The Detroit Bad Boys word of the day is Schadenfreude
- scha-den-freu-de [shahd-n-froi-duh]
- satisfaction or pleasure felt at someone else’s misfortune.
- what Detroit Pistons fans are feeling right now.
-noun
The honeymoon is over; can Ben Wallace and Scott Skiles save the marriage?
In case you missed it, Ben Wallace had himself a passive-aggressive hissy-fit on Saturday night. On the heels of an embarrassing zero-point, zero-rebound, zero-steal, zero-block performance on Friday in which he spent much of the second half on the bench, Ben took it upon himself to silently but publicly challenge head coach Scott Skiles on a Bulls team rule forbidding headbands.
Even though he’s known about the rule all season, Ben wore his headband at the start of Saturday’s game against the Knicks. Skiles didn’t notice until two minutes after tipoff, at which point he pulled Wallace for Malik Allen. Wallace headed to the bench and defiantly kept his headband on for nearly eight minutes. From K.C. Johnson is the Chicago Tribune:
After Wallace was removed, assistant Ron Adams went to talk to him. Fellow assistant Pete Myers, Wallace’s closest confidant, subsequently followed suit. Finally, assistant Jim Boylan, Skiles’ right-hand man, visited him. And, still, the headband remained.
When Wallace finally removed it, during a deadball situation with 2:41 left in the first quarter, Skiles called for him to re-enter.
Wallace played the rest of the first quarter and most of the second. But then coming out of halftime, with the Bulls nursing a healthy 22-point lead and in prime position to end a grueling a six-game losing streak, Wallace again went out of his way to draw the ire of his head coach. From the Trib:
Wallace slipped the headband back on just before the second half was set to start. Skiles immediately sent Malik Allen to the scorer’s table before play began.
When Wallace again removed the headband during a timeout with 5:46 left in the third, he re-entered just 81 seconds later.
Mind you, Skiles was actually ejected a minute into the third quarter after picking up a pair of technicals for arguing with the refs. Despite the fact his team ended their six-game slide, he probably wasn’t in the best of moods when talking to reporters after the game. Nevertheless, both men tried downplaying the situation, albeit in a not-very-convincing manner. From the Trib:
Is Skiles’ worried Wallace’ insubordination will become an issue?
“No,” he said after the game. “I don’t know why. I’m just not.”
Is Skiles’ worried Wallace’ insubordination will become an issue?
“No,” he said after the game. “I don’t know why. I’m just not.”
Skiles wouldn’t comment on why his rule is in effect. Wallace wouldn’t comment on if he agreed with it.
“Man, I don’t care about that,” Wallace said. “All I know is we got the win.”
Asked if he understood why he was benched, Wallace looked downward.
“Ask [Skiles],” he said. “Coach makes the decisions. I just play.”
Don’t let Skiles’ nonchalance fool you — this was a serious enough offense to warrant a 25-minute team meeting to stress team unity after the game. According to Johnson’s reports from two people present at the meeting, Wallace didn’t apologize. That shouldn’t be a surprise — he never apologized for his disappearing act at the end of that fateful game in Orlando last year either.
It’s easy to disregard this incident as simply the frustration of a six-game losing streak boiling over, but reports out of Chicago suggest Wallace’s frustrations with Skiles have been brewing ever since he signed the contract. Tribune writer K.C. Johnson writes:
According to league and Bulls sources, Wallace has felt unfairly singled out by team rules that have taken away his pregame music, his headband and his tape-free ankles.
Sources said Wallace became upset early in training camp when Skiles enforced a team rule to tape ankles. Wallace never taped his ankles when he played for Detroit.
Wallace left practice to get his ankles taped and, unaccustomed to being constricted, had trouble running and sat out most of the practice, the sources said.
Less than a week later, Wallace hooked his MP3 player into a docking station to play music in the locker room before the first home exhibition game. Asked then if he now allowed pregame music inside the locker room, Skiles said he was unaware any was playing.
