Ron Artest of the Los Angeles Lakers couldn’t be prouder of his new fan base: the nation’s mental health practitioners. And in this town, he can now count Dr. Marvin Southard as among his biggest cheerleaders.
Southard, director of Los Angeles County’s Department of Mental Health, told the Board of Supervisors in a letter on Wednesday that Artest has agreed to make a public service announcement for the department, “designed to address stigma and discrimination towards individuals with mental illness.”
As you might remember, just moments after his spectacular performance in the deciding game of the NBA championship last year, Artest profusely thanked his “psychiatrist” on national TV for helping him quiet his emotions so he could rise to the occasion (see video below.)
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