NBA Champion Metta Sandiford-Artest: Why He Changes His Name, Jewish Community Support & More!

Former NBA Defensive Player of the Year and NBA champion Metta Sandiford-Artest (formerly known as both Ron Artest and Metta World Peace) joins Jonah to delve into the complexities of what it means to be misunderstood, as Metta has been for much of his life, and as the Jewish community has been for centuries. Together, they explore Metta’s incredible personal growth journey, his desire to spread happiness, and his mission to better understand different cultures. Jonah also sheds light on Metta’s strong support for the Jewish community after October 7th, his tumultuous childhood, and the meaning behind each of his public name changes. And of course, we celebrate many of Metta’s most iconic basketball moments: from being drafted to the NBA right out of the Queensbridge projects, to the infamous "Malice at the Palace" to championship sealing game winners, this conversation has all your favorite hoop highlights. Tune in for a heartfelt and hilarious conversation with the one and only Metta Sandiford-Artest. Stay Connected Subscribe to the audio podcast: https://beingjewishwithjonahplatt.transistor.fm/subscribe Subscribe to the video podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@BeingJewishPodcast Follow Jonah on Instagram @jonahplatt :https://www.instagram.com/jonahplatt/ Follow the Show on Instagram @beingjewishpodcast: https://www.instagram.com/beingjewishpodcast/ Join the conversation on Twitter: https://x.com/JonahPlatt TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@beingjewish Threads: www.threads.net/@jonahplatt All things Jonah: www.JonahPlatt.com Connect with Metta: https://www.instagram.com/mettaworldpeace37/ https://x.com/MettaWorld37 Host & Production Team Host: Jonah Platt; Produced by Rainbow Creative (Executive Producer: Matthew Jones; Story Producer: Sean Leviashvili; Editor: Patrick Edwards and Mike O Brien); Consulting Producer: Bethany Mandel; Research Associate: Samantha Greenwald; Social Media Manager: Yuval Yosha; Graphic Designer Noah Bell, and Executive Assistant, Josie Rothschild. Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and hit the notification bell to stay updated on future episodes of Being Jewish! Mentioned in Episode Origin of Jewish slur https://forward.com/culture/465557/we-need-to-talk-about-… Metta’s Article in the New York Post: Peace Can Only Come By Freeing Gaza From Hamas https://nypost.com/2023/10/30/opinion/peace-can-only-come… Gulf War in Iraq/Middle East in the Early 1990s https://www.britannica.com/event/Persian-Gulf-War Jews Talk Justice/Tel Aviv Institute https://www.tlvi.org/jews-talk-justice/ Metta’s documentary - Quiet Storm: The Ron Artest Story https://vimeo.com/465382214 2009 NBA Playoff Highlights: Ron Artest vs the Lakers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqGCDusQE-8 McDonald’s All American 1997 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zthmuLa6L3g Long Island Lutheran Defeats LaSelle https://www.nytimes.com/1997/03/22/sports/li-lutheran-def… Metta tells the Circuit City story on Podcast P with Paul George https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIoz7wQUksk Tahitian Treats https://www.kdpproductfacts.com/product/a0e3h000003LKAfAA… Allegro Pizza Eliminates Late Night Hours https://www.thedp.com/article/2024/09/penn-allegro-pizza-… Malice At The Palace https://www.si.com/nba/how-the-malice-at-the-palace-chang… Untold: Malice At The Palace - Documentary https://www.netflix.com/title/81026439 Ron Artest wins Kennedy Citizenship Award ​​https://www.espn.com/los-angeles/nba/news/story?id=6431861 Game 5 2010 WCF- Ron Artest Game Winner v Phoenix Suns https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4seP2wD_K4 #beingjewish #jonahplatt #beingjewishpodcast #mettaworldpeace #nba #basketballplayer #jwishpodcast #israel #jewishculture