By the next home exhibition game, Wallace had headphones connected to his MP3 player. The headphones hung from a hook in his locker, with the volume turned up so loudly that music clearly emanated from them throughout the locker room.
Several people within the organization, including players, theorized Wallace was marking his turf for what perhaps was an inevitable clash between two strong-willed men.
Interesting, eh? Mind you, this is coming from a player who lauded Skiles’ discipline when he signed with Chicago, citing his in-your-face style of coaching as something all players need. But when push comes to shove, Wallace showed his colors: for a player who fashions himself as a consummate teammate willing to do whatever it takes to win, he has an awfully delicate psyche and is quite easily offended. He’s been in this situation before, more or less
After a summer of hearing how the Bulls might contend for the NBA title, the Bulls have come out flat. And Wallace, whose numbers are down across the board, has become an easy target as a potential free agent bust. Some fans are already calling for him to be traded. Rick Morrissey suggests that Wallace has stolen the team’s money.
Ben never faced anything like this in Detroit — he was beloved by all of the fans and was the face of the franchise, and when he got creative with his headgear people thought it was hilarious.
In one of his mailbag columns for the Tribune, Smith’s description of Chicago’s locker room sounds like night and day compared to what Wallace was used to with the Pistons:
[This] is not a close team. It’s not quite the old Red Sox of 25 guys and 25 cabs (now it’s Hummer limos), but the players don’t hang around together much and Skiles isn’t a touchy-feely coach.
Coming from a team with a tight-knit core, Wallace must feel like he’s in a foreign country. Remember, this is a guy who admits to calling Chauncey, Rip, Tay and Sheed during his negotiations with the Pistons and the Bulls this summer, seeking counsel from guys who weren’t just co-workers but also friends. According to Smith’s latest column, Wallace is still calling his former teammates, only this time he’s griping about life with his new team:
The one question Pistons players say they have repeatedly asked Wallace is: Didn’t he know where he was going?
It’s no secret the Bulls have such rules and I recall various headband issues with Ron Artest and Jamal Crawford. It’s not like Skiles has been running around squirting water from the fake flower on his lapel. It’s not like the Bulls have a team of savvy veterans with championship experience.
This is the team Wallace chose.
That they offered about $12 million more over four years seemed to be Wallace’s priority.
There’s the rub, Ben. You proved this summer that everyone has a price, and you’re learning this season that every choice has a consequence. Have fun counting all of your money, and here’s to hoping your new team isn’t completely gutted when they’re forced to trade some of your promising young teammates to acquire that legitimate offensive threat down low they should have went after last summer.
I don’t think Ben Wallace will be a problem-child for the Bulls all season, but I do expect Wallace’s four-year decline to continue — he faced similar questions early last year about Ben Wallace not quite being Ben Wallace, and sooner or later everyone should probably realize that he’s simply no longer the player he used to be in 2003 or 2004. Most of the time when Wallace pouted in the past he’d come back with a vengeance for a nice stretch of games, but in the end there’s no hiding that his numbers have steadily declined the last few years.
For Chicago, that’s a tough pill to swallow, and they’ll be swallowing it for another three seasons after this one. As far as I’m concerned, all that talk about Chicago being a legitimate title contender this year falls in the same category as the Pacers being a preseason favorite last year — sports writers trying to outsmart themselves simply because they’re bored picking the usual teams.
If any Pistons fans are feeling schadenfreude, I am ashamed to call myself one.
This is a man who is likely regarded as the most important Piston of this decade. A man who represented us in the All-Star game when we were starting Michael Curry. A man who brought us 4 Defensive Player of the Year awards.
Is he perfect? Hell no. The question becomes, how much bad can undo a lot of good? And is it really in our best interest to revel in this man losing any chance he had of going into the HOF as a Piston?
Schadenfreude. Embarassing. For all of us.
Oh get off your high horse, buddy. He left for what he thought was greener pastures because he became greedy and a little too big for his britches. Now he may be noticing what he’s given up. And that’s something we can revel in.
