Tuesday, February 6th, 2007 at 9:41 pm  |  41 responses

Tyrus Thomas: the first pro athlete to tell the truth

This is a landmark occasion

By Sam Rubenstein

Do we as a society punish the honest? Of course we do. Nice work Tyrus. This is not going to go over well with paying fans.

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  • CAPO

    first

  • Drolfe

    That’s hilarious. A 10K fine seems crazy. From the quotes it kind of seems like he’s saying it tounge in cheek.

  • Chris

    well now he’ll only make $6000 for participating. Shame on the league

  • MM

    I think that his attitude reflects the state of the dunk contest these days…nonone cares about it, not even the contestants

  • next

    MM, the past 2 years dunk contests have been CRAZY. the things josh smith and igoudala pulled off were ridiculous, and even though nate robinson made it brutal to watch, he still pulled off incredible dunks. is it really fair to blast the dunk contest when those guys put out dunks we had never seen before? main thing is, get the guys that WANT to participate as well as the ones that would make it incredible. we know kobe n vince will never be in it again, but keep brining cats like josh smith or james white.

  • http://www.myspace.com/russellkeewatin Chief

    That’s how athlete4s think now. They go and collect their check and go home. So what it doesn’t change the fact that the contest is still gonna suck and that Melo isn’t on the list yet. Or they let Dwight in the Dunk Contest but can’t give him the respect to start him on the team.

  • next

    the contest looks weak this year and i’m not as excited, but 3 of my slamups hangin on my wall are: j-rich between the legs off the board; josh smith windmill over k-mart in a chair; nate jumpin over spudd webb… can these guys get any love for holding it down when the stars feel too big (scared?) to step up to the plate? n if dwight howard shatters the backboard, don’t tell me the dunk contest sucks next year. i heard he’s tryin to autograph the backboard while dunking with the other hand, rumors on some boards.

  • http://yahoo.com DP

    I agree with him one hundred percent. I don’t have any money, so I would be in it for the money as well. Like one of my favorite artists said, “I got to die with money, cause I wasn’t born wit it.” play wit it.

  • Dylan Rice-Leary

    That is a ridiculous fine. The L is a bunch of tight asses. For once someone doesn’t toot their own horn or kiss serious L ass, and they get fined 10 grand. Did they try calling first? What really is the basis for that? He didn’t speak badly of the League… What an insecure powerhouse, the NBA is.

  • boss

    tyrus is a jerk, he is just fuming because he will not play in the rookie-sophomore game.

  • http://wherespmac.blogspot.com Justin Adler

    This dunk contest is going to be horrible. It’s getting to the point where they should just bring back 2-ball for a year to make people realize that the dunk contest is not a joke to play in for $6k.

  • whooo!

    Can they even fine him, in legal terms? Maybe Thomas should appeal since what he said seems completely ok. What rights are players allowed in terms of speech, cuz it seems like the L could just be taking advantage of the lack of knowledge. Fight back Tyrus!

  • Dionisio

    Hey can someone tell me why rudy gay wasn’t involved in this one?? tyrus thomas and dwight howard both have hops… but they don’t have the hangtime to have showcase some creative dunks. nate rob robbed igoudala last year and this year give the crown to gerald green with this kind of competition…

  • b55

    I like his apology statement. seems honest to me.
    “I regret the extent to which my comments indicate otherwise”
    mwahaha.

  • John

    has anyone seen the “Gilbert Arenas vs. DeShawn Stevenson” video on youtube?? I’ve lost all respect for Gil as a person, such an inmature attitude; personally, I would have punched him in the mouth a couple of times. But as a player he can still role with the best of them. No love lost there.

  • Gerwin

    What has the NBA to do, to get the Dunk Contest back on the level it was in like ’88? Last year AI2 got punked (Nate sucked and still does). Bring back the old routine. Three tries. Just three tries. If you don’t practice or prepare yourself. You will be emberassed, cause you have to be focused and prepared. You can’t just walk in and freestyle the whole thing (unless your name is Dominique or Michael).

  • JASON

    first ı wish nate robinson understand people are watching him on tv all over the world and practice for this time.Second I love wHAT TT did yesterday he is the guy?like you said he is the first pro athlete ever said the truth…(we want Bron in the contest)

  • Ben

    GIL ZERO vs. DeSTEVE….watch the whole one!!!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bn6O42a5vl8

  • http://www.zio.ch Darksaber

    Aww, c’mon, these guys get a ridiculous per Diem allowance as well as their contracts. Magic noted years back that some players would get through the day on this allowance alone! Maybe Ty’s rookie contract is not ummm sufficient to pay his lifestyle. For me 35 Grand is great, especially for dunking a ball, to them, (nearly) peanuts. So why this statement. Generating publicity Ty?

