Ron Artest Adds Wife’s Last Name, Now He’s Metta Ford-Artest

L.A. Lakers star Ron Artest is no longer Ron, or World Peace, but he’s still Metta, because on May 4 the former player has changed his name again. Now he wants to be known as “Metta Ford-Artest.”

Artest performed his first name change in 2011 when he claimed he wanted to “inspire and bring youth together all around the world” by changing his name to “Metta World Peace.” The Lakers player development coach explained that “Metta” is a Buddhist term that means loving kindness and friendliness towards all.

Then again, he may have changed it to take a jab at the haters. As CBS Sports reports, he was also heard saying he changed his name to “Metta World Peace” to force haters to say, “I hate World Peace.”

But it appears that world peace is out as Artest has decided to make yet another name change.

Per CBS, Artest said, “My name now is ‘Metta [inaudible] Ford-Artest. I actually took my wife’s last and added it to mine.”

Artest, who ended his professional playing days at the end of the 2016-17 season, joins Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Hakeem Olajuwon, World B. Free, and Bison Dele in the moniker metamorphosis, but he may be the first to do it twice.

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