Hopefully everyone realizes that the ’some fans want him traded already’ doesn’t include me…even though it was a link to my site. Inherent problem with giving the readers a voice, heh.
Maybe I am in the minority but I don’t take any satisfaction in this at all. 99% of NBA players as well as we working class people would take a pay hike and relocate if we had the chance.
Ben did alot for this franchise and even though he has shown signs of frustration doesn’t mean that I will sit here and snicker about the decision he made.
During the height of his career he was significantly underpaid, that is the part most people forget. I actually apreaciate all he did for the Pistons and I hate to see the man in a bad situation.
Yeah, I sorta agree with both points. I’ll never boo Ben just becasue he was the corner stone which made the Pistons relevant again. He’s one of the biggest reasons we won in ‘04, and I’ll never forget that as a fan.
But, in the sense that we never thought that Ben would be a “take the money and run” kind of guy, it’s nice to see him realize (and quickly!) how much he really misses Detroit. Although I do think this kind of meltdown was coming whether he was a Piston or a Bull or a Cav or whatever. I think it’s just frustration that comes from him realizing he’s on the decline because he is and always was a guy who relied on being a better athlete and hustling more than other players and had no other discernable basketball skill. And I’m just glad this isn’t going on with my team, and we aren’t stuck with a contract that’s going to cripple us for the next 3-4 years.
What is the difference between Ben Wallace and Grant Hill? Their Piston tenures were the same length; you could argue (short of one championship) that Grant was even more decorated than Ben; and I never got the impression that Grant had quit on his team (his final year as a Piston was his best).
So why is it “embarrassing” to root against Ben, and yet it was en vogue to root against Grant when he forced the Pistons’ hand in ‘00?
The difference between those two and the revered Pistons of past teams (Isiah, Joe D, Bill Laimbeer, Vinnie, Mahorn) — they never took the money and ran.
You’re either with us, or you’re against us. Ben chose his fate when he a) left the Pistons, b) for a divisional rival, and c) bitched and moaned about his former coach on the way out. Will I remember his time in Detroit fondly? Probably. Do I wish him success for a division rival? Hell no.
I’d be with Ian if I were a Pistons fan. Hell, I completely turned on Michael Jordan after the anti-Bulls shennanigans he pulled as a Wizard.
As for the shadenfreude, I’m not very upset since I was feeling the same thing after the Pistons slow start (after they were talking up how Ben’s departure would help and ‘open up the playbook’ and all that). I guess we’ll see how things go over the course of the season.
the devil on my shoulder is with ian, the angel with the microwave. i consider ben one of my favorite players of all time, but a part of that is based on what i thought before he took $60 million over his teammates, his biggest supporter, joe dumars, and a city that adored him. you would have thought that “say it ain’t so, ben” innocence would have been squashed a long time ago, but i really believed ben would stand by the city and the team over the green. and he revealed himself as just another run-of-the-mill athlete.
here’s the other things i’m thinking about thanks to headband-gate:
this makes me think more of flip saunders, who i have been highly critical of, that he really was just minding his own business when he got swooped up in hurricane ben. and that ben’s moping and bullshiite could have had as much to do with our collapse last year as saunders appearing to be out-coached.
how many bullets can dumars dodge? if ben would have accepted his offer? yikes. i think joe’s very happy with his nazr/dale davis center combo for a third of the price. if they pull down ZERO boards, it’s barely a footnote.
though chauncey is no ben as far as insanity level, do you think big shot is taking notice of ben’s new sitch? wallace is certainly helping in negotiations with chauncey before they even begin.
and i never really liked grant hill anyway, even in the (shudder) teal. once a dukie, always a dukie.
Actually schadenfreude means deriving pleasure from the pain of others, and no, as a Piston fan, I feel none of that right now.
Anyone who does, could probably use a good smack right about now.
Ben Wallace has a championship ring on his finger.
Scott Skiles does not.
Both Flip and Skiles have proven only one thing so far: they’re obsessive control freaks with a propensity for draining the character out of players and driving teams with championship potential, straight into the ground.
