It's good to see Brendan Haywood back on the court this season after a 2008-09 that was all but wiped out by injuries. The Washington center appeared in just six games, missing the first 75 after surgery on a torn ligament in his right wrist. Finally suiting up in April, Haywood then sat out the Wizards' finale with a sore back.
Now, at age 30, Washington's longest-tenured player (he was traded twice in summer 2001 between the time he was drafted and his rookie debut but has stayed put since) has been a force on the floor.
Through 29 games, the 7-footer from North Carolina was averaging 9.4 points and a career-best 10.4 rebounds, while shooting 52.2 percent. He ranked 10th in the league in rebounding, third in blocks and third on the Wizards -- behind only Antawn Jamison and Gilbert Arenas -- in efficiency (17.21, 53rd overall in the NBA). Haywood has had six double-doubles and just missed another Monday at Memphis when he finished with 12 points, nine rebounds and five blocks in a 116-111 overtime loss.
Lately, Haywood's aching back has been figurative, owing to the Wizards' 10-19 record. And the uncommonly bad luck to have been whistled for personal fouls with less than 0.3 seconds to play twice in 17 days that led to losses (vs. Indiana and at Memphis). And a ruckus over his blog that, earlier this month, prompted Haywood to go all Urban Meyer on it, taking an indefinite leave of absence from the new-media world. Fortunately, the loquacious big man isn't boycotting media completely -- he's just gone retro, talking with reporters as needed while stepping back from the blogosphere. So I was able to get his take on why he's backed off from his blog:
***
NBA.com: I'll admit, I was a late arrival to your blog -- by the time I started reading it, you already were shutting it down. What's up with that?
Brendan Haywood: I'm intrigued by media. I want to work in media when I'm done playing, and I really enjoyed blogging. I just enjoyed talking about whatever topics are hot. But these days, people get upset about certain things.
NBA.com: Upset? What sort of "upset?''
BH: I blogged that Michael Vick should get a second chance because he paid his debt to society. But we had people calling, talking about how I'm supporting dog fighting. I love blogging, but I can't have people calling [the team], complaining about me when we're not winning. And being in a contract year, it's just not smart. [Haywood makes $6 million this season and will be an unrestricted free agent come July.]
NBA.com: Welcome to our world. In the media, we take as much heat as we dish out these days.
BH: Yeah. If we were in first place, I'd probably still be doing it. But I just felt like, when you're not winning, it's best to be seen and not heard.
NBA.com: Did Wizards management ask you to cool it?
BH: No, the team didn't ask me to do anything. I just did it on my own. We're struggling right now, we need the least amount of distractions possible. Especially with the sensitive nature of how people are today, anything can be interpreted a million different ways.
NBA.com: You did get some good "traffic'' as they say, and a lot of comments.
BH: A lot of pieces had a lot of comments, as far as Tiger, Michael Vick, Obama and what he did in his address to the schools.
NBA.com: You really opened up your blog to non-basketball topics, writing about things like Rush Limbaugh's NFL ownership ambitions and financial planning. You also took on the Magic Johnson-Isiah Thomas rift.
BH: Anybody can talk about, "I went down the lane and got a dunk.'' Or "I blocked a shot.'' That's not fun. What else is going on? What are you doing outside of basketball? What are your thoughts on this issue? If you watch [shows] like Mike & Mike, they talk about sports but they talk about other things too. I think showing who you are and what you care about outside of basketball is very important, media-wise.
NBA.com: Gilbert Arenas seemed to put himself on the map in a bigger way with his Web site and blog. He was one of the league's so-called pioneers at it. But he shut it down, too, earlier this season.
BH: Yeah, I really liked his blog. But he quit for the same reason that I quit. It's one of those things where you're having fun, you're liking doing it, you're loving getting your opinion out there. But there are just so many people who want to be negative and tear things down that you feel like it's not worth it. It's a shame because I'm sure more guys would like to do it, but they're scared to take a stance.
NBA.com: Will this sour you on pursuing a media role going forward?
