<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">If Indiana Pacers forward Jermaine O'Neal gets only one first-place vote for NBA most valuable player, it's my vote. Yes, I know I wrote last week that I was joining the consensus in voting for Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Garnett. From a statistical standpoint, he qualifies amply for such consideration, and I was all ready to vote for him. But a fellow NBA reporter recently e-mailed me about how rude Garnett continues to be to the media, never granting pregame interviews and making reporters, pressed by deadlines, wait long after games to talk with him. I then remembered the experiences I and other Chicago writers have had with him, and this is supposed to be one of his homes. He makes only one trip a year to play in Chicago. But I remember that one time he visited, he was injured and was not going to suit up and play that night. Still, he refused to give me an interview. I reminded him that I was the first NBA writer to interview him before and after he was drafted straight out of high school in 1995, but he still gave me the cold shoulder. I always have had a policy of voting for the human qualities of an MVP candidate, as well as his basketball talent. I look at each candidate's character, professionalism and willingness to promote the product of which he is a part and which has made him quite wealthy. All of a sudden, Garnett was no longer my choice for MVP. I then turned to O'Neal, who always has been courteous to me and has granted me interviews before and after games. Besides, O'Neal is the primary reason the Pacers finished with the best record in the league during the regular season and have home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.</div><div align="center">Full Story</div> <div align="left">He gets her vote because he was nicer to her than KG. Awwww, how sweet. This woman should not even be allowed a vote if she's gonna base it on that rather than because he's more valuable to his team than KG is <font size="1">(which is what I thought the award was about)</font></div>
Absolutely pathetic & disgraceful. She should be banned from not only voting, but covering sports in general. What a black eye for women sports writers and the Chicago SunTimes. The Average Joe is going to read this article and say to himself, "See, this is the classic example why women should not be allowed in deciding anything important in men's sports." The NBA already has an award for NICE players, it's called the Sportsmanship Award.
It is nice but voting for someone for MVP because he was nice to her is just a stupid decision. She should not be allowed to vote for doing something like that. She knew that KG deserved to be MVP but voted for Jermaine because he was nice to her and let her interview him when KG wouldn't. MVP means most valuabe player of the year not nicest player of the year. If it was really close and her one vote determined that Jermaine would be name MVP like she wanted, that would have cost a player a award that he truly deserved.
