We at SML don't often write posts criticizing other people's posts. Namely we try not to be haters; if we did, we wouldn't have time to write anything of our own. And we're the first to acknowledge the influence of Bill Simmons on sportsblogging in general (a pioneer), and on us specifically (we've been reading Simmons since he was on his old Boston Sportsguy website in the 90's). But Bill Simmons is also the most influential sportswriter out there, period. He shapes more opinions than anyone else thanks to his large audience and his style of writing; perhaps no one is more responsible for the "Isiah Thomas is a retard" movement than Simmons. And there are dozens of other examples of his influence, even small stuff like the fact that bloggers can cite Saved By The Bell in their posts.
And it's for that reason that we have to call him out after reading this crappy post on O.J. Mayo. We realize that even as we type, D-Wil is probably also preparing a better post on the topic - after all, he's already called BS on Simmons before, and he's spoken on Mayo, too. But we'll do our part, however small, to turn back what is clearly becoming an agenda over at ESPN to discredit a teenager.
Simmons starts off by comparing Kevin Love to OJ, than pitting them as opposing (we like both Love and Mayo; guess we didn't get the memo that you were suppose to choose one):
"...Mayo represents everything we've come to despise (showboating, selfishness, over-hype)"
And why does Mayo get blamed for being overhyped? That's not his fault, that's the media's fault (like your own employer, right).
"Like it or not, Mayo's style of game resonates with a certain demographic, with his final high school dunk symbolizing the divide between traditional fans and the budding generation that was weaned on Slam Magazine and me-first "superstars" like Stephon Marbury and Vince Carter (neither of whom has played on a 50-win NBA team, by the way)"
How convienent of Simmons to pick Carter and Marbury out; most people point to Iverson as the prototype "me-first superstar", but I guess it would defeat the purpose of his point, since Iverson has won and made it the NBA Finals (an achievement his beloved Steve Nash has not done yet, despite a far superior complementary cast).
He follows that up with this line: "Is it alarming that a 19-year-old kid throwing himself a halfcourt alley-oop in the final minute of a 40-point win, dunking it, tossing the ball into the stands and getting thrown out of his final high school game, then soaking in a standing ovation could be considered a beautiful moment by some people?" In the previous sentence he says that the dunk make "Mayo look like an attention-seeking punk". Damn, ESPN heads love calling Mayo a punk, don't they? D-Wil hit on the backstory behind that dunk and toss into the seats in his post here; long story short, he was tossing it to his dad in the seats.
Even if he wasn't, even if he was showboating, you know what? Big deal! He's a teenager, and he's enjoying his last game at home. LeBron James somehow got a Hummer while he was in high school, yet the press didn't come out and discredit him, calling him a punk in writing (Simmons) and on the air (ESPN's PTI show referred to him as a punk, too).
He then goes on to cite Mayo as an example of everything he (and we all) hate - "Wannabe celebrities intentionally leak sex tapes to make themselves famous. Rich teenagers make fools of themselves on "My Super Sweet 16" and don't even get that they're the joke." Yeah, because a black teenager born to a 16 year old single mom is equivalent to Paris Hilton and those rich kids on My Super Sweet 16. Great analogy, Bill.
Nobody wants to be the next Steve Nash; everyone wants to be the next LeBron James, the next Gilbert Arenas, the next Vince Carter.
Really? That's news to me. What poll or survey are you basing this on again? One of your crappy ESPN surveys? Because I highly doubt you've been to the playgrounds, or to the high school games, right? I'll let you in on a secret... ready? Steve Nash gets props. No, seriously - you'll be surprised how many kids respect TWO-TIME MVPS. And the PHOENIX SUNS, the most exciting team in the league. And yeah, they want to James, and Arenas. They also want to be Shawn Marion, too. And Amare. And Kobe. These are the most exciting players in the game. These are the guys in the Nike commercials.
"Again, it's not a black/white thing as much as a philosophical thing"
If you say so, Bill. You're the one who keeps bring it up. Defensive about something?
