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The KG question I'd rather not ask


 

I'm loathe to pose this question, since race is always an incendiary subject, and the alleged concern about Boston's alleged racism that Kevin Garnett was erroneously saddled with upon joining the Celtics has been justifiably forgotten. But I'll do it anyway:

Why do white players seem to bring out the worst in Garnett?

Consider:

November 2008: Garnett is suspended for one game after hitting Bucks center Andrew Bogut in the face.

November 2008: Garnett gets strangely agitated with Raptors point guard Jose Calderon.

May 2008: Garnett puts too much shoulder into his screen of the Hawks' Zaza Pachulia during the Eastern Conference finals, just a few games after shoving his forearm into Pachulia's upper torso/throat.

September 2004: Garnett punches rookie Rick Rickert during a Timberwolves practice.

January 2001: Garnett labels Bucks rookie Joel Przybilla a "fake thug."

November 2000: Garnett and Wolves rookie Wally Szczerbiak "scuffle" after practice.

Yes, Garnett has always been a remarkably intense player. Yes, he's a great guy off the court. And yes, he get chippy with black players, too. (I still remember one Wolves-Spurs playoff game where Garnett swung hard at Tim Duncan and missed his head. Duncan responded with his patented, googly-eyed, WTF? look; in this case, it was actually appropriate.) But the nastiest, least rational, most embarrassing episodes involve the NBA's limited roster of white talent. 

One possible explanation can be found way back in Garnett's past, in an incident recounted in a 1995 NY Times article on Garnett's preps-to-pros jump:

Two years ago...an incident occurred that changed Garnett's life. He was a junior in high school in his hometown of Mauldin, S.C., a middle-class suburban community outside Greenville. There was a fight with racial overtones in a school corridor in which a group of black students badly beat up a white student. Garnett was part of the group charged with assault. He participated in a pretrial diversion program for first-time offenders, and his record was cleared. But there was a possibility that he would not be allowed to play on the school basketball team in his senior year -- that after he had been named the best prep player in South Carolina.

Then again, that was fifteen years ago.

Thoughts, readers?

P.S.--By way of disclosure, I'm an overinvested (white) KG fan who still hasn't gotten over his exit from Minnesota.

  • BostonKnucklehead said:

    He plays for Boston what else is he supposed to do?

    November 20, 2008 6:43 AM
  • bill mccready said:

    even though he is a "central figure" in NE sports history (now), who REALLY cares about what he MIGHT be thinking about race?if someone asked me(which noone ever does),i'd tell them to grow up,and move on to something more relevant,as a people,americans waste way too much time(and print)worrying about non-issues ingrained into our collective childhood conciousness-its commentary and sensationalism like this that will continue to stunt our own childrens growth,and should no longer take such priority in media -atime and place for every thing

    November 20, 2008 6:55 AM
  • Devine said:

    I'm willing to bet Adam's pretty stoked that you consider his commentary (and its attendant sensationalism) a toxic enough force to stunt a child's growth.  I know I'd be thrilled if someone attributed that much weight to anything I wrote.

    I hear what you're saying, Adam, but to my way of thinking, the story isn't necessarily that white players bring the worst out of KG ... it's that, on the court, EVERYONE brings the worst out of KG, and yet clear-eyed criticism of his occasionally petulant actions is usually transmogrified into praise of his unabashed intensity in media coverage.

    It might be really interesting to dig into the hometown/national follow-up coverage of the aforementioned KG incidents to see how the media responded.  Could be that he was taken to task for his behavior, but I'd be willing to bet your salary that the amount of anecdotal praise for the DPOY's unbridled competitive spirit significantly outstrips the admonition for his inappropriate responses.

    November 20, 2008 2:08 PM
  • SpoonyBard said:

    As I read through your list of incidents, what struck me was that Garnett takes his aggression out - not on white players - but on players who he's pretty sure won't fight back.  Calderon is nearly a foot shorter, Duncan is mellow to the point of being asleep, and the rest are C or D-List players who know that they'll never come out on top in a scuffle with a superstar.  Giving these guys the business allows KG to cultivate the image of a loose cannon without ever having to risk a serious fight.

    November 20, 2008 4:59 PM
  • eric montross said:

    From Paul Shirley, on Deadspin.

    "[Garnett's] first words to me weren’t even spoken to me—they were spoken around me, as I ventured onto the court for my first pre-preseason pickup game.

    “I don’t know who that white boy is. He doesn’t get to play yet.”

    It was not love at first sight."

