Walton needed no surgery in college because he warmed up his leg before each game, and because Wooden nursed his minutes after obtaining a great substitute, Swen Nater. This could have been duplicated here, but the Blazers traded Moses Malone for only one 1st round pick. The team doctors (who were either incompetent or working for the FBI--that was the suspicion at the time) kept causing surgery after surgery for the political Walton. So he asked to be traded, hoping for a new set of team doctors. He did nothing wrong. The national media painted him as weird as soon as he joined the NBA. Oh--and he is the best center in the history of basketball. I'd call Jabbar the greatest (because of longevity), but Walton the best (he was better than Jabbar or Chamberlain, when you combine offense and defense). When Walton coaches you, you are hearing it directly from John Wooden. Red Auerbach saw Walton's moves and had Bill Fitch teach the same flailing arm fakes to Kevin McHale. Then Auerbach traded to get Walton. Old hobbled Walton was still at least as good statistically that regular season as his younger teammate Robert Parish, who was one of the best 3 centers in the game at that time. By the time of the playoffs, the limping Walton was clearly better than starter Parish, and was the reason they won the Finals against Akeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson. The Blazers need Walton. Walton doesn't need them. If we could get him as an assistant coach, it would be our luckiest day of the decade, including our lottery draw of Oden.
right... being constantly stoned/high on coke LSD and (of course) pot is exactly what every team wants from their best player. Not working out at all in offseasons and instead following the Grateful Dead, thats the example you want the rest of the guys to follow. And when he was publicly lambasting and/or suing half the organization, that wasn't the least bit of a distraction. Spot on. STOMP
What's weak is your tired bigot act. White players fuck up, and are just as accountable for their actions as black players. Walton's eccentricities almost certainly contributed to his injury problems - unless you believe the paranoid BS about DRs deliberately messing him up at the behest of the FBI/CIA. Walton never took responsibility for his own problems - and that is the crux of the problem. What part of that don't you get?
Did Rush Limbaugh suddenly start posting under some of these screen names? Someone is a bigot because they don't think smoking weed and going to Dead shows is as bad as dog fighting and rape?? As an aside I never cared that the JailBlazers were smoking weed, it was the stupidity aspect that got me...like smoking in a Hummer in the middle of the night / going through airport security with your weed wrapped in tin foil. Unfounded accusations that his "lifestyle" contributed to his injuries... Where in medical literature does it suggest pot and acid weaken bones & ligaments? Claiming he was "constantly stoned"? Provide a link or evidence of this. Just because he did it at home doesn't mean he was bringing it to work - who knows? Although, honestly, at that time I think a LARGE percentage of the NBA was doing it. Sheed chucking a towel in Sabos face in a show of total disrespect = some goofing around in the pool by 2 friends?? **there is some seriously bad logic going on trying to justify some bitter feelings about a kid that played here 30 years ago...folks need to take a deep breath and learn to move on...The Blazers won a championship thanks to the guy, how about saying "Thank You for the good times" and moving on...
does bad mouthing and suing management = total respect in your world? If I was to compare OMG's Walton pool story to a "Jailblazer" era story, I'd go with the Sheed longball toss into Boom Boom's boom booms... just guys horsing around. ha! pot meet kettle. You're being pretty selective in what you're addressing. The internet wasn't around in his playing days and almost all of what was written back then wasn't archived to be linked today. I do recall Bill speaking out publicly on his believed benefits of pot. I've seen him wildeyed at Dead shows puffing on long skinny cigarettes. As further anecdotal evidence, I've a buddy who is close friends with his son Nate from playing together at Princeton and have little reason not to believe what I've heard. Many rumors swirled about his use of coke and acid during his Blazer playing days... I've heard the same stuff from enough independent sources to believe it likely to be true... especially given the times. I own only one piece of Blazer memoriabilia... a '77 Adidas Walton warmup top. Bill is probably my favorite Blazer ever as his skills/game were a thing of beauty, but I can also acknowledge his character flaws. I don't hold grudges against him, but I do notice how some selectively overlook his missteps while screaming to the rafters about other players doing similar stuff. I can only imagine what it would have been like if innuendo gossip mongers like Quick & Canzano were around back then. STOMP
May I put in my $.02? I listened to the podcast and I read the thread. First, Walton's views on pot or anything else are just that, his opinion. Like him or dislike him for that, it's his opinion, he has a right to it, and his opinions did not impact his play or injuries. Second, back in the 1970s there was not the wall to wall 24/7 coverage we now get. Shooter knows Walton never missed a practice or a team flight? How does he know? It would have been strictly internal then; now it's a header on ESPN. We need to remember Walton was a man of his time. Back in the 1970s most pro athletes figured they were on vacation once they played their last game of the season. Partly it was economics, they did not make the money they do now and many had jobs. But it was mainly the mindset. Not like now where it is expected a player, especially an elite player, will spend his/her off season lifting weights, working with coaches, scrimmaging with teammates, etc. So it's unfair IMO to blame Walton for not working on basketball in the off season at a time when few players did. There is also not the slightest evidence that either pot or a vegetarian diet contributed to his injuries. Greatest Blazer ever is one of those eternal debates that will never be settled, like best album ever, best movie ever, best chocolate cake ever. Not that this ever stopped anyone from debating these issues! I have to say I find Shooter's comments disturbing. Not in and of themselves, but in context. Because I am absolutely convinced that had Shooter been following the team back then with the coverage we get now, he'd have been denouncing Walton as a pony-tailed, pot-smoking, commune-living, tree-hugging, anti-American communist hippie who probably supported gay rights. That he is so quick to defend Walton now gives me the uncomfortable feeling that Walton's complexion has a great deal to do with it. Witness Shooter lumping Sheed (whose worst legal offense was pot-smoking, something Walton sure did, with players who have committed acts of criminal violence. I note the reference to . Is there a premier athlete who is NOT egotistical? Maybe one or two, but it is a characteristic of elite athletes, opera singers, surgeons and chefs. And they are sure spoiled, often by the time they are in high school someone is taking care of their every need. So what is the problem? the tattoos? Or just that those colored boys are not grateful enough? Sure, Walton made mistakes and screw ups. If Walton truly regrets what he said and did in the past, and wants to make amends, more power to him. Haven't we all had to call up some customer "service" department after some business screwed us and after 45 minutes on hold got a stock fake "we're sorry you have been inconvenienced" apology? It always makes me want to wring someone's neck. And haven't we all heard someone in public life do/say something totally offensive and instead of saying "I'm sorry I said something stupid" say "I'm sorry if anyone was offended" - because you know, it's really the fault of the listener. A genuine apology is very rare. I heard a genuine apology on the podcast.
