I don't think we should know about everything every player does.  I absolutely hate it that some teams/players make sure to have every member of the media available whenever a player does something for the community.  I think Darius is doing this the right way.  I think Sheed did this the right way too when he was in Portland, and still does today in Detroit.  There was so much more that Sheed did for the community that no one ever realized  because he didn't request media coverage at all.  The only time things would get out about where he was is when someone happened to see him out and about or when one of the people/groups he was helping would say something.  I don't think most people realized he was the ONLY blazer on those teams that had an off season home in Portland too...which is sad since Damon grew up there!!!  Says a lot about a guy who got run out of town, mostly by the media, for being a "bad guy".  He was, and always will be, a very special player in my book for everything he contributed to the team and community, even though he was very hot-headed on the court.  Off the court he carried himself the right way IMHO.  Kudos to Darius for being so humble and walking the line the way it should be.  Hopefully he can produce this year and put all of the past BS behind him.  I'd love nothing more than to see him earn a bit of that money we are paying him and become a leader on this team of kids.  And if he's reading this, Darius: Feel free to send me some money to pay off my debt.  it's expensive in san diego!  I won't tell anyone else, i promise!!  LoL

You put into words what I have felt this off season.

Why would we still have Miles on our roster if he was a bad guy? PA bought out Francis due to his reputation. Why not Miles if he was such a terrible person? It doesnt add up as to why the Blazers are still putting in the time to help him come back with his knee injury. I have this feeling that KP is to blame as to why we havent seen much in the media about Miles. I would be willing to bet that KP is just loving the fact that everyone has their attention focued away from Miles right now. When Miles comes back, I have a feeling we are all going to be in shock. KP wouldnt keep him around if he wasnt a fit. Period.

He isnt a bad guy. Misunderstood maybe. A little ghetto at times, yes. But bad, no.

But that car... I cant think of words to say.

Hey Dave,

Let me start by saying that I normally tend to agree with most of your posts, but this time I think you're a little off base in your assessment of this situation.

First of all, you start out by arguing that we shouldn't keep a tally sheet of a person's good deeds and bad deeds and use that as a means of determining whether he is a "bad guy" or a "good guy". Yet in the next paragraph, you seem to be doing exactly that.  Stating:

"if a guy is a selfish teammate, has no respect for the fans or the game, plays like a lazy stooge, and drives while intoxicated then writing a $10,000 check doesn't get him off the hook no matter what the charity is."

Isn't that the same thing you were just advising against? And in any case, what other method would you suggest to evaluate players' characters?

I also disagree with your assertion that the teams/league shouldn't show the promos with the players doing volunteer work.  Yes, that kind of thing should be done for reasons stemming from empathy and generousity.  However, we know that the media is going to jump all over any thing negative these guys do and (generally speaking) amplify it to the highest possible degree, so why not counter that with showing these men at their best?

In Miles' situation, I don't think that most people think of him as a "bad guy". Rather, I think a lot of people have the impression that he isn't really committed to his profession or the team. Miles himself is largely to blame for that perception with comments that he's made to the media and play that, at times, has appeared lacksidaisical and uninspired.  Hopefully, the commitment he's shown with his rehab and the quality of his future play will erase these feelings about him.

Finally, I DO agree with you that most of us know far too little about most of these guys to make definitive judgements as to their characters. However, people are judgemental beings and they will nearly always make a determination based on what they know about a person or situation (whether they have sufficient information or not). This is why it's important for people like Miles to make themselves somewhat accessible to the media and show their positive attributes. Because if they don't, people will be more than willing to judge them based on their negative ones which are so closely scrutinized by the main stream media.

felt that Darius is a decent human being.  His major problem it seems is his ultra-sensitivity to criticism which has tended to relegate him to an "uncoachable" status.

I'm loving to hear that he has a very high desire to play basketball again for the Blazers and is working hard to do so.  But personality quirks are often deeply ingrained and he may find that rehabing the sensitivity issue to be more difficult than rehabing the knee.  He'll be tested when Nate starts yelling at him again in practice.  I'm hopeful though that this time around, Nate won't have as much to yell about .... or that maybe Nate has learned something along the way too.  

