<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Kevin Garnett apologized today for making references to guns and saying he was ''ready for war'' in Game 7 between the Timberwolves and Sacramento. ''Sincerely, I apologize for my comments earlier,'' the Timberwolves forward told reporters after practice. ''I didn't mean to offend anybody.'' The Wolves and Kings play Wednesday night in Minneapolis for the right to face the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference finals. On Monday, the league's Most Valuable Player was asked about the magnitude of a game that will decide a series marked by trash talking and hard fouls. ``This is it,'' he responded. ``It's for all the marbles. I'm sitting in the house loading up the pump, I'm loading up the Uzis, I've got a couple of M-16s, couple of nines, couple of joints with some silencers on them, couple of grenades, got a missile launcher. I'm ready for war.'' Afterward, Garnett said he met with the team's public relations staff and discussed his remarks. ``It was one-sided thinking on my part, but I'm man enough to admit it,'' he said. Garnett specifically mentioned veterans and families with loved ones serving in Iraq in his apology. ``I'm a young man and I understand when I'm appropriate, and this is totally inappropriate. I was totally thinking about basketball, not reality.'' ``Anyone who knows him knows he has great passion for the game,'' Saunders said. ``Violence is not one thing that's on his mind,'' Cassell said.</div>Link
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">``This is it,'' he responded. ``It's for all the marbles. I'm sitting in the house loading up the pump, I'm loading up the Uzis, I've got a couple of M-16s, couple of nines, couple of joints with some silencers on them, couple of grenades, got a missile launcher. I'm ready for war.''</div> WHAT, SOLDIER!!! I'm glad he said that, but if not for the people around him, he wouldnt have apologized. You just HAVE to bring the heat durin the playoffs... or it's just not playoffs. You gotta set up a whole new different atmosphere
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Just-Magic:</div><div class="quote_post">Link</div> what a nba playoff season for the MVP huh? First round he has some "grab nuts" issues with that denver player, the second round skirmish with peeler followed by insensitive comments about war. what is this dude's head at? Anyways he did the right thing for once in apologizing
They took it the wrong way to begin with, but it was cool of him to apologize. At least he is man enough to admit to something wrong.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting twolvefan11:</div><div class="quote_post">They took it the wrong way to begin with, </div>How other way are you supposed to take it? They are playing a freaking game and he is treating it like war? Think about the people that are actually at war or families of those people. KG should have used his head before opening his mouth. I'm glad he apologized.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Rudeezy:</div><div class="quote_post">. KG should have used his head before opening his mouth. I'm glad he apologized.</div> Well This is KG we are talking about He always opens his mouth without thinking, thats the way he's always been.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Rudeezy:</div><div class="quote_post">How other way are you supposed to take it? They are playing a freaking game and he is treating it like war? Think about the people that are actually at war or families of those people. KG should have used his head before opening his mouth. I'm glad he apologized.</div> Yes, he applied it to war, but what isn't like war in sports? You are battling against another team and you are using everything you have to beat them.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting twolvefan11:</div><div class="quote_post">Yes, he applied it to war, but what isn't like war in sports? You are battling against another team and you are using everything you have to beat them.</div> I'm sorry but that doesn't even deserve a response.
I can just hear him saying that in my head. Though I know what he meant by that, you gotta be more careful to what say to the media. It's good that he apologized, hate to see him take any more heat.
i think he took it a little to far, however being ready for a playoff war is one thing.. talking guns n grenades is another. Everyone has opened there mouth without thinking at some stage in there career, KG was man enough to say sorry, he knew he said a little too much, especially to reporters.. they'll take anything they can get. Game 7 IS still going to be a war, however. Go Wolves.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Rudeezy:</div><div class="quote_post">I'm sorry but that doesn't even deserve a response.</div>Yes, it does: sports can most definitely be compared to war. I certainly don't want to put a knock on the American people, and I don't want to discuss the war, but this is hypocritical. * How many war-metaphors can you think of that are used in sports? "The Shaq Attack", "a charge". "let's ... fight" is a common cheer in the huddle before a game. The very essence of the game is described with a war-metaphor: "to shoot". Ever heard of "he's droppin' bombs"? Sports is not comparable to war? Please. * If the war in Iraq had not been going on, would his comments have received this much criticism? No. Why not? Because everybody knows where this quote came from: KG was inspired by rap music. And what do rappers rap about? Gang wars. It is just plain hypocrisy that commentators now are ignoring that simple fact and are projecting this quote merely on the war in Iraq. * Hypothetical situation: a friend of mine has died of cancer. Somebody on tv says during a sports broadcast: "that guy is a cancer for the team." Of course I'm going to think about my friend at that moment, but should I be offended? Hell no! In the present situation, KG did not by any means want to offend the soldiers and their families, and this apology is one he should not have to make.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Big Zee:</div><div class="quote_post">Yes, it does: sports can most definitely be compared to war. I certainly don't want to put a knock on the American people, and I don't want to discuss the war, but this is hypocritical. * How many war-metaphors can you think of that are used in sports? "The Shaq Attack", "a charge". "let's ... fight" is a common cheer in the huddle before a game. The very essence of the game is described with a war-metaphor: "to shoot". Ever heard of "he's droppin' bombs"? Sports is not comparable to war? Please. * If the war in Iraq had not been going on, would his comments have received this much criticism? No. Why not? Because everybody knows where this quote came from: KG was inspired by rap music. And what do rappers rap about? Gang wars. It is just plain hypocrisy that commentators now are ignoring that simple fact and are projecting this quote merely on the war in Iraq. * Hypothetical situation: a friend of mine has died of cancer. Somebody on tv says during a sports broadcast: "that guy is a cancer for the team." Of course I'm going to think about my friend at that moment, but should I be offended? Hell no! In the present situation, KG did not by any means want to offend the soldiers and their families, and this apology is one he should not have to make.</div> yes. in this day & age his comments would still have been taken the way they were. while i can certainly understand what he ment, my kid does not. fortunatly i can explain to my kid and do my parental duty to raise my kids. not all kids are that fortunate tho. and in a age where gun violence is often times glorified erroniously his comments do nothing but encourage it. im not against guns & think everyone should own one. but i also dont say that im going to "break out the guns" to other people when i am going to take care of business.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting harbingerofdoom:</div><div class="quote_post">yes. in this day & age his comments would still have been taken the way they were. while i can certainly understand what he ment, my kid does not. fortunatly i can explain to my kid and do my parental duty to raise my kids. not all kids are that fortunate tho. and in a age where gun violence is often times glorified erroniously his comments do nothing but encourage it. im not against guns & think everyone should own one. but i also dont say that im going to "break out the guns" to other people when i am going to take care of business.</div>Let me get this straight: you encourage everybody to go out and buy a gun, and you still are against violence. I don't quite get that. In my opinion, that is what's wrong in your country. But once again, I do not mean to offend anyone nor do I want to discuss politics on this board. KG apologized and that's settled then...
