John Wall Fight: Reasons Why Wall's Altercation Shouldn't Be Hyped Up
You can say what you will about John Wall's ejection after taking a swing at Big Z, but you can't say that he backs down to anyone.
Wall getting the ejection was probably one of the worst outcomes for the Washington Wizards, but it's a lesson that he can learn from and figure out how to manage the next time an opposing player attempts to get in his head.
To give the the bare minimum of credit, it was a crafty veteran move on the part of Z, who has nettled opposing players throughout his career. I don't want John Wall to start flopping like he has been shot, but neither do I want him to get the reputation of being someone who is easily riled.
Every time an athlete does something “wrong”, someone says how they are role models to kids and they should know better. That is hog wash. We are all human and have buttons that can be pushed. How many regular non athletes make mistakes in front of kids, sometimes out on their own?
Here are some reasons that people shouldn't stress or make a big deal out of Wall's incident.
He Is a Rookie and He Is Young
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Arguments that it’s understandable and that he is human just like all of us are all very true. However, they do not change the fact that he should not have done it.
But the thing that isn't understandable is how people are now assuming that he won't have a good career based off of this altercation is very premature. The kid is 20 years old and actually came into the NBA as one of the more mature prospects in the draft.
In reaction to the "role-model" thing, I believe that judging athletes on another scale than we do "normal" people is kind of unfair, but there is also a difference between standing up for yourself and randomly punching a dude.
It Was a Heated Game To Begin With
2 of 5The Washington Wizards and LeBron James have history, and I'm pretty sure that before Gilbert Arenas left the organization he shared some stories with John Wall about the rivalry between this organization and Lebron.
It was a coincidence that in this game, Jordan Crawford, the college player who dunked on Lebron at his own camp was playing against him and had a career night dropping 39 points on 12-24 shooting. Plus, with the bad blood of Andray Blatche and Nick Young, who have experienced the rivalry against LeBron still being on the team.
With a sold-out crowd wanting to see an upset, how could you blame Wall for not trying to get punked in front of his fans?
Other Superstars Get into Fights as Well
3 of 5Remember this?
Many don't mention this altercation because of how great Kobe has been since this.
I saw a lot of comments saying that Wall is a punk, coward, and little baby for hitting Big Z on other articles; and many say he won't have a good career because of this.
Yet people were probably saying the same about Kobe Bryant after he did this, and he had superstar potential at that time just like Wall, and now look at him.
John Wall Handled the Post-Game Interview Well
4 of 5That was John Wall's response to post-game interview questions after the altercation against the Miami Heat and he handled it like a professional.
Now others...
LeBron James' Cockiness Showing in Post-Game Interview
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LeBron James complained to reporters after the game about the lack of foul calls he gets from the referees, then he used him being so strong as an excuse.
Then he continued his complaining by taking shots at Wizards' forward Mo Evans and called him a dirty player.
"“I don’t know if Mo Evans’ intention was to be dirty,” James said. “I watch a lot of basketball. I see a lot of basketball every day. Every time someone gets grabbed around the neck, it’s an automatic flagrant foul. If I’m wrong, tell me I’m wrong. But it seems like every time I get hit hard or a hard foul, and all I get is two shots and they take the ball out.”
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Looks like we need to worry about a lot more than just a rookie who obviously learned his lesson from a reaction he gave to a veteran who tried to punk him.