  • http://www.zio.ch Darksaber

    Who is this “flight” white? Anyone got links to his almost legendary status as dunker numero uno?

  • http://www.zio.ch Darksaber

    Please forget i asked: http://youtube.com/watch?v=wolosB6ttXQ
    FLIGHT indeed.

  • Dirk_Fan!!!

    @darksaber
    just search in youtube under the name James White and there you go!

    He got some ups jumpin off of one leg, windmailin it from the freethrow-line and more.

  • Norway

    Only players who really want to participate should be in the contest. But you shouldn’t punish a guy for being honest. The sencorship of the NBA is insane.

  • dez

    wait, free money? half the damn knicks roster should be in the dunk contest. God knows they’re getting money for free already.

  • Dblizzy!

    I can’t believe he got fined for that. the headband thing was ridiculous, but it’s a team rule so it’s justified. But for making an immature remark??? To quote the Mamba “there is no precedence for this!”

  • Mike

    I’m upset by the lack of star power in the dunk contest. One way the league could fix the problem is the work language into the players’ rookie contract that states that they are required to take part in any all-star weekend activities that they are selected for. There would have to be a limit as we don’t really need to older players in the contest just because they have a big name. A mixture of big name young vets like Lebron, Jason Richardson (out with an injury this year), Iguodala, VC, etc. mixed with young leapers like Flight White and Gerald Green would make for an excellent, and exciting contest.
    These guys are paid millions to play a game that most of us play for free (or even pay to play). They should give us a show. Any dunkers that are selected to play in the All-Star game could have their minutes cut down a bit to avoid fatigue, as we all know that most of the players are more concerned with their team’s performance over the second half of the season than playing in an exhibition game (I hope).
    As for Tyrus’ comments, it seemed to me that he was joking a bit with his comments, and that it shouldn’t be taken so seriously. This seems like an issue that would be dealt with better by having Tyrus and some of the young players sit down with someone from the league office to remind them of the opportunity they have, and that they have to represent the league in a positive way.

  • Tommy Patron

    I live in Chicago, and I can tell you that from what I’ve seen on and off the court from Thomas, that he is kind of a spazz. I think he’s a good kid, but is so young that he hasn’t learned to control the force yet, if you will.

  • Shiz

    Granted, Ty may have been honest about the lack of care givin to the dunk contest, but I kinda agree with Mike. That’s kinda like if you work for AT&T, you cant get on tv and trash AT&T. I mean that was a “company” wide statement that those in (or not in) the “know” might take as a sign of the times in said company…Plus, thats not gonna do well as far as fan reception goes. Cuz that what the weekend is about; the fans. Its a celebration of the all-stars and its a way for those same all-stars to give back a bit to us struggling masses…and Jack Nicholson for the legs we give away to sit in nosebleed seats. To say, “I don’t care, gimme my check” turns you into a bitch in my eyes cuz as people have said, these guys (even rookies) aint broke. If you really didn’t wanna be in it, decline the invite and make way for someone that really wants to be in it. There are probably little kids across the country that have just had their excitement jaded by issuing such a mercenary-esque statement. Sounds to me like Ty would kick a puppy if the money was right…Now THATS why the League is FANtastic..

    But this guy IS a rookie, and not a very good one, I might add, so chalk his comments up to inexperience…this time…

    I mean, truth be told, Im not too excited to see him dunk anyway. Being a big in-game dunker doesn’t automatically mean you can win a dunk contest…He doesn’t come off as too original or innovative…specially with such lackluster comments as he made yesterday… He’ll pull a couple Stansbury type dunks. Probly a couple windmills and then he’ll wrap it up…Shiiiit, this contest is G.G.’s to lose anyway…everybody knows this…And with new judging, hopefully we wont have another dunk contest robbery where the robber gets to have like 25 thousand cracks at it….

