's learned to keep things in perspective. And he definitely wasn't retaliating because Ron Artest knows about real retaliation. He told the media last night that one of his friends died during a playground game after being stabbed in the heart with a table leg. Yes, I guess that would be considered "rough play."

That kind of makes all the shoving and slaps to the head and teeth punching seem sort of silly, doesn't it? And yes, it does sound like something out of "Anchorman" (so go ahead and get it out of your system in the comments) but did it really happen? I choose to believe, only because I'm not going to call a guy who may have lived through something like that a liar. I enjoy my heart and would like to keep it where it is.

I Love Ron Artest Post-Game Interviews [Talk Hoops] Ron Artest claims to have witnessed actual on-court murder, so Wednesday against Kobe and the Lakers was no biggie [LA Times] NBA.com: Series reminds us that Playoffs are still a physical time [NBA.com]

UPDATE: It looks like the story is true, although Artest may not have actually witnessed it in person, not that it really matters. Scary stuff.