Ron Artest, seen here driving against Michael Jordan in 2002, admitted to game-time cognac drinking during this period in his life.
There's probably very little a professional athlete could admit to that would shock the world-weary sports fan.
Still, Ron Artest's admission that he drank cognac during home games when he started his career with the Chicago Bulls was somewhat jarring, even though it happened years ago.
In a Sporting News story Artest admits that as a young player he would drink booze during halftime.
"I used to drink Hennessy ... at halftime," Artest says in the interview, which hits newsstands this week. "I (kept it) in my locker. I'd just walk to the liquor store (near the stadium) and get it."
It just adds to the well-earned bad-boy reputation that follows Artest, now a Los Angeles Laker's starting forward, whose bad attitude was on full display when he ran into the stands to fight with fans in the infamous 2004 brawl during an Detroit Piston-Indiana Pacers' game.
Or when his Great Dane was seized by animal-protection officials in 2007 on suspicion it wasn't being properly fed.
Or when he was arrested the same year on domestic-abuse charges.
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