Defiant Blatche fires back
So by now you know that Wizards Head Coach Flip Saunders and forward Andray Blatche got into it last night during the team's home overtime loss to the Charlotte Bobcats, Washington's 12th loss in a row. Blatche was benched or benched himself after the first quarter and Saunders alleged Blatche refused to go back into the game, abandoning his teammates. Saunders called it the lowest point of the season [which is really saying something] and that he'd never been more disappointed in a player.
[READ THIS FOR A FULL EXPLANATION OF WHAT HAPPENED AND VIDEO OF SAUNDERS DISCUSSING THE CONTROVERSY AFTER THE GAME.]
Saunders said last night that Blatche refused to listen to him when he was pulled out of the game 7-and-a-half minutes into the first quarter. Saunders wanted to talk to Blatche about not getting back on defense and cross-checking with Mike Miller and Blatche confirmed today that he did blow off his head coach.
“I thought it was gonna be about shot selection, and it was too early to be talking about that,” he said. “So I just went over to the bench and sat down.”
The fifth-year power forward expected to go back into the game within a few minutes. When halftime came, he still hadn’t returned.
According to Blatche, Saunders announced that one of his players didn’t want to play while addressing the Wizards at halftime. Blatche said that was the first time he’d heard that he didn’t want to play. Saunders’ words were news to him.
One of the assistants came over to Blatche and told him that James Singleton would be taknig his place in the second half. Blatche wasn’t happy, but he said that he was still expecting to play. “I was okay with it at the time, cuz we were winning,” he added.
Blatche certainly isn't happy about being called out publicly last night by Saunders and he defended himself this morning to his teammates and to the public this afternoon when he appeared on 106.7 FM The Fan radio.
.png?w=600 "99 Best Players at World Cup 🌟")