there is a difference between owning a gun & using a gun. but you are right... there is really no way to explain what im talking about without going into a giant political/personal responsibility soapbox & this is really not the time or the place for it (pm me if you really would like me to explain what im talking about) and i do appriciate the fact that he at least apologized for his comments (even if he was forced to by the t-wolves organization)
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Big Zee:</div><div class="quote_post">Yes, it does: sports can most definitely be compared to war. I certainly don't want to put a knock on the American people, and I don't want to discuss the war, but this is hypocritical. </div>Here we go.. This is a freaking GAME in which players are getting paid millions of dollars to play and you think it is ok to compare that to a REAL war in which people are dying for the freedom of our country? Maybe you are just to young to understand this. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">* If the war in Iraq had not been going on, would his comments have received this much criticism? No. Why not? </div>Of coarse it would be different if there were no war going on, what a stupid question. But that is the thing, there IS a war going on. There are people dying and there are families losing thier loved ones. Its about KG thinking before opening his mouth and actually thinking of how insensitive those words could be especially at a time like this.
Sports is no way near war, I cant believe that was said. In war, people are hurt, even killed, families are left grieving, and other things happen. In sports you lose a playoff game/series, you go home, there is always next season. Soldiers cant say they will see tomorrow without the thought in their mind of being killed in action.
it was just an analogy, which has been used in sports for a long time now. ppl really overreacted to the whole thing. anyway, this is da biggest game of KG's career tonite, this is a career-defining game. he really needs to come out and let his GAME speak for itself and prove that he is the MVP, and that he's ready to take the next step.
I agree that some people are blowing it way out of proportion. I understand that KG is just getting pumped up and I like that, all I am saying is that it was not appropiate. I can't believe some people think that it is a fair analogy.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Rudeezy:</div><div class="quote_post">Here we go.. This is a freaking GAME in which players are getting paid millions of dollars to play and you think it is ok to compare that to a REAL war in which people are dying for the freedom of our country? </div>Rudeezy, please red this excellent column by Mike Fisher, who hits the nail on the head: http://www.dallasbasketball.com/morestorie...p?id=2950&NAV=1 This guy's comments are exactly what I meant by saying that exacting an apology from KG was plain hypocritical. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Kevin Garnett? Meet Bugs Bunny. I'd like to discuss Kevin Garnett and his war-like comments, and how that sort of commentary is simply an unmovable, non-erasable, maybe even integral part of the sporting landscape, and was before KG, before BB, maybe even before the creation of the ancient Olympics. But political correctness forces me to tiptoe as to not step on a landmine. ... (oh, wait, can I say landmine?) Anyway, since KG's pre-Game 7 bombshell. ... (can I say bombshell?) ? there has been a barrage (can I say barrage?) of fallout (can I say fallout?) as Garnett has been bombarded (can I say bombarded?) with a firestorm (can I say firestorm?) of attacks (can I say attacks?) ESPN and SportsCenter have been especially tough on Garnett, different talking heads expressing their fake-deep sensitivity and their fake-deep patriotism by decrying KG?s remarks as ?out of bounds.?? (Oh, wait. ? isn?t ?out of bounds? a sports metaphor? If we shouldn?t use military metaphors to discuss sports, should we also not use sports metaphors to discuss war? Geez, I?m confused. ?) [...] So Kevin Garnett wanted to go to BASKETBALL war. And I dig that. I wish people were less disturbed by the alleged insensitivity to our troops (who, I bet, themselves use war analogies when they?re in the huddle during pick-up football games) and more disturbed by KG?s specific references to weaponry (It took me a couple of days to realize that <font color="Red">it?s not the US military that uses ?silencers?? but rather Chicago street thugs who do</font>). I wish people were more into what the man is feeling than the words he used to express those feelings. And most of all, I?m with my man Frank, the Marine?s dad, who says, ?I?m not bothered by the athletes who use war-like terms, because at least they show some awareness of what?s going on. The people who I?m much more bothered by are the ones who pay no attention to the troops at all.?? </div> Thank you, Mike Fisher, I rest my case. Oh and Rudeezy, I forgive you for referring to me as "too young to understand" (I am two years your elder, btw ). I understand that it is hard for people who are in the middle of all this nonsense to look further than the popular press consensus, but I'm glad Mike Fisher did.
