The Blazers have reprimanded Greg Oden for participating in a pickup basketball game at 24-Hour Fitness.
The club has resorted to treating him like a 10-year old child, chastising him through the media by blithely referencing his immaturity in the matter.
They're treating him like a piece of meat. A very valuable piece of meat.
Nate McMillan: "He wants to be the same young man as when he came here. And he's not. He's got too much value."
Too much value?
He's a human being! Imagine how he feels right now. These people who supposedly care about him and his well-being are just treating him like an investment.Which, of course, he is.
But come time to sign a new contract, wouldn't you think he would appreciate a team that allows him more freedom in his personal life? I think he would appreciate being free to do things like play basketball in his free time at the gym with friends, or voice opinions about politics, as he recently did, without management breathing down his neck, worried that he might turn off fans and rich Republican business partners.
I'm still undecided about Oden's potential on the court, as he hasn't played a single game yet. But I have to say that his unwillingness to conform to the blandness of the superstar role is commendable. Oden could and would make more money in endorsements and attract a broader set of supporters if he stayed out of politics and kept his hair short all the time and just sat around his apartment all day. That's how the system works, and that's why you never heard Michael Jordan say anything about politics, even though he was a fervent Democrat. That's why LeBron James won't speak out against violence in Darfur, even though his excuses are asinine and without merit.
Greg Oden wants to live his life the way he sees fit, and he doesn't want to conform to the standards of executives who wear ill-fitting suits, and he wants to act his age.
And the Blazers have a problem with that.
Big surprise.
TJH
6 comments:
When it comes time for a new contract, he will remember last Fall's doctors diagnosis and the subsequent kindness of Kevin Pritchard and the rest of the management team who didn't blame him or accuse him of anything other than being a human being. He knows what he did was wrong. He knows, too, there was great publicity in the story. He's managed to keep his name at the top of the basketball leader board all season, and he hasn't played a second of NBA basketball.
You think he played in the pick-up game for publicity's sake? To keep his name in the papers? I highly doubt it. Seems to me like a spur of the moment thing, and it also seems to have been a pick-up game with friends, not a full contact scrimmage against professionals. He is participating in light drills and practices with the Blazers, and has been for the past month. How is this any different?
No, of course he didn't do it for publicity's sake. I can see where one might discern that from the comment. But Once the story was out he KNEW it would make headlines. It's a mistake to underestimate his intelligence. It is one of the reasons the Blazers took him over Durant (not the Kevin has a lesser IQ, they both are wise beyond their years). I am certain he had already composed his answere to reporters questions long before we out here ever knew what was going on. He knows he screwed up and the only one to blame is him. And I don't agree that the team reprimanded him 'through the media.' I'll bet you bandwidth the team had their heart to heart with him and then answered reporters questions. Hey, it actually turned out to be a great story for the team, Ty. National headlines, and it was about a guy's love for basketball - not smoking in the back of a Hummer. Love your site.
You called me Ty - who are you? I have no friends called anonymous.
Is it Ken? Dammit Ken, be a man and use your own name.
Seriously, though - thanks for the kind words. You touched on something I find pretty interesting: the news that is making national headlines is sensationally positive. Take Oden, for example. Before the pick-up game incident, there was the Greg-Oden-is-getting-too-big-and-strong story, which reminds me of the movie Blow, where George is forced to buy a new house because there isn't enough room in his current house to hold all of his bundles of money. Yeah, huge problem.
Post a Comment