I'm not sure how people are "bashing" on him, at least the majority. Greg says he struggled with alcohol, and while the honesty is appreciated, it is also indicative of somebody who lacked the drive and motivation to completely give himself the best opportunity for a complete recovery.
Don't forget about the weight gain, bloating, and water retention that also is associated with alcoholism. Extra pounds will help deteriorate, and hinder the healing of, injured joints.
I think Run BJM makes very good points. And yes, 19 year olds do not always make the best decisions. Oden was in the worst possible situation - not working, not in school, not in the military, not married, no responsible family members nearby, no outside discipline, loads of money and free time. Talk about a recipe for disaster! But, still, he was a legal adult and had to take some responsibility. The team was ready to do ANYTHING for him. If he confided he felt socially/emotionally adrift, you think they wouldn't have tried to help? I don't honestly understand Oden's stated distrust of the team. I really can't see where that came from; it apparently predated seeing the shrink talk to the Blazers. It's true Portland is pretty white but it's not the KKK. There are African-American community organizations, church groups if he was religiously inclined, Boys and Girls Clubs, etc. Don't you think any of them would have LOVED having Oden working with them while rehabbing? And he'd have found good mentors in the community and met people who wanted something other than a drinking buddy. Look, I also did stupid things at 19 that I regret. And I'd been on my own 3 years at that age. So I do understand being young & dumb. But I don't understand why he's so bitter to a city that was ready to fall down and worship the ground under his feet and a team that paid him millions of dollars and special perks. On draft day Paul Allen sent his private jet to fly Greg to Portland - don't think any other draftee got that. When he had his first surgery and we learned he'd miss a year, everyone was ready to wait a year for the Real Oden. I mean, what exactly did he want from the team and city? I don't think he knows himself! BTW, having a drink and being an alcoholic are most definitely not the same thing. The difference is between a person holding a drink and drink holding the person.
It's the problem with being so much more witty than most others on the board. It's a curse a few of us share
Whoa, espn user comments are even worse than those on yahoo. Of course, it is people that comment on a story on bspn, so what do you expect?
It's not that I'm bitter. I wished Greg the best when we cut him, and was disappointed we did so. I just think that this interview was not his best move, and IMO, just continued to show what I've thought for a long time now: he's immature, he's mentally weak, and he's paranoid. I took a whole lotta finger-pointing out of that. Like he's blaming everyone but himself for his problems. At some point, you have to take some ownership. Grow up and be a man. That's all.
MM, I was right - it was directed at me!! Yay! I told you earlier - you just don't have the ability to properly get under people's skin. For the record, CC, my post was 100% sarcasm - my apologies for not making that more clear. I was just playing off MM's joke - because sadly, there are a lot of people out there that genuinely believe that people choose to be gay or straight.
Winner winner turkey dinner. Exactly. It's time for Greg to be accountable. Exactly why the interview pissed me off.