    November 20, 2008 5:05 PM
  • busterjonez said:

    KG exhibits a classic bully profile. Witness his altercations with Antonio McDyess and Anthony Peeler. Peeler, who gives up a few pounds and half a foot, made KG back down really quickly just by standing up to him. And Garnett wanted absolutely nothing to do with McDyess after KG challenged him on the court. (Both events are youtube-able)

    My guess is that KG feels like he can more easily push around white players for whatever reason. And so he bullies them without repercussion (witness the Calderon event).

    November 20, 2008 5:29 PM
  • mike m said:

    as a boston transplant living in greenville, sc, i have a unique perspective regarding both boston fanhood and the racial tensions in both cities.

    for the record, i am a celtics fan first, pats second, sox third. and yes, my friends and family treated me like i had a disease. especially when i watched every game on fsn new england and my best memory to show for my loyalty was the ECF game 3 against the nets; the comeback game with pierce, toine and rodney hitting all the free throws. it pains me to say this but i knew many people who derided my fanhood as "the reverse, why do you love a n***ah sport mohre than the sawks?"

    whether you are black, white, or latino, none can truthfully deny the tensions of living in a place like west roxbury. all 3 groups despise the yuppies, out-of-state students, and suburban people from needham and the like more than each other. but at the schools, and i presume the blue collar work force (i left after 1 yr of college), it is very tense. when i first went to boston latin school there was a family of brothers who always hung out despite one being sophomore, one jr, one sr and taking me under their wing and saying "this school is dangerous, blacks and mexicans will knife you for your bookbag". i saw a lot of violence, robberies, etc. in high school

    in greenville, i find it fascinating how backward race relations can be. i play pickup at the y but ironically i shoot around right at mauldin middleschool, and there are tiny homes with cars on blocks in their yards on my way there. and yet i saw "mccain/palin" signs on almost every yard. no amount of social conservatism, which i doubt anyway judging by the beer cans-in-the-yard to baptist church ratio, should entice these people to NOT vote for the candidate that fits their socio-status. it was amazing to hear "i wont vote for that n****r" in grocery stores and other public places, from people who cant afford health care!

    in my experience, suburban mass (the majority of the people who end affording to see c's games) is extremely liberal, often to obnoxious levels. i knew a lot of black kids who got bused to schools in natick or wellesley and loved it, being treated well, hanging out in white/black circles, and getting scholarships through sports. but to me, downtown boston, at least places like westie, are like a battleground. i definitely see how it can earn a reputation for racism. and i most definitely see open racism all the time in kg's childhood community, which was probably worse when he was young. throw in his adopted chicago which is a tough, violent city as well.

    i love kg, his help defense is almost always the correct decision. he sets screens, passes out of double teams, gets big dunks but defers to more complete offensive players in the 4th quarter (which he must do anyway because his adrenaline is out of control). his intensity is what got them out of those comeback games against la. ive seen 2 world series championships, 3 superbowls, and been to 4 parades in boston, but that title was my favorite ever. but its still an interesting question that adam poses.

    i also wonder if it's odd that the celtics are one token white guy (the very boston-looking scal) from being an entirely black team, from coach down to gabe pruitt.

    November 20, 2008 5:58 PM
  • Ryan said:

    This is ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS.  Are you serious with this??  Come on, you have to be kidding me.

    KG's most serious on court incident was with Antonio McDyess.  He regularly gets chippy with Amare.  With Josh Howard.  He got heated a couple times with Josh Smith in the playoffs last year.

    He is an intense player, but when it comes to who he gets into it with, I guarantee he has blinders on when it comes to skin color.

    November 20, 2008 6:01 PM
  • Ryan said:

    to eric montross.... why don't you post the rest of his thoughts?

    "But over the three weeks I spent around the man in training camp, I developed a relatively deep respect for him. I qualify that respect only because I realize that three weeks doesn’t seem all that long. An experience like an NBA training camp is something of a pressure cooker, though, and teammates learn about one another’s character very quickly.

    Kevin Garnett shares some of Bryant’s personality traits. He’s arrogant…but he realizes it. He can be insufferable…but he laughs about it. He’s intense…but he can turn it off."

    I guarantee you that if Paul Shirley was a black man who KG had never met before, he would've said "I don't know who that n***** is. He doesn't get to play yet."

    I don't see any bigotry behind the comments you posted.

    November 20, 2008 6:07 PM
  • Adam said:

    Ryan, if you're thinking of the McDyess incident I'm thinking of, it involved KG backpedaling like crazy. Which makes it a reach to call it his most serious on-court incident.