BH: No, it hasn't soured me at all. I look at it as an education process, because you have to really, really select your words carefully. Because anything can be turned or twisted ... Like when I did my piece on Tiger Woods, we had people calling, saying "Haywood supports abusing women and cheating!'' Uh, noooooo, I didn't say I support that. I said he was wrong from the very start. I said [his wife Elin's] actions were wrong as well. But because my comments weren't in line with what everybody thought I should say -- that Tiger's a bad guy -- some people got upset. Hey, he did some bad things. It is what it is.
NBA.com: Blogging or not, you're still an opinionated guy. You've caused some stirs with comments quoted by reporters. Are you putting on a gag that way, too?
BH: Nah. I'm still going to speak my mind and say what I need to say. I'm probably one of the most opinionated players in the NBA. I've got an opinion on everything, from basketball to football, to politics to music to religion. I try to stay away from the real dicey things, but sometimes I still make people mad. So I figured, "You know what, until we turn this thing around, I'm just going to chill out.''
NBA.com: There is a lot of hypocrisy out there now -- media people want players and celebrities to be open and honest, but many then criticize them if those views don't take a certain side of an issue. Old and new media outlets alike often don't report these days, they simply react to other people's reactions. Then they scold them. And then they wonder why so many athletes stick to clichés and don't open up.
BH: When I [got that reaction] to the Michael Vick blog, that was mind-blowing. I was like, "Wow! Because I say the guy deserves a second chance, people think I'm supporting dog fighting? How do you even make that connection?'' It's been an education, and I'm glad I got it. Because you need to know these things before you get on the other side. You need to understand what's going on.
NBA.com: I see you've handed off the blogging duties to JaVale [McGee, Wizards backup center].
BH: Yeah, hopefully he'll do a good job. He's really young ... To have a good blog, you've got to have something to say. Gilbert's was good because it was cutting edge. I think I got a lot of hits because, basically, what I did was take the conversations that I have every day with my friends or at barber shops and applied it to my blog. At the barber shop, you hear, "What's Obama going to do about this or that?'' People want to hear about that. Right now you can't go anywhere without hearing about Tiger Woods. So all I did was take that roundtable or barber shop mentality and apply it to my blog. And I was able to have some success.
NBA.com: What other media work have you done?
BH: I worked with the WNBA, [doing color commentary of] the Mystics for like two years. I hosted a radio show this summer for a little bit in D.C. I did some in-studio work on our games last season when I was hurt. I'm really interested in the media and how it works Actually, I've done every type of media work I can: In-studio work, live broadcasts, I've done radio. On the computer, typing my thoughts on different topics. I don't know what else is left.
NBA.com: Wait, you haven't written a game story yet?
BH: You know, that's the one part of media that I wouldn't want to work in. I wouldn't want to be a beat reporter.
NBA.com: Why?
BH: It's not my passion. I love commentators. When I see guys like Doug Collins and Hubie Brown, they bring life to games. They have their own signatures, things they say. They educate fans, they're intriguing, they're intellectual, they're funny. I love Jeff Van Gundy -- who knew Jeff Van Gundy was funny until he became a commentator? I love in-studio work. I love Kenny Smith. I love radio shows, because I listen to sports talk radio. I love Mike & Mike and Scott Van Pelt's show. Local shows that we have in D.C. I love all that stuff. I know that being a beat writer is an integral part of sports, but that's not where my heart lies.
NBA.com: What, you mean you don't want to fight a deadline 30 minutes after a game or chase all those stories about groin pulls?
BH: It's a lot of grunt work.
NBA.com: And fly commercial.
BH: Ooh.
NBA.com: What about Facebook and Twitter? NBA players seemed to be pushing the envelope on that "social media'' stuff. You aren't active?
BH: I did Facebook for a while. But it was [too public]. I'm off all that.
NBA.com: Some of your colleagues have gotten in trouble, and fined even, for "tweeting'' during games or otherwise breaching league protocol. You must have an opinion about that.
BH: Yeah -- if that's the rule, that's the rule. You can't say anything bad about anything David Stern has laid down the law on, because David Stern rules this league. You don't want to speak out against him. So whether you've got to pay for it or not, leave it alone.
Posts