I for one am rooting hard that he makes it back.      

   You are right. I've often found myself defending Darius Miles with people. People who have read an article or two, and then just make the blanket statement, "Miles is a Jerk" or "Miles is Lazy". I've alway said, "How do we know?" unless you really know the person, then should we judge positive or negative from what we read about a few incidents? Or accept the "opinion" of a columnist as being "fact" about a player? No I don't think we should. Plus as a fan base, we are pretty easily swayed. A few articles denouncing a person, and we label them as being "bad" a few articles saying the person is great, and we elevate them, and it isn't right, but most people do it.

   As far as assembling a team? I honestly do think character matters. In Portland it has become a debate, Character vs. Talent, to which my reply is always, I want both. Maybe I don't have the real exposure, or even the "right" to judge a player as a "good guy" or a "bad guy", but if I'm putting together a roster, give me the guy with Talent and Character because I believe that sooner or later it will matter. Sooner or later there will come a moment in a big game, where the fact that the player had the "character" to go a little extra on the exercise bike, or work a little extra in practice will result in a fraction more speed, a little more desire, and a positive outcome.

   That's why we as fans like instant morality judgements. We like to hear that Player A, is a nice guy, Gym Rat, who loves lifting weights and taking extra shots after practice, before heading off to the orphanage with a trunkload of toys.  It's the ideal, and we want it.

   That's why when a player or team stumbles or fails we like the instant scape goat. So much easier to blame the failure on the lazy, parties too much, doesn't care about the team, just cut me the check, I'm heading to the strip club with a pocket full of 20's Player B.

  I guess what I'm saying is Yes, I think character does matter, in sports and in life. But the tricky thing becomes in The N.B.A., and with the sports media machine, the character and/or morality of a player is presented to us, sold to us, and packaged. Sometimes events happen that clearly define a person, they are undeniable. (Michael Vick) but in general, how do we REALLY know? We dont. My guess is like in real life most players fall somewhere inbetween the two examples of player A and player B. .

   Assemble a roster of 15+ players do I have a reasonable right to expect they are all great, wonderful perfect icons to the local and world community? No, I'd be kidding myself.

  Again as fans, we want the "Good Guy" but as with any artificial drama, which The N.B.A. and a franchise can become, we also want the "The Bad Guy". We need the good guy to give us the dream of winning a championship, and the bad guy to blame when we fail or stumble. Because we aren't going to be allowed, or allow ourselves to look any further.

   It will be interesting to see how things play out with Darius Miles. I've already noticed the same people who made the negative blanket statements about Miles after reading a few "positive" articles are begining to soften. Now it is "Miles might of just been misunderstood" or "Maybe he's matured"....Miles is in a rare place, He's now neither a good guy, or a bad guy. Amazing what a year and a half of total silence, followed by a slow and careful return can get you.  

     

I think that as fans, we want to think the best of the players on our team.  As a local radio guy said the other day, we don't WANT to know what they're really like. That's because we want to be able to get behind the team emotionally, to care about their success.  At some elemental level, we want to see our team as the "good guys"--representing us--and the opposition as the "bad guys."  (Look at the symbolism of the tradional light-colored home uniforms and dark road uniforms.)  So in the personal "balance sheet" Dave referred to, we emphasize the good stuff we hear about our players and de-emphasize the bad.  

But there's a tipping point at which it becomes too difficult for the average fan to "suspend disbelief."  We can rationalize a guy arguing every foul call to the point of leading the league in technicals and losing games for his team.  We can tell ourselves he's just a fierce competitor--that he just cares too much.  But when we see him tossing a towel in a teammate's face or hear about him throwing a ball full-force at a 3rd string center who's not looking, then we reach that tipping point.  Once that happens, we want him off our team because he's making it hard for us to root for them.  

In Miles' case, because he's quiet and non-demonstrative, there just hasn't been much evidence for fans to go on.  Therefore the publicized confrontation with Cheeks, combined with the sometimes lackadasical play--and long rehab process--was enough to make fans long for Miles' departure.  The good news for Miles: because that negative judgment was based on so little information, it doesn't take much to turn around public opinion.  One postive article can do it.