It depends. In his case I think he honestly believes that the medical staff did not have his best interests at heart. Generally, suing an employer is a bad idea because it stigmatizes the employee as a "troublemaker". Seems like that was borne out in his case. A legal disagreement is a lot different in my eyes than chucking a basketball at someone's basketballs... Ha! The Pot is calling the kettle green on this one! - I never denied that he almost surely was doing all sorts of stuff in those days...I merely challenged the assumption that he was "constantly stoned" while playing. Also, as far as "screaming to the rafters" I'm certainly not lumped in that group...if you look at my reply I mention that I didn't care about the JailBlazers toking...it was the attendant stupidity that went with it that bugged me... Your point about the 24/7 prying news coverage is accurate, though. I'm sure there were tons of things that would have been dug up in the past. Also, I don't live in a glass house...I've screwed up plenty myself. In fact, my main point in originally posting wasn't to attack any players, rather to defend Walton and to suggest that despite his many failings, that I thought he probably deserved a little forgiveness. Some of the vitriol being thrown his way is out of line... He was in his 20's and it's obviously a regret he has carried a long time...
Sheed's problems had a lot to do with his attitude..."Both teams played hard." But I agree they aren't even close to some of the crap others on the team did... He just kind of became the easy poster child for the "JailBlazers" because his profile was higher than some of the other worse players. Agreed.
did I say it was his lawsuits combined with public claims of incompetence and forcing him to do things against his will created an ugly public image mess for the club to deal with... this really can't be disputed. Throwing a full court lob up into the rafters then calling out a temmate's name who turns around with a what? to have the ball bounce in front of him and knock him where it counts is horsing around. As described, no way could Wallace have really known the ball would smack him there, he probably was just hoping to startle him. It may not be the smartest goofing around activity, but Walton suplexing Lucas in the shallow end of a pool is even dumber as serious injury and even longtime disability is a real possibility. I didn't mean that he was toking up at halftime, but certainly he was a regular user while playing... which has been enough for some fans (not necessarily you) to label other players with a stoner stigma. it wasn't you that I was referring to... STOMP
Oh, I don't mind calling him a stoner...he probably was. I just don't think that aspect of his personal life had any discernible negative impact on his playing. Other people feel differently.
Walton's current reputation for constantly being on drugs is new. Back then, he was the most psyched-up player in the league, known for his great intensity. If like all other college students and recent students, he used some drugs with his informer friends in the summer, he wasn't doing it much during the season, because he out-played everyone during the season. If you didn't live through the leftism of the 70s, you will see his behavior as individual idiosyncrasy, instead of part of a political movement. Sued the team? You ever heard of the Bird rule? Came from a lawsuit against the league. Walton slowly came to agree with the many who felt he had lost his career due to incompetent team doctors. A sudden rash of Blazer injuries occurred under that set of team doctors, and continued after his departure until they were replaced. If he hadn't gotten out in time, he wouldn't have barely made it into the few games he did with the Clippers and Celtics. Walton missed 3 complete 82-game seasons (1978-79, 1980-81, and 1981-82, not to mention the majorities of several more seasons) due to what the Blazer doctors had done to him. Walton is a hero.
You're making up the constantly stoned stuff. And no one worked out in the summer then. The guy lived with socialist groups and his best friend was a friend of the people who kidnapped Patty Hearst. The FBI had Walton and his friends under surveillance all the time. What is the personal responsibility that he failed to accept? That he himself somehow caused his own injuries? From being a vegetarian? That's a new one. Many players have subsequently had stranger diets, especially with today's suplements, and not been injured. Wasn't Jordan a vegetarian for a while? Agree. In other words, you have no evidence that he used drugs during the season. He did express his political views that it should be legalized. (Most college students and young people agreed and still do.) And I don't believe that you were at a Dead concert with him. As for the lack of a Quick or Canzano back then, the media around the country had opposition to Walton on the sports pages, though most coverage was neutral. I'm disputing it. From a distance, there was no image mess at all for the team. It was Walton that part of the media was after.