    Ty made a comment that made the entire league look like money grubbing brats (mostly true), but there’s no need to celebrate that. ASW is supposed to be a celebration of whats GOOD in the league, not a reminder of how many good-for-dunkin knuckleheads that dont otherwise contribute to society…

    So here’s to Ty Thomas…may you lose early, go clubbing early, get drunk early, then get seduced by a tranny…hey, what happens in Vegas, stays is Vegas…early…

  • Shiz

    And as far as being honest goes..Sure he was honest about his care of the dunk contest, but he’s not being honest about his life…He should be honored to even be in the league. He should be honest enough with himself to realize that being in a dunk contest, even for free, is no great sacrifice considering those who play sports are paid more than those who save lives..thats honesty…These guys should throw ASW for free all the money we shell out to these jackasses for tickets, wak jerseys, obnoxious Thunderstix, even wakker headbands and all the other bullshit you get…
    Wanna be really honest? I could do without hearing words from ANY league guy for a while, seeing as most of em (95%) are just big kids anyway, and a lot of em (80%) are dumb as a bag of busted bricks. Honestly, its just a bunch of crybabies thinking their entitled to the world til they get shot the fuck up

  • http://slamonline.com Sam Rubenstein

    Here’s a slightly more critical opinion on what Tyrus said: http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/16640857.htm

    I think future NBA players are diagnosed as superstars from such a young age these days that you can’t expect anything less than this kind of sense of entitlement from them.

  • true

    Shiz must be a hockey fan? Its really not that serious. Get over it. You as an american (I think) can spend your money on whatever you feel like (wak jerseys).

  • Chef Ironist

    How does the League spell I-R-O-N-Y?

  • Chris

    I ain’t mad at Tyrus Thomas, well I’m a little mad at his apology “I truly feel honored to be invited to participate in this year’s slam dunk contest during next week’s NBA All-Star Weekend in Las Vegas,” Thomas said. “The opportunity to represent the Bulls and the city of Chicago on a global stage is a privilege that I do not take lightly. I regret the extent to which my comments indicate otherwise.” Does anybody believe this crap, who wants to bet that his agent/team official wrote the above apology. Athletes are conditioned to say certain things whether or not they are true and I think it’s bullsh*t. That’s why every time somebody is interviewed we always hear the same cliches like “both teams tried hard, and gave it 110%” One some levels it would be nice if we lived in a fantasy world and athletes did everything solely for the love of the game, but c’mon they are people too. How many of us have done something we didn’t have to do only because there was a paycheck involved. I guarantee this is the last time tyrus thomas gives a sincere answer in an interview.

  • Mike

    One thing that might really snap things into focus for Thomas would for the Bulls or league to fine him the 10Gs, as well as kick him out of the contest. The ol’ double whammy. He made comments that can damage the league’s image. It would be like me going to the paper and bashing the company I work for, saying I’m only in it for the cheque and my performance means nothing. Maybe the league could open up the competition and allow some non-NBA leapers into the mix. Some of the And1, Globetrotter, D-League high flyers could make things quite interesting if they mixed it up with some of the League’s jumpers. This would lead us to the fragile ego issue. Many NBA players wouldn’t want to be shown up by someone they view as a “scrub”. I’m mostly just pissed that the League didn’t invite James White. That kid would pull of two or three dunks that nobody has ever seen before.

  • http://the-seed.net/suns Maha10k

    The Bulls fine a guy $10K for not being fired up to be in a contest where he’ll get $16K for showing up. I remember reading that Nash wasn’t happy about being forced to be in the Skills competition and the Suns didn’t slap him with a fine. Oh wait this is Chicago…

    Reading the article makes it seem like Thomas’ comments are framed rather poorly. It seems like these questions are being asked after the loss to Utah. Then Sam Smith just rips the kid. I think the reporter is guilty of asking a tired player lame questions and then making him look like a jerk. I don’t follow the Bulls but this seems to be a bit much to pile on a kid who’s not excited about a dunk contest. In a season where two players (M. Redd and T. Allen) were hurt dunking the ball, that doesn’t so unreasonable.

  • Chris

    Didn’t Gerald Green bang off a self-lob off of the shot clock before a game earlier this year? Dude thinks it’s NBA Live or something… He should have it locked up for good if he pulls that off in the Dunk Contest.

  • http://idunkonthem.blogspot.com/ albie1kenobi

    i just love the fact that i found out about that “ungrateful” comment when Tyrus was fined $10K in the news. much like kobe’s elbow, the punishments made the incidents much bigger than they were. how many of you guys even knew about the elbow or the comment before the punishment? i watched the spurs/lakers game i didn’t give a second thought about the elbow. “good-will” publicity sometimes make things worse.

  • Dblizzy!

    Very true albie, very true

  • Reggie Evans

    He was only saying what Vince Carter is thinking before every game.

  • http://www.slamonline.com John

    Tyrus Thomas Should have WON he had the jumps
    at LSU LSU LSU!!!!!!!!!!!

  • http://www.pacers.com Jeff Foster

    Reggie Evans is a weak rebounder. The Fost show will dominate you again!

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