"For instance, the Celtics... during their 18-game losing streak, nobody ever got kicked out of a game, knocked someone into a basket support, threw a frustrated punch ... hell, even the coach didn't get kicked out of a game. There was a passive, pathetic, indifferent response to everything that was happening."
Um, weren't you the same writer that called out Isiah and the Knicks earlier this season when they got into a fight with the Nuggets after a hard foul in which they knocked someone into a basket support? The Sports Hypocrisy Guy?
"Because the final score never really mattered for most of those games... Which brings me back to that McDonald's game. When Mayo bricked the game-winning 3-pointer with five seconds left and soaked in those scattered boos and a few "ov-er-ra-ted" chants, do you think he was more upset that his team lost, or that he would have been the hero if he made the 3? Call me crazy, but I'm going with the latter."
Yeah, you're right. Mayo should care more about winning an ALL-STAR GAME. What a selfish prick. Oh, you might want to fail to mention that on March 17, 2007, Mayo led Huntington High School to its third consecutive Class AAA basketball championship in the state of West Virginia with 103-61 rout of South Charleston. Mayo finished with a triple-double: 41 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists.
You might want to leave that out, because the winning three championships in a row thing might make it seem to ignorant people like me like Mayo cares about winning somewhat. Or those 11 assists in the championship game might make him seem like an odd choice to criticize as selfish.
SML thinks Bill Simmons is a punk.
Update: As we thought, D-Wil has put a post up on the topic - check it out here.
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"Yeah, you're right. Mayo should care more about winning an ALL-STAR GAME. What a selfish prick. Oh, you might want to fail to mention that on March 17, 2007, Mayo led Huntington High School to its third consecutive Class AAA basketball championship in the state of West Virginia with 103-61 rout of South Charleston. Mayo finished with a triple-double: 41 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists."
Mayo had nothing to do with the previous two state titles at Huntington. You see, he moved from Huntington (his home as a child) to Rose Hill Christian Academy in Kentucky (in order to play high school basketball in junior high), then across the Ohio River into Cincinnati for high school to play in a larger market (for greater exposure). He then found his way back to Huntington for his senior year.
If you lived in the Cincinnati area during Mayo's stint at North College Hill, you would have been witness to the almost monthly off-court drama that he brought upon himself (i.e. suspensions, fights, missing practice/events, etc.). During actual games, it was a three-ring circus orchestrated by his handlers to hype this kid up.
So when up by 40 points in the state championship game, Mayo chucks a ball from half court, throws it down then chucks it again into the crowd, spare us the "he's just having fun" BS. His me-first actions have been on display since junior high.
I apologize if it sounded as if I was crediting Mayo with all three state championships; I merely meant to say he lead the team to a state championship. My bad if it reads poorly.
Well, no offense, but missing practices/events hardly seems like a big deal for a high school kid to me. And neither does the "me-first actions". My opinion is that regardless of all that, he's not worthy of being label a "punk" repeatedly by ESPN, both in writing (Simmons) and on the air (PTI).
The other player in the article (Kevin Love), he of the high praise and "playing the game right" status... he had a little issue with Nike a while back when he chose to go a Reebok camp instead of a Nike camp, prompting Nike to get very upset (for reasons unknown) and "fire him" (according to his father, Stan Love). Kevin Love also wore a Reebok camp t-shirt on a national TV interview, which also prompted some of Nike's anger. That rarely gets mentioned in coverage of him, though it seems to be indicative of the awareness of "self-promotion" (Simmons), of creating a "three-ring circus orchestrated by his handlers" that Mayo has often been accused of. Yet no one has called Love "a punk" in national forum yet....
I'm not equating the two, merely pointing out that one can easily spin any person's background into a negative light if so inclined. The bigger question is why would you want to? Why would you want to discredit Mayo, a high school teenager?
Missing practices, games and victory parades/celebrations aren't a big deal?
That statement alone makes your rant (and blog) intellectually worthless. Have you no concept of team sports?
I know guys like you. The ones who read SLAM! and drool over on Rivals watching videos of recruits. In that world, the whole Love Reebok/Nike thing actually resonates. Yet, that "feud" will never open PTI but, not surprisingly, the Mayo incident has.