Does that mean that fans now will believe Miles is a dedicated ballplayer and great guy?  No--at least not right away.  But that's not necessary.  They just need to be able once again to suspend disbelief--to be able to look at Miles and not think, "what a jerk."

An aside: what's cool about this current Blazer team is that we don't HAVE to suspend disbelief to root for most of the players.  It's clear to anyone who's paying attention that there are a bunch of genuinely nice, hard-working, team-oriented people on this ballclub.  Combine that with the fact that the team is loaded with talent and promise, and it's a great time to be a Blazer fan.

John Steinbeck in The grapes of wrath: "there ain't no sin and there ain't no virtue. There's just the stuff people do."

I don't fully agree with Steinbeck, premeditated homicide is not "just stuff" ;-), but on the whole I think it's something to remember.  There's just the stuff Darius has done (or hasn't done) and it all goes to make up who he is.  People seem to need to make a judgement as to whether or not he is bad or good based on what we read/hear.  How many times over the last year have I read on BE "he's a cancer in the locker room"? (personal note: as a cancer survivor I've always disliked that phrase.)  Is he really a danger to our young guys?  Is he that influential and are they that weak?

I'll admit to having wanted him gone, but I'm willing to cheer him on if he is really making the effort to be a part of the team.  His goal is the playoffs (cool to note he didn't say "ring") and if he can help, hurrah for him, lucky for us.

Re: appearance at charity events - I always take those things with a grain of salt. I look at them as good PR for the team, not as gold stars for the individuals who are there.  I'm sure they are expected to attend a certain number - choreographed by the Blazers (except Joel's steps in the ballet) and show up because of that.  I do like reading about foundations and other good uses of pro athlete's huge salaries - since I help pay that salary when I buy a ticket.

I care about how a players character will affect the team.

Volunteering is more a possible symptom that this person is mindful, thoughtful, caring, and cares about the environment around them.  It doesn't mean they truly are.  In fact I think too many public volunteering is done simply for show and that irks me because when cameras are off, players are gone.

Throwing a towel at a team mate is a symptom that this person may be disruptive in the locker room and on the court.  Maybe they're just having a bad day, but if you add it up, then you need to go hmmm.  (yes I know it was sheed, i'm just saying)

It's like the girl goalie for the US soccer team.  She may have been 100% dead on about the coach, but it doesn't matter.  You're a team and you need to a be a team.  Even if you disagree internally, publicly you need to have each others backs.  Roy's handling of Randolph is a perfect example of how I think things SHOULD be handled.

That's my opinion.

I can't and don't judge the worth of a human being based on acts and a media that cares more about sensation than news, but I can see acts and go "hmmm... what kind of person and player is this really?"

Darius can be an awesome person in off court, but if he's still not giving 100% and he's putting down teammates on the court, he's not a player I'll want on this team.  

I've been down on darius because I haven't been impressed with his friends (symptoms) and because I felt like he wasn't giving 100% on the court but slacked and willfully lost some games because he didn't care.  The second part may or may not be true.  Maybe it was his knee.

Either way, it doesn't matter to me.  That's the past and I do believe someone can change.  He's been eating ice cream and now he's working his butt off to get in a shape that is not round.  I can respect that.  I would have respected him more if he'd stayed more involved like Oden has stated he wants to, but Oden is also a special player and person.  Not every human being can be as good or even wants to be as good.

If Darius is in shape enough by the time season starts, I'm willing to give him a second chance because his actions will be saying that he wants it.  Sometimes people need the right environment in order to really thrive.  (like sergio, where I think he'll be an awesome point guard, but not in portland)

So Dave, I do agree with you about the fickleness of the media and public judgement, but I wanted to toss in some two cents too.

I want a team I can respect.  I love winning, but I also love team I can get behind.

My favorite game of last year was the roaches comment and how our team responded.  Those are the things that matter most to me.

I've rambled on long enough.  Time to read that article!