Earlier today, the Deep Dish wrote about the controversy surrounding the Boston Celtics' Kevin Garnett after the Detroit Pistons' Charlie Villanueva said Garnett, in trash-talk, called him a "cancer patient."
This afternoon, Garnett, through his agent, issued what he called a "clarification":
“I am aware there was a major miscommunication regarding something I said on the court last night. My comment to Charlie Villanueva was in fact ‘You are cancerous to your team and our league.’ I would never be insensitive to the brave struggle that cancer patients endure. I have lost loved ones to this deadly disease and have a family member currently undergoing treatment. I would never say anything that distasteful. The game of life is far bigger than the game of basketball.”
Oh, come freaking on, Kevin. Do you for one second think that anyone believes that NBA court trash-talking includes a sentence that says, "You are cancerous to your team and our league"? What utter, pretentious, lawyered-up nonsense. The Deep Dish could use more colorful language to describe that "apology", but we're not going to stoop to the level that Garnett did.
How about this, Kevin? Admit that you did it, apologize again to Villanueva, the Cubs' Mike Quade, and everyone else in the world that you insulted, and promise not to do it again? Take an example from Colts punter Pat McAfee, who was suspended by the team for being arrested for public intoxication and today manned up and publicly took responsibility for his actions:
"I've always said if you're a professional athlete, you have a chance to be on a pedestal whether you like it or not, you can use it the right way or the wrong way and in this situation, I was a complete letdown to a lot of people and a lot of fans and most importantly the kids that look up to me," McAfee said. "I'm going to continue the good things that I do for this community and the good things that I do in this city because I really do I love this city, I love this team and I love our fans more than anything."
Good for you, Pat McAfee. That's how to take responsibility and apologize. You've got a new fan here. Kevin Garnett? Not so much. His non-apology apology only made his actions worse.