    And yeah, I *am* serious. I also raise the question as someone who's followed Garnett's career closely, and admired his game tremendously, ever since he first broke into the league.

    November 20, 2008 7:04 PM
  • The 10-man rotation, starring ‘aye, Captain Jack’ | Boobs and More said:

    Pingback from  The 10-man rotation, starring ‘aye, Captain Jack’ | Boobs and More

    November 20, 2008 8:10 PM
  • Ben said:

    I think you'll find the common demoniator in most of the incidents you mention isn't that the players involved are white, it's that they're pricks.

    Wally Z, prick. Rickert, prick. Bogut... I'm an Aussie myself and can safely say he's a prick. Same goes for Ricket, who plays in the Australian league, who comes across as pretty arrogant both on the court and in the media. The incidents with Garnett were hardly the first or last that Wally and Bogut have been involved in either.

    I don't consider the Calderon thing an incident, that was just a psych job that pumped up the Celtics team and the crowd. There wasn't much in the Pachulia one either IMO. Seems like you're reaching a bit to try and make a point.

    November 20, 2008 9:37 PM
  • The 10-man rotation, starring ‘aye, Captain Jack’ | Hot NBA Videos.com said:

    Pingback from  The 10-man rotation, starring ‘aye, Captain Jack’ | Hot NBA Videos.com

    November 20, 2008 10:13 PM
  • JOHN said:

    did anyone forgot the white man named MATT BONNER?

    KG likes that guy.

    =]

    November 21, 2008 3:29 AM
  • The Boston Bean said:

    First off...It says KG's problem with white people may stem back 15 years ago when he was accused of being one of the black students that beat up a white student in a hallway.

        "Jumping" a white person would not make you a racist...it would mean you already are a racist.

    If that is what you meant, then ok I understand your point that this goes way back...and in that case, we all know that most racist do not just become racist one day...but have been brought up in a racist enviorment.

        Most of us WILL NEVER ADMIT IT, but are racist to some degree. The differance...MOST keep that to themself, as a white person would never say something like, "who is that little black boy? He never plays" but in MOST situations on a basketball court, ( like if you are KG & in the NBA ) you can say ANYTHING like, " Who is the white boy?" or ANYTHING with the word "white" as they know they have all the backup they need to say & do as they feel.

        Let's just face it...Blacks hate whites, & yes...there are whites that hate blacks, just as EVERY RACE has a % that are racists.

        The bottom line to that is...It is almost EVERY black in the world that HATE WHITES...and the sooner the ALL the white people make it known we are hated, insteed of acting stupid on the subject...WE CAN SEE THE END OF PEOPLE STARTING POST LIKE THIS ONE!!!

    November 21, 2008 8:46 AM
  • Devine said:

    "The bottom line to that is...It is almost EVERY black in the world that HATE WHITES...and the sooner the ALL the white people make it known we are hated, insteed of acting stupid on the subject...WE CAN SEE THE END OF PEOPLE STARTING POST LIKE THIS ONE!!!"

    And THIS is why it was the KG question that Adam would rather not have asked.  Thanks for playing, Bean.

    November 21, 2008 9:29 AM
  • Brad Deltan said:

    What?  Is KG supposed to be the "magical negro" of the Celtics or something?  Jeez, man...so what if he gets the hate on as long as he wins championships?

    www.thedailyshow.com/.../index.jhtml

    November 22, 2008 12:50 AM
  • sarah said:

    um he's friends with antontio mcdyess - his comment after the game was, "wtf, - this is my friend, why am I fighting him?"

    its really sad if you punch an actual friend of yours. thats him realizing his mistake, but antonio hit his teammate hard as well.

    the other guys, he flat out doesn't like.

    as for jose calderon - please with his racist incident at the olympics who cares? same goes with Bogut who basically called nba players thugs who like to buy big chains.......all nba players.

    he gets into it with shaq, with perk when they weren't,teammates, with Amare, with his former teammates, with kobe, with paul pierce before being his teammate. sheed and him get into it, but are also good friends, and they actaully make a point to trash talk, because they know it helps them pump up for the game.

    sheed seems to be the only one who gets into it with kg and actually likes it.

    he flat out doesn't care if you aren't his teammate. and if you are his teammate and lazy, like wally, he'll let you have it.

    i doubt he cares about his image, or he would have left minny years ago.

    December 9, 2008 12:12 AM

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