Wednesday, December 10th, 2008 at 4:33 pm  |  27 responses

Baron: ‘I (Didn’t) Gain Weight On Purpose’

by Ryne Nelson

At first, I didn’t believe Baron Davis gained weight to become a spokesperson for Jenny Craig—I saw it as another sorry Clippers excuse for their continual tankage.

Now, I’m not so sure…

If a false accusation is made in a three-sentence sidebar on a paper site, a big organization brushes it off. The rumor might make noise on a blog or two, but the company takes the high road and forgets about the untrue speculation.

But now, Jenny is getting its hands dirty in someone else’s spit. They’re defending rumor via a superfluously long press release, which is never a good sign. By addressing the claims, they’re providing some legitimacy to rumor. Here, detect the defensiveness:

Jenny Craig is proud to be working with Baron Davis and we celebrate his success since starting the program this past summer. When he became a Jenny Craig client, Baron’s goal was to better prepare himself for the 2008-2009 basketball season – something he has achieved and continues to maintain. Jenny Craig has never – and will never – encourage someone to gain weight for the purposes of then going on the program. This would be irresponsible and contrary to the brand’s comprehensive food/body/mind approach to safe, effective weight management that has helped millions of people worldwide learn how to create a healthy relationship with food, build an active lifestyle and develop a balanced approach to living for more than 25 years.

Davis adds, “In no way did I gain weight on purpose. I became a spokesperson for Jenny Craig in the off-season to incorporate something new into my training regimen and to inspire others to join me in getting healthier. I have a body type that lends itself to gaining weight easily, so after I started Jenny Craig I lost about 20 pounds before the season and came in to camp in the best shape of my career.”

Outside of the much-needed, mid-week comedic relief, this statement was a waist of time.

I find it hard to believe Baron endorses Jenny because he truly believes in the product. Like many famous spokespeople, he uses the product sparingly, if at all. But when you go out of your way to address rumors, you look like you’re on the defense. Jenny Craig would have been better off staying mum.

I’m actually much closer to believing the rumor now, but it still seems like a dumb Clipper excuse for a poor start. So if you’re going to shake your head at Baron Davis, do it because no 29-year-old multi-millionaire NBA All-Star should have to resort to losing weight with Jenny Craig.

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  • thesubwayconnection Posted: Dec.10 at 4:36 pm
    If Baron doesn’t have a personal chef, I’d be surprised. There’s no way he uses this stuff when he’s not on TV.

  • Ryne Nelson Posted: Dec.10 at 4:40 pm
    No question about it. Jenny Craig doesn’t come near a pro athlete’s diet.

  • B. Long Posted: Dec.10 at 4:41 pm
    Oh Baron…

  • Ben Osborne Posted: Dec.10 at 4:43 pm
    “Waist of time.” Nice.

  • Adam T Posted: Dec.10 at 5:13 pm
    I second Ben

  • Bryant Reeves Posted: Dec.10 at 5:16 pm
    When did he join? The only thing I could find is a Sept 26 news release. If he lost 20 pounds in a month… That sh!t can’t be healthy. Does it include all the fluid drained from his old-man knees?

  • seppo Posted: Dec.10 at 5:17 pm
    barons weight has always fluctuated but i never had the impression that his chunky frame had a negative impact on his game. i think the contrary was the case. the extra pounds helped baron create space and finish in traffic. as a skinny version he is having his worst season in years.

  • Ken Posted: Dec.10 at 5:22 pm
    Baron also did not necesarily add:
    “I eat because I’m unhappy…and I’m unhappy because I eat.”
    “I’m unhappy because I play for the Clippers.”

  • Moose Posted: Dec.10 at 5:24 pm
    @ Ken: (Baron looks at Earl Boykins) “HE LOOK LIKE A BABY! GET IN MY BELLY!”

  • Antonis Fotsis Posted: Dec.10 at 5:38 pm
    1)Moose in da house!!!!!!!!!!!!
    2)B.Davis is at the level of A.I. and Starbury as a playmaker….”briliant” move by Mike D…
    3)ELGIN!!!!ELGIN!!!!ELGIN!!!!

  • Mo Charlo Posted: Dec.10 at 5:42 pm
    /Is standing up and applauding for “waist of time”

  • the baconator Posted: Dec.10 at 5:59 pm
    This has to be a SLAM record for the longest time passed for a weight article without an Eddy Curry joke.

  • Tarzan Cooper Posted: Dec.10 at 5:59 pm
    are you people serious???? ryno makes a small pun and you all treat him like a comedic god???

  • WhaHuh Posted: Dec.10 at 6:35 pm
    i see what u did there

  • riggs Posted: Dec.10 at 6:38 pm
    raja bell and boris diaw for jason richardson oh snap!!!

  • vmcb Posted: Dec.10 at 6:55 pm
    HOLY SH!T SUNS AND BOBCATS TRADE

  • Moose Posted: Dec.10 at 7:05 pm
    vmcb, ???

  • Russ Bengtson Posted: Dec.10 at 7:17 pm
    Eddy Curry ate Jenny Craig.

  • albie1kenobi Posted: Dec.10 at 7:18 pm
    who the hell is Jenny Craig? I don’t trust people with two first names, like Ricky Bobby.

  • KobeWearsAPurpleThong Posted: Dec.10 at 7:49 pm
    You guys all think TOO DAMN MUCH. lol.. Go outside and work on your free throws or something. Or hit the gym for you on the East coast…

  • BETCATS Posted: Dec.10 at 8:24 pm
    J-Rich got traded!

  • Darksaber Posted: Dec.10 at 9:27 pm
    “KobeWearsAPurpleThong”. Now THAT’S a statement/commenter name if i ever read one. nice.

  • MyKal Posted: Dec.11 at 2:30 am
    “this statement was a waist of time.” Bad Ryne! Bad! Very bad! Go to your room and think about what you’ve done! (say it in a when-yo-momma-gets-angry kind-of-way)

  • grammar police Posted: Dec.11 at 2:53 am
    waist of time?

  • nastierthanyou Posted: Dec.11 at 7:18 am
    No doubt Ross get eddy curry on that

  • the baconator Posted: Dec.11 at 8:32 am
    *smacks head @Russ*

  • CASHVILLE Posted: Dec.11 at 1:56 pm
    I love seeing Baron’s fatass dunk on people. Thats why he’s one of my favorite players. It’s poetry in motion.

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