Ben Wallace, like many NBA veterans, has pre-game habits and routines he uses to loosen up.
There is nothing wrong with any player who does that, outside of someone like the younger KG, who was so anal in the locker room you could hear a pin-drop, to the detriment of his team. He wised up.
The issue here is Skiles’ fanatical devotion to rules that translate to zero positive results on the court, but can can slowly (or in this case fairly quickly) get under a player’s skin and demotivate them.
This makes Skiles a lousy coach on that (player motivation) score.
What works is what wins, and Chicago’s beat reps would love nothing more, apparently, to pin the team failures on an arguably ill-advised trade, but there’s more to this picture than that.
Shame on you punks for dropping turds on a guy who left town after building a championship team and then being shown the door by Bill Davidson’s greed. No-one can argue with the math of NBA salaries, declining unmbers, and age, but to my mind, Ben was our franchise player and you pay to keep those around, whether the math adds up or not.
The game is not played in a classroom with slide-rules, it is played on the court, where people sweat.
Chauncey probably can’t HELP but see what’s been going on with Ben. According to Ian’s post, he’s been calling him and complaining. I think Billups getting that earful every once in a while will go a long way towards staying next year.
RC–
I can’t take credit for this post (much as I’d like to); this was all Matt.
To Matt, your friendly Bulls blogger:
How could you not see that losing Ben would open up the playbook? How about on every offensive possession Ben Wallace was supposed to stand within 5-10 of the rim which would possibly cause 2 of the teams slashers from having space to slash and cut to the rim like they’re doing this year?
Having the ability to give the ball down low to Dale Davis, Nazr, Maxiell, McDyess and actually be able to get 10 points out of the center position unlike with Ben and his small hands.
I don’t dislike Ben for leaving, I think he’s an offensive liability. I knew all along whoever we got to fill the center spot would be a significant upgrade on the offensive end. With the way the NBA is going, defense in the middle and in the paint is not going to matter much soon.. so why spend $60m on a guy who makes a living standing in the lane looking for blocks?
I think it serves Ben right to roll out on the only team in the league that ever gave him a chance. Business is business though… so long as everyday when he looks at the standings he sees Detroit is still above his team, that’s all that matters to me.
@Ian, I never crapped on Hill or Stack for wanting max deals. I am not a player hater.
All 4 of the players you listed had problems with this organization or another, including Laimbeer who retired in a huff because the Pistons wouldn’t pay him and he didn’t like the direction the team was headed in. He also took shots at the Pistons front office. Sound familiar yet?
@JackDutch, honest post. I can dig the conflicted emotions. And great call on Dumars. He’s been very lucky along the way.
Laimbeer was at the end of his career and realized that he would rather retire a Piston than play for anyone else. The situation couldn’t be more different than Ben’s.
I can respect your opinion on Ben — just not the attempts to label those who don’t share it as “embarrassing.”
It’s uncanny how the career trajectory of Ben Wallace is starting to mirror that of his mentor, Charles Oakley.
Oak came out of Virginia Union unknown, and quickly impressed with his willingness to rebound and do the dirty work for the Bulls. Over time he even started to show some offensive game, and people came to realize what a good player he was. But the warmth of a well-deserved spotlight didn’t gratify Charles Oakley. It made him self-righteous and a little greedy, believing he deserved the chance to brick X number of jumpers per game because he did a man’s job under the boards. Soon he was huffing and puffing and playing alpha male on a growing succession of teams … until the lingering memory of Oak became one of a guy who slapped around other players because they owed him money.
Thanks for the memories, Ben. You’re a grown man and you wouldn’t like anyone pitying the choices you’ve made, so it’s all on you. But try to let go of the bitterness, OK?
I feel bad that Ben Wallace, the former face of Detroit’s franchise, is frustrated with his new team, just like I feel bad that Isiah Thomas has had the touch of death with just about everything he’s done after leaving Detroit. But just because I wish it weren’t so doesn’t mean it’s not humorous all the same. Ben, like Isiah, has brought it upon himself.
