Ron Artest Legally Changing Name to World Peace?

It’s hard to be surprised by anything Ron Artest does but his most recent decision might take the cake. Artest has announced that he’s officially changing his name to Metta World Peace.

Artest seems to be following in the footsteps of Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) and more recently Chad Johnson (Chad Ochocinco) as the next famous athlete to change his name. However this one seems more along the lines of Ochocinco than Abdul-Jabbar.

While this may sound like a bizarre joke it seems to be official. TMZ has reported the name change, as well as John Ireland of ESPN.

Artest reportedly wants the back of his jersey to read Peace. This may seem strange to many, myself included, but maybe Lakers fans would like a Los Angeles jersey that simply reads Peace.