Why is that? I'm sure you'll accuse ESPN/PTI of something sinister, but the reality is that Mayo has a nice body of work to look back on. From suspensions, transfers, AAU backroom deals, his handlers (From "Grandpa" Barnes to Guillory) and now the NYT looking into his recruitment at USC. "Look at me everyone!"
So please, while Love may have had one transgression (very debatable), no one is even close to Mayo.
He is a selfish, showboating, over-hyped punk. I wish he'd just gone to Europe and be done with it. Why continue the sham with amateur athletics?
I don't read SLAM!, and I don't "drool over on Rivals watching videos of recruits". For you to make generalizations like that makes you comments intellectually worthless.
Suspensions? Yes, we know about his three game suspension, for getting a mystery second technical foul and then "bumping" referee Mike Lazo. That embarrassing sequence would have been national news as more proof of what a punk OJ Mayo is, had it not been for the YouTube footage of the game that proved that the ref had it out for OJ Mayo. Have you seen the footage? Think there might have been something "sinister" about that incident?
And I'm also aware that last year, after leading North College Hill to its second consecutive DIII championship, Mayo was suspended for "getting into a fight". No public details are known about what the suspension is really for, since high school records are private. Now I'm sure you have the scoop on it - what was it Benji? Did he choke a girl? Beat a classmate up? Rob and murder two drifters?
My point is that this high school athlete is being treated unfairly by the media.
And I leave the last word on this to none other than Kevin Love (on Mayo):
"He's been under so much pressure and been under the eyes of so many people that if he slips up one time, it's going to make national headlines," Love said. "If I slip up, that might not happen."
http://www.latimes.com/wireless/avantgo/la-sp-mcdonalds28mar28,0,7029903.story
Treated unfairly by the media? The kid had his own Web page before he was in high school. Mayo's been a three-ring circus since then, and its only gotten worse with the transferring, the suspensions, the judicial injunctions, etc. all of which is at the behest of Mayo and his handlers.
Unfortunately, when you bring the attention upon yourself, it's not always going to be flattering.
It's obvious that you are a Mayo apologist, although, I'm not quite not sure if it's because you really think he is being treated unfairly or because blogs get noticed when their opinions are off the wall.
Victimization in this country is at an all-time high. The only person Mayo can blame for the overzealous media and referees is himself. For Christ's sake, he's almost 20 years old. It's about time people stop apologizing for him.
I don't apologize for Mayo... what I am saying is I don't see what he's done wrong.
"he had his own webpage before high school". Okay, and?!? Lots of kids do (its called MySpace), but your point is that he's self-serving, right? And media savvy, right? So? What's wrong with being self-serving?
Other crimes Mayo has committed that you list: "transferring" - so? He wants to go where he'll get a better (basketball) education. No fronting, I get it. And so what - who cares where he goes to school, if he thinks that will further his career. Self-serving seems to be bad to you for some reason, Benji....
"The judicial injunctions" - he had a valid reason to get one (to overturn his wrongful suspension from the Lazo incident). The courts agreed. Self-serving? Yes. Wrong? If you were suspended from your job, or kicked out of the gym/movie theater/whatever, and you felt it was injust, would you take action Benji? You have the right to so in the United States.
"The suspensions" - one was injust, as it pertained to the Lazo incident in which an overzealous self-serving referee (its okay for the ref to be self-serving, Benji? I say no, not when its at the expense of Mayo's reputation, which he tried to tarnish). The other was for reasons unknown, since he's a high school kid.
So for all the reasons you list for disliking Mayo, for calling him a "punk" repeatedly in national media, it boils down to two things: one, a suspension two years ago from his high school for unknown reasons in which there is no readily available information. Two, for being self-serving. Reason one is lacks info for us to justify critique Mayo. Reason two, in my opinion, is no reason to criticize anyone, or, if you want to go that route, criticize everyone. LeBron James has a self-serving contract with Nike - he's a punk. Derek Jeter is self-serving. David Ortiz's comments about whether Derek Jeter should win the MVP last season were self-serving, so he's a punk. Call him out ESPN, Simmons. Benji, do you have a resume? Do you have a MySpace account? Do you wear cologne when you go on a date, get dressed up, get a haircut? All those things are self-serving my friend. I'm not hating on people being self-serving if they ain't breaking laws or hurting other people or, in sports, hurting their teammates. You know what? Mayo has three championships in a row - he's not hurting his team with his website, with his "three-ring circus". If he was Ron Artest, then I would agree with you, and I would understand calling him out on national TV. But not for the reasons you've listed.
