By "us" I mean Blazer fandom as a whole, not BEdgers, journalists, or anyone in particuilar.  If this doesn't apply to you, then it doesn't apply to you--don't take it as a criticism in this case.

But last year, after Oden suffered the chipped patella courtesy of Corey Maggette, there were a whole lot people calling for him to "man up" and play.  The injury was dismissed as, in the immortal words of the Black Knight, "just a flesh wound", and Oden's desire and heart were questioned by many quarters.  A few moronic radio dudes engaged in all sorts of rumor-mongering about dope, wimmen, and parties, and Greg was being discussed as though he were Chris Washburn or Roy Tarpley.

In some cases, this may have been motivated by people terrified that the critics making the S** B***e comparisons were right--wanting you to play Willis Reed and prove 'em all wrong.

It may well have been that the injury was more serious than any of us (including possibly the doctors) thought, and now the consequences are here.  It takes a violent injury to chip a bone, and perhaps there was structural damage to the rest of the patella, that weakened it, with the result that the stress of pro basketball has led do the current injury.  We all hope the docs can fix it right this time--the good thing about bones is they heal well, and can be mechanically reinforced if necessary.

I want to be the first to say--take your time, Greg.  Listen to your body.  Come back when you are ready, not before.  Don't let anyone who sits behind a desk for a living tell you that you need to "man up"; you've shown that you're tough enough already.  Don't let anyone who yaks into a microphone question your heart.