Showing you the money

Los Angeles Lakers' Ron Artest has had, shall we say, an interesting ride during his NBA career.

Both his on-court performance and off-court perception have been subject to debate, with equal parts good and bad qualities.

He was named the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year in 2004 and is still one of the league's top defenders.

He's also had his fair share of troubles, from the infamous brawl in Detroit, to reporting to practice with the Indian Pacers in a bath robe as well as allegedly asking for a month off because he was tired from promoting an album.

But Artest has appeared to have his personal and professional issues in order for the last few seasons.

Recently he announced he'll be donating at least half and possibly his entire 2011-2012 league salary to charity. Yes, you read that correctly.

From the same league that brought you Latrell Sprewell's infamous "I need to feed my family" comment after turning down a 3-year, $21 million contract comes this more than generous offer from Artest.

In an age when countless celebrities pat themselves on the backs for donating far less, Artest is ponying up the big bucks to try and do some good in the area of mental health awareness.

This coming after Artest decided to raffle off his 2010 NBA Championship Ring on his personal website. The drawing, which will take place Christmas Day, has already raised nearly $465,000 for charity.

Artest commented that his family is behind him. He said he's already lost $7 million stemming from the suspension for the brawl in Detroit and that this time it'll go toward something good.

It's easy to assume all or most athletes are greedy given the salaries they make for the jobs they do. But it's obvious from Artest's example, blanket statements like that are far from the truth.