Was Ben underpaid in Detroit? Maybe, but he was certainly overpaid when Dumars gave him that first contract when he had just one full year of starting experience under his belt. Ben did a lot for the franchise, but it goes both ways: the franchise helped turn this guy into a star when every other team he played for saw him as a bit part.
And Dumars tried to make him the highest-paid Piston, despite overwhelming evidence that Wallace’s best days were behind him. That’s called taking care of your players. But offering what Chicago did? A figure which surprised everyone around the league? That’s risky at best and stupid at worst.
(And citing Detroit’s failure to match the offer as an indication of Bill Davidson’s greed is simply asinine. Chicago had money to burn and more room under the cap than anyone in the league — that was as much of a factor in their decision to sign him for as much as they did than any of their scouting reports. If anything, his lackluster showing so far should serve as hindsight vindicating Detroit’s decision to let him walk.)
Look guys! The fact of the matter is like Ben or not. The bulls did the Pistons a favor by putting 60 mil on the tabel. I don’t hate ben for leaving. I understand only a fool would turn down that kind of money. Ben did not owe the pistons anything. nor did the pistons owe him anything. but still joe d put a more than fair offer on the tabel for Ben’s past work as a piston. I love Ben as a player, but I am a Piston Fan 1st and love them more. The only thing I did not like about Ben leaving is when he talked bad about Flip in the news.Flip never said anything bad about him in the media. Ben looks so unhappy and he is not playing hard. It looks like it was more Ben than Flip now.
I agree with Anderson and whoever mentioned this previous: Last year I thought it was Flip not liking Ben instead of the other way around. Now it seems like a completely different story.
All I’ll say is when you decide you want to work for $16,000,000 a year instead of only a puny $12,000,000 is when you get labeled as “greedy.” My goodness, never in my life will I ever be in a position to make a decision like that. All the man does is grab big round balls bouncing off a glass wall. Sheesh. My father builds roofs every day and he’s lucky to make $60,000 a year. Ben should’ve realized what a lucky guy he was.
Ben Wallace is allright with me. Go Pistons!
This is a response to G’s post waaaay back:
I think it’s a bit odd to criticize Scott Skiles’ disciplinary action. You say shame on Skiles for putting the kibosh on pre-game routines and drills that help a player loosen up? These are grown-ass men who make MILLIONS of dollars a year — if they can’t warm up without listening to music, or play well without wearing a headband, there’s a bigger problem than Skiles being a control freak. I know it’s a different era, but seriously, why can’t professionals BE professional? If my employer tells me to do something, I do it. Maybe it’s begrudgingly, but I do it because that’s my job and that’s what’s asked of me. If my coach made me tape my ankles (and I’m sure doctors can provide stats proving it might save you from a sprain or two) I’m all for it!
I can appreciate what Ben Wallace did for the Pistons, and I can also appreciate what the Pistons have done for Ben Wallace; but I think putting blame on Skiles for sucking Ben’s passion for the game away is a bit misplaced.
I really don’t care about Ben Wallace anymore. Sure, he helped us these past few years. But he’s not a Piston anymore, so good riddance. He wanted more money, he got more money. But surely that money won’t buy more headbands. LOL.
Sorry, haven’t had my coffee yet.
Piling it on Ben now that he left town is WRONG. The radio guys, Sam Smith, and even Detroit Bad Boys are not PLAYERS in the league. Players Association sides with Ben on this one. The players will, too.
The Piston players don’t dislike Ben Wallace. Horse pooey.
PR from both front offices trying to make themselves look good. Ben happens to be a gangsta and he’s not afraid of Skiles and Pax, WHO HAPPEND TO LIE or at least OMIT in their recruit of him.
Ben isn’t the best at politics, but he ain’t no punk beeeeeeatch.
Funny how McCoskey and the rest bus chuck him NOW. Where were these clowns when Ben was winning games and awards and a Title. They were riding his Jock. So much player hating.
it makes me sick.
this blog is cool, but you guys are being homers.