BTW, I don't understand how you can blame an overzealous ref on Mayo... Did any other refs act that way this season? Is that really Mayo's fault? Much like Simmons, you seem to want to link Mayo to other people's dispicable acts. Or do you feel that Mike Lazo acted justified in that game?
Nice strawman. This is like arguing with a 12-year old.
OJ Mayo is almost 20 years old. In junior high (when he was 13 or 14) he had a Web page with his highlights, stats. Seven years ago, there was no MySpace and no one had their own Web site. Seven years ago, most professional athletes didn't have their own Web sites. The sole purpose of this Web site was to hype this kid up, build his rep.
Never did I say there was anything wrong about the Web site, only that HE created and started this mess and this is why Kevin Love wonders aloud how much pressure he is under, and this is why I wonder why you can say
Don't put words in my mouth. Why I dislike Mayo is because of his constant "me-first" attitude since junior high.
I absolutely love team high school sports, much more so than college
or professional sports. You love the individual athlete, which is why you know the last name of the overzealous official.
Your final two paragraphs are so nonsensical, they almost don't merit a response (and for the record, I don't have a MySpace page). LBJ, Jeter and Ortiz have won at the professional level. Mayo hasn't even graduated high school. Can't you see the difference? Your other analogies (cologne, resume) are retarded, although I am not sure you'll be able to see why.
Why I call him a punk is because he thinks and acts like he is bigger than the amateur high school game. Why I call him a punk is because he has constantly sought everyone's attention and wonders why everyone won't leave him alone.
benji it is obvious you nothing about oj mayo... absolutely nothing... you didnt mention the 2 championships he won in ohio... or the fact that anyone who plays with him says hes the hardest worker there is and a good guy... of course a kid like himself is gonna get in trouble who doesnt get in trouble when they are that age... and plus who isnt gonna want a piece of oj mayo... it is just a joke what has happened to this kid... oh by the way... he didn't create that website, barnes didbut of course why would you have your facts straight... you dont even bother to mention the fact that he has a 3.7 gpa along w/ an act score of 29... but i guess stuff like that means nothing
OJ was only part of the third Huntington championship team. They won the first two without him. He was off in Ohio winning two championships for another school...with Bill Walker. OJ played 6 years of varisty high school basketball. 2 years in Kentucky, three years in Ohio and only one in his home town of Huntington. He won a total of three championship (only one at Huntington) and was first team all state in three different states during those 6 years...
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SML-
First, thanks for the props...
Now, on to Simmons. The first thing that struck me was, as you pointed out, that Simmons wants to frame his argument on both ends of the candle:
"Again, it's not a black/white thing as much as a philosophical thing."
But then again he says this, too:
"If Love were black, this would be a much easier topic to discuss. But he's white. So even though there's a natural inclination to embrace Love's game and disparage Mayo's game -- you know, assuming you give a crap about basketball and care about where it's headed as a sport -- there's also a natural inclination to hold back because nobody wants to sound like the white media guy supporting the Great White Hope over the Black Superstar Du Jour."
There's a natural inclination to embrace Love's game --- if you give a crap about basketball???
Oh really.
Does this mean Mayo, as a point guard, can't dribble with both hands, make the correct pass to the post, shoot with both hands, make the correct choice when leading a 3-on-2 fast break?
Aren't all those things part of being a fundamentally sound basketball player?
I just posted an Earl Monroe video to my site because he was the old school player I saw on film (well, converted to VHS). "Black Jesus" as he was called could do everything a fundamentally-sound guard is supposed to do; but he also played with flair.
I wonder if Monroe is a punk to Simmons, too?