For his efforts raising awareness and funds for mental-health issues, Ron Artest was named Tuesday as the winner of the 2010-11 J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award.
"I'm not going to tell you there it's up there with the NBA championship, but it's definitely over the Defensive Player of the year award that I got," said Artest, who won that honor for the 2003-04 season. "It's important because there are kids here in America who aren't doing well. I want to see those kids have an opportunity to succeed, whether they're on drugs, are abused or have a lack of confidence, bullied, cyber bullied or have family issues. I'm trying to help out and bring awareness."
The award honors an NBA player or coach who has displayed "outstanding service and dedication to the community" and is determined by the PBWA, a panel of 150 writers who cover the NBA for newspapers, magazines or the Internet on a regular basis.