Allrights: Ben is purposefully creating controversy — I don’t think calling him out on it is “piling it on.” Rules are rules, even when they’re dumb rules. If Ben wants a rule changed, he should talk to Skiles or Paxson behind closed doors, not publicly flaunt his disregard for the rule (and, in turn, his disrespect for his coach and GM) in front of the fans. No matter how much money he’s making, he’s a co-captain on that team, and he’s failing to live up to that role.
Matt- I agree. Ben is out of line. No doubt.
BUT- If I was the Bulls I would have made an exception for my 60 million dollar free agent recruit. They’ve been messing with him since training camp from what I read.
WHY SIGN HIM and put a pic of him WITH HEADBAND on your tickets and then tell the man he can’t wear them? HE IS THE CO-CAPTIAN and he has been wearing the headband for years!! Why play head games with the guy? They need him.
The Bulls will not get any love from FA’s after this. Ben is respected in the league. Lot’s of guys have problems with their coaches from time to time. Ben was a good soldier in Detroit. Anything else is revisionist PR.
crazy.
I like Ben Wallace. I like Scott Skiles. I like you men. I do not like McCoskey or Sam Smith. They are as much creating controversey as Ben.
From the sounds of it, maybe they would have made an exception had he handled this better. John Paxon in the Chicago Trib:
“We have to be a little careful in terms of changing something for one player at this time. If I knew this was going to be an issue a month or two ago and Ben had expressed that to us, that might’ve been a way to handle it. Right now, we’re in a tough position. We have the rule for the right reasons.”
I’m not quite sure I believe Paxson when he says they didn’t know this issue would be a problem.
You mean Ben just said OK when they told him about it? I doubt that. They knew he didn’t like it, I’m sure, but they didn’t think he would make a spectacle of himself/them, so they made no change. That’s why he did it, I bet.
I think the Bulls players are tired of being treated like kids and Ben is the only one man enough to stand up to the tyrant policies.
I bet this endears him to players, not the opposite. Players and fans and press people are three very different animals.
I think Ben will explode and be a beast soon enough. His demise is greatly exaggerated.
Quite a discussion you all have going here. My thoughts:
1) I was actually sad to hear that Ben had such a horrible showing the other night, but there is a small part of me that is glad he’s not playing for Detroit anymore.
2) I think the rules sound pretty ridiculous, however Ben’s actions were very disrepectful and unprofessional. If he and the other players wanted to address this situation, why not have a player’s meeting and then discuss it with the coach? His behavior did nothing to further his cause and only served to hurt the team (maybe).
3) I don’t think it’s sacriledge to question Ben’s current abilities or his current (and past) behavior, and to be embarrassed that a fan might wish him “misfortune” seems a bit strange when you think of the very nature of a fan- you root FOR one and AGAINST the other (and most of us root against our ex-es– team-based and otherwise–at least a little, don’t we?).
And for that matter, we certainly don’t mind calling out players or coaches (Larry Brown, anyone??) when they’re on our team for poor performances or behavior.
And people offering counter arguments and opinions in the COMMENTS section is not “piling on”. This is a BLOG, it’s the writer’s job to offer opinions and commentary, some with a light heart and some with serious insight… readers get to comment and agree or disagree. It’s what we do, and we do it quite well on both sides of the issue.
4) I believe (and I think everyone can be happy about this) (wink, wink, nudge, nudge) that this is all really a scheme to make the Bulls crappy and poor. Ben and Joe came up with a long term solution to the rising “Bulls” problem by sending Ben in as a saboteur. He’s really wearing a Piston’s jersey underneath. LOL.:)
here’s something we may have overlooked:
how friggin’ retarded (using in the tom jackson sense) is it to have a no-headband policy? are you kidding me? it does serve a function, you know. like keeping sweat out of one’s eyes when one gets sweaty. patrick ewing should have worn three. it’s like jim leyland telling his players they can’t wear batting gloves anymore. paxson and skiles are complete morons. and the best part is that both parties, by not being up front and actually communicating about things, have now drawn an immovable battle line, over a NO-HEADBAND POLICY. if they let ben wear a headband, they’re going to look like pushovers. if they don’t, they’re going to speed up the timer on the ticking clock, because you know ben’s too stubborn to let it go.
