Amid all the hero worship, unsolicited religious arguments and opinions on whether a gay lifestyle is a choice, you can always count on Metta World Peace to put his own unique spin on Jason Collins breaking down NBA barriers.
For his end of season meeting with the Lakers, World Peace wore the same cookie monster t-shirt he defused a SWAT crisis with to make a point about Collins, and why it was important for him to feel free about coming out. There are probably more appropriate Sesame Street characters he could have made his point with, but the stream of thoughts that permeates through World Peace's brain are still on a whole 'nother level. The man doesn't get wrapped up in the trivial minutiae of us mortals.
Folks used to clown World Peace because of his quirky nature. Then, crowds (especially in Detroit) were scared by him. Now we are learning from him. His obsession with the cookie monster might be a little unhealthy, but it appears those psychiatry appointments were more than worth the hourly rate. If Magic Johnson's fledgling cable network is looking for an African-American alternative to Dr. Phil, we may have found their guy.
Via L.A. Times:
“Whether it’s a free country or not, you should be free to act and do as you want to do, as long as it’s not violent. I came here in a Cookie Monster shirt because I wanted to,” World Peace told reporters at the Lakers' practice facility in El Segundo. “And I was going to wear the pants but I thought you [media] guys were going to judge me. And I was going to wear the hat, too, but I figured you guys would judge me…. I should have wore it. You should be free to do and act how you want to act.”
“When you feel comfortable with yourself, not only does it make you a better person…. It’s unnecessary stress, as we all know, if you’re holding things in,” he said. “It can just bring unnecessary stress to your heart, to your mind and when you can release it and talk about it, you feel better. And that’s how it should be with anything, not just coming out if you’re gay or if you have a mental issue and whatever other issue or stigma there is out there.”
