Dwight Howard Is Only Embarrassing Himself with Constant Complaints

Dwight Howard has a reputation as a funny man. If he were trying to be funny with his latest complaints, I might get a chuckle out of them, but the fact that he seems to be serious makes him just look bad. 

Effectively what he's done is throw mud in the water, stir up the water, and then complain that the water is muddy. Here's what Howard told the Orlando Sentinel, 

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“Looked like guys didn’t want to play,” he said. “I told them at halftime, if you don’t want to play, just stay in the locker room. It doesn’t make sense for a teams we should beat to just demolish us.

“You bring everything down,” Howard said, referring to a player who isn’t playing with heart and soul.

“It hurts me to get out there and play your hardest. I expect everybody to play the same. I’m not calling anybody out by no means because we all have to get better … but if you don’t want to be out there, don’t dress up.

“If you don’t want to play, stay home. People work too hard. I want to win a championship. I work too hard every night for anybody to not want to go out there and play hard. … None of the — whatever, trade stuff — none of that stuff matters. Play basketball. That’s why we all get paid to do this, because we love the game and it’s basketball, so why not give it your all.”

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The problem is Howard, the "trade stuff" does matter. It matters a lot. You're demanding that your teammates give 100 percent to a team you aren't willing to give 100 percent to. When you're saying that in the locker room, and demanding that you be traded in the front office, you're talking out of both sides of your mouth. 

Put your money where your mouth is Howard! If you want to say something worthwhile, truly motivating, tell your teammates if they give 100 percent you won't go anywhere and you'll retract your trade request. Otherwise you're just asking your teammates to commit to something you're telling them you won't commit to. He needs to be a leader, not a hypocrite.