Derek Fisher is Owed an Apology

That headline is from a Spurs fan, ladies and gents. The same Derek Fisher that eliminated us from the 2004 NBA Playoffs with a miracle shot with .04 seconds left on the clock is the same one that Utah Jazz fans are booing and heckling mercilessly. He's also the same player I'm defending from the most disturbing heckling I've heard of in a while.

Fisher, the seasoned veteran is one of the most professional people in the history of the NBA. He also has a firm grasp on reality and puts basketball in the proper perspective of human life.

Fisher's daughter, who was months old at diagnosis, was diagnosed with retinoblastoma, a rare eye condition that usually leads to the removal of the infected eye. His daughter has also had a tumor removed between her eyes and brain.

So, with that in mind, I hope whoever is reading this has successfully digested their food.

After the  successful surgery to remove her tumor, Fisher flew back to Salt Lake City, Utah, where Game 2 of the Jazz series against the Golden State Warriors was already in progress. Fisher asked his wife if he could go to the game after a very trying day, and she agreed that he should. The Jazz, having lost Deron Williams to the bench with four fouls and Dee Brown to a neck injury needed a ballhandler, which was the only reason Fisher even went.

With 3:18 left in the 3rd quarter Fisher entered the game to a Willis Reed-like reception in Utah. The only shot he took, a made go-ahead three with roughly a minute to play in the game, gave the Jazz a 2-0 lead over the Warriors. The Jazz would eventually lose to the San Antonio Spurs, en route to the Spurs winning the NBA title.

So, so far, so good.

The cities of New York, NY and Los Angeles, CA are home to some of the best hospitals in the world, and the Los Angeles area is the best city in the U.S. when it comes to cancers like retinoblaustoma.

Fisher asked the Jazz after the 2006-2007 season to be released so he could live and play in a city where his daughter would get the best possible care. The Jazz agreed and Fisher ended up re-joining the Los Angeles Lakers franchise on July 12, 2007. Now that he and his family were living within miles of one of the finest cancer research centers in the world, Fisher could focus on basketball again, with his daughter always in the back of his mind.

Then, Friday, November 30th happened.

Every time Derek Fisher touched the ball, he was booed to no end. Whenever the Jazz have matched up in Utah this season with the Lakers, the boos have come down on Fisher. And fans haven't just booed.

Aside from chanting "CANCER" when Fisher is at the free-throw line, fans have covered their left eyes, the one his daughter has had her problems with, while Fisher is at the line or during stoppages in play.

Fisher doesn't deserve such a moral indeceny from people who paid good money to cheer for the Jazz, not insult a disease that kills millions of people a year and a father whose daughter is a victim of it. I'm not saying all Jazz fans perform this acts, but whomever boos and taunts Derek Fisher owes him an apology, not to mention his daughter.

My dream scenario: The Jazz take a 2 point lead with :10 left, elimination on the line. Derek Fisher, point guard for the Lakers, brings the ball up the floor and looks for teammate Kobe Bryant. Bryant is unable to evade the defense that surrounds him the instant he is the target for the pass. Fisher then takes it to the basket and lays it in while being fouled with .01 left on the clock. He goes to the free throw line, does his repertoire and as he's about to release it, he places the ball on the floor and walks off of the court.

Derek Fisher realizes that there are more important things than basketball, and I just hope fans have the same understanding when he retires with a healthy child.