Fanboi Excuse-Making Or Attempt At Balance.

They are celebrities. And businesses are happy to do them favors. Would not be surprised if tattoo place was happy to do it for free (or perhaps in exchange for some tickets, which all players get). Being able to see your work on TV and telling others that "I did those tats on Joe Superstar" would be well worth it.

Laimbeer, Bill
Rambis, Kurt
Ainge, Danny (a thug who leaves teeth marks)

 

Three from 20 years ago.

Still doesn't change "thug" from being code for "black" these days.

 

Lots of 'em in the NHL. But they are just called goons instead.

Lots in the NFL. But they are just called dirty players.

But in a sport in which 80 percent are black and get 90 percent of the playing time . . . most of your "thugs" will be black.

 

BTE --
That would constitute an extra benefit, just like a car.
Can't do it.
Sorry.

 

It's like going 60 in a 55 mph zone.

Can't do it. But everyone does.

All players get a handful of tickets to every game. Most go to friends and family. A few go for favors. No paper trail. Impossible to enforce, unless the player is really dumb. A car? Yeah, red flags would be raised. A tattoo or a free meal? Not so much.

 

$3000 worth of tats?

 

Yeah, if I have a choice between Calkins and DLB, Damn Little Bastard comes in second every time

 

Have I missed something? I may have. The only criticism I've heard of this Memphis team is that it can't shoot free throws, a fact backed up by numbers. Has anybody called them a gang of thugs in print or on the airwaves? If so, I'm curious to read/hear.

 

I think this column addresses that problem well, and on a scale of 1 to 10, with 5 being neutral and 10 being a total fanboy, I think Calkins maybe hits a 5. He's certainly saying "Cut it out, these are people" with the column, but he's not really dismissing the notion, either.

I hate to say it, too, but I think the reputation that the players are thugs comes partly from it being Memphis, too. I've seen mostly that it's not the case from talking to a few of them. They're just unique players "cut from a different cloth," so to speak, as you average basketball player is.

 

I don't read Calkins regularly, but from what I've seen, he's certainly not afraid to rip Calipari. So I don't see this as some fanboi defense.

 

This is definitely true. Although Jason Williams was an obvious exception when he was at Florida.