these guys truly deserve each other…
As a long-time Piston fan, I get no enjoyment at seeing Ben going through a rough time in Chicago. But I am glad he’s gone. I’ll never forget how shocked I was when it was officially announced that he was leaving. I didn’t want to believe it and it took me about a week to come to grips with it. Ben has meant more to the Franchise than any single player except for maybe Isiah. But when I got my head straight and remembered how much of a liability he was in the playoff series with Miami, I realized that it was time to move on. Ben is the WORST free throw shooter in NBA history and hasn’t shown any improvement. He’s also getting an attitude that isn’t healty. He’s not worth even close to the $12 mill/year Joe offered him. $15 mill a year is a joke. At the pace he’s going, he’ll be lucky to be starting four years from now. But I don’t wish that upon him. I really hope he does start playing better, just not against us!!
It’s no surprise all of this is happening to Ben. His attitude had clearly been declining, along with his skills, since the championship in 2004. Sitting out the end of the game last year was a major part in the Piston’s eventual downfall.
At this point in his career, he simply has a negative attitude along with his declining skills and I think he would be a detriment to almost any team.
You can’t play 4 on 5 on offense if you’re not getting incredible contributions and effort on the defense and rebounding end, and Ben simply doesn’t provide that anymore.
Coming from Sweden not following NBA at all I read a small notice about Chicago winning over Knicks. In that notice there was a small part about the headband-thing.
This sounded so freaking weird that I had to Google it and then I turned up here.
So my question is the same as JackDutch has. What is the idea with a no headband rule? For me it sounds like an insanely stupid rule.
Can someone explain this for me?
We all fail to realize that basketball is an occupation just like any other job or career. I don’t think to many of us today stay at the same job for 20 years anymore. That is because we want to move on where the bigger paycheck is. Ben is just a person like all of us. He has the right to bitch complain, move on, and then still bitch a little more if he needs to. Now Piston fans and Bulls fans get off your high horse and give the man a break. The bottom line is I love B-ball, but it is still just a game and entertainment. Sorry, but it just aint that serious. Let the man wear the headband, who the hell is it hurting?
LOVE that googling “headband-gate” results in inquiring minds finding this chat. especially from other countries. we’ve officially done our job of talking this to death. well done, people!
for walle, supposedly the no-headband policy currently enforced by the chicago bulls regime stems from certain former players who had a less than exemplary attitude/effort in how they approached the game. bulls management obviously thought that the crooked headbands they were wearing were the cause of their poor work ethic and inconsistent play, and those few bad apples spoiled the whole bunch for all players who might enjoy, or even need, a headband. see ben wallace. now why he blatantly and brazenly refused to take off his headband when he knew it was against bulls team policy is a whole different question. a question that involves going beneath the ‘fro and figuring out the psyche of one benjamin wallace. and there’s about 3 dozen other blog entries about that can of worms, if you’re interested…
Thanks JackDutch. No valid reason at all then…
Listen,
I have to agree with g. Don’t get mad at Ben Wallace for leaving Detroit. I think it’s safe to say Detroit won’t be winning any Championships anytime soon. That is why Ben left, he knew Flip was no Larry Brown! Neither is Scott Skiles. You have to do what it takes, within reason, to make your players happy. I’m pretty sure many of you need a cup of coffee in the monrning, or you are cranky all day!
Ben needs his pregrame regimine. And no headbands?? What is this 1942 Germany? Forcing him to tape his ankles? Why don’t you make me wear pink socks while you’re at it?
Scott Skiles is a fool for preventing players from wearing gear that was made/endorsed by the NBA!!!! I’m pretty sure the NBA logo is on it!