How much disrespect would you accept just because someone is better at ball?

[Kblaze8855]

The general disrespect people are expected to swallow from coworkers because their profession is sports is wild to me. Smush Parker was recently interviewed and was asked about the Kobe situation again.





Starts about 22 minutes 30 seconds. Goes on for quite a while.

That you can sit with your locker directly next to a coworker for two years of them refusing to talk to you is crazy. You try to break the ice and they tell you you don’t have enough accolades to speak?

At work. You being better than me at it doesn’t make me less of a man. If such things are common, I don’t know how they aren’t more fights. You don’t talk to people like that. I’m only gonna get hazed so much before you have to deal with me. And I’m not talking about a fight necessarily but you talk to him like a man and make him talk to you like a man.

I have respect for role players like Vernon Maxwell, who don’t put up with shit like that. Bill Cartwright and old Robert Parrish standing up to Jordan as well. You’re better at basketball than me. Doesn’t make you a better human being.

I have to think some of these ultimate competitor types would respect you more for standing up for yourself.

[SaltyMeatballs]

Imagine how much that shot Smush's confidence and motivation to be there. Having the best player on the team not even acknowledge you for 2 years and not wanting to talk to you because you don't have any accolades to your name. Kobe was an asshole and is the reason why people clowned Smush even more. Of course more people were going to side with Kobe only because he was a fan-favorite and a much greater player. And then you're going to have those weirdos say this was "Mamba Mentality". **** outta here. That's dickhead mentality

[Full Court]

Nah, I wouldn't take that from anybody. We'd have a heart to heart, and if it came to it, I'd knock him off his high horse. The only reason a-holes like Kobe act like that is because people allow them to.

[Kblaze8855]

in the course of a game if you’re busting my ass OK. You got me. If you’re calling for the ball and we all acknowledge this is your team? OK. Here’s the ball. We’re at work and we all have a status within this company. but I just walk up to you and ask if you saw some game you try to use work to place yourself above me as a human being?

how do you just let somebody bitch you like that? I suppose there’s a power dynamic difference that could affect your financial situation. If Kobe goes to Jeanie and says cut him or we have a problem? Yeah, I would be cut. But that’s a level of bitch I would have to see you display before I just assume it. Speaking truth to power is a life skill, and it doesn’t mean you’re trying to be tough. The power often respects it long as you don’t go overboard. Kobe isn’t about to get into a brawl in the locker room. You just tell him to speak to you like a man.

Basketball is basketball, but life is life. You talking to grown men who have children and lead a family if not a community in cases.

Your jumper being better than mine doesn’t put you on a higher level of humanity.

[Full Court]

in the course of a game if you’re busting my ass OK. You got me. If you’re calling for the ball and we all acknowledge this is your team? OK. Here’s the ball. We’re at work and we all have a status within this company. but I just walk up to you and ask if you saw some game you try to use work to place yourself above me as a human being?

how do you just let somebody bitch you like that? I suppose there’s a power dynamic difference that could affect your financial situation. If Kobe goes to Jeanie and says cut him or we have a problem? Yeah, I would be cut. But that’s a level of bitch I would have to see you display before I just assume it. Speaking truth to power is a life skill, and it doesn’t mean you’re trying to be tough. The power often respects it long as you don’t go overboard. Kobe isn’t about to get into a brawl in the locker room. You just tell him to speak to you like a man.

Basketball is basketball, but life is life. You talking to grown men who have children and lead a family if not a community in cases.

Your jumper being better than mine doesn’t put you on a higher level of humanity.

Fully agree.

[bison]

This is how I treat my co workers at the public health department. Its called being alpha as FVCK.

[Wardell Curry]

The reason that this is different from most other employment situations is two fold.

1) It's about as tribalistic as an environment as you can possibly get with "tribes" regularly battling against each other.

2) It's a highly physical profession and testosterone is flowing.

[Full Court]

The reason that this is different from most other employment situations is two fold.

1) It's about as tribalistic as an environment as you can possibly get with "tribes" regularly battling against each other.

2) It's a highly physical profession and testosterone is flowing.

Which is even more reason why you shouldn't conduct yourself as a beta biatch.

[Lebron23]

I didn’t blame Chris Childs for punching him.

[iamgine]

Have you ever had a team where there's a useless guy who is the reason your team lost game after game after game despite you performing MVP level stuff? And the guy act normal like nothing happened, he tried his best but oh well. And the bitterness just build game after game as you realize it's not his fault but you can't help but hate him for it?

Good thing Smush didn't push for it or they might actually throw hands.

[Baller234]

Never forget there are always two sides to every story. This is just his side.

Maybe Kobe was teasing him and he didn't pick up on it. Maybe it was some type of fraternity shit. Maybe Smush is just a soft ass dude.

He is tight with Pablo Torre after all.

[ImKobe]

KB was a POS no doubt, but Smush was given the opportunity of a lifetime on the Lakers and got to play all 82 at 34-30 mpg in those 2 years and didn't stay in the league much longer after that. He just wasn't good enough. It's not his fault that the FO did a horrible job of building a team around KB which led to SP being in that starter role for 2 years, even though he had the best seasons of his career and put up decent numbers for a role guy at the time.

KB was wrong for treating him the way he did, I'm sure in his mind he was trying to test the guy and do his MJ impersonation on him in the locker room but that shit doesn't fly when you got a mediocre ass squad. Smush responded well to it so this wasn't some Kwame Brown situation where the kid folded due to the way he was being treated by the star player on the team so you gotta respect him for at least being a serviceable player.

When he got a chance in Miami in '07, he sucked ass and they were trying to get rid of him before he got waived 3 months into his 2-year deal due to allegedly assaulting a female valet. The Clippers signed him later that season and he sucked there too and never got another chance in the league again. None of that is on KB if anyone here wants to blame him for Parker not having a long career.

Have you ever had a team where there's a useless guy who is the reason your team lost game after game after game despite you performing MVP level stuff? And the guy act normal like nothing happened, he tried his best but oh well. And the bitterness just build game after game as you realize it's not his fault but you can't help but hate him for it?

Good thing Smush didn't push for it or they might actually throw hands.

Good point. It wasn't his fault that the team sucked tho. Smush was just happy to be there & make a living for himself, he outperformed whatever his talent level was if we're being honest. He went undrafted.

[Kblaze8855]

He didn’t speak to him the first time they met. The first time he was coming onto the team day one to show what he did or did not have. That isn’t resentment over performance. Besides Smish wasn’t the worst teammate Kobe ever had. He wasn’t good and he didn’t last long after the lakers but there are a hundred of those guys at any moment.

[tpols]

I dont think Kobe viewed basketball as a work place, most people don't really care about their jobs beyond a paycheck, but to him it was everything. Still not right to do that to smush. Phil calling him smooch and smack was more disrespectful imo.

[GOBB]

Real life work force you’re protected. In Smush situation Kobe has the advantage. You’re pretty much deciding my respect vs my pro career which I dreamed of. Not an easy situation to be in. Because you go at Kobe that’s pretty much career suicide. Hindsight Smush career didn’t last too long after LA. I probably handle it trying to prove him wrong vs getting into a verbal, man exchange. And by proving wrong worker even harder on my craft and understanding the game more to be better. That when I am legit in your eyes? I’ll tell you to EAD when you extend that handshake + compliment.