Friday, July 30th, 2010 at 9:30 am  |  78 responses

Chris Bosh: I Didn’t Quit on the Raptors

by Marcel Mutoni / @marcel_mutoni

After his former GM basically accused him of quitting on the team, Chris Bosh felt compelled to respond and tell his side of the story. And you’ll never believe this, but Bosh totally refutes Bryan Colangelo’s claim.

Talking to the Rogers Sportsnet, a sports television station in Toronto, Chris Bosh says he always played hard as a Raptor.

The AP has the quotes:

After being called out as a quitter by his former general manager, Chris Bosh says he “put his heart and soul” into the Toronto Raptors organization and never gave up on his team. In an interview on Rogers Sportsnet on Thursday night, Bosh responded to allegations made by Raptors general manager Bryan Colangelo on Toronto radio station FAN 590 that claimed the All-Star was “checked out” late last season and chose not to play some of the Raptors’ final games.

“I play this game as hard as I can every time I step on the court,” Bosh said. “On the back of my jersey it says ‘Bosh’ … The Boshes are hard workers. We have a lot of pride in what we do, in our jobs and in life.”

Bosh also claimed his decision to leave Toronto was at the end of a long process and not something he had committed to before the offseason. “Everybody thinks, ‘Oh, he was gone as soon as the season was over.’ It was the hardest decision I ever had to make. As different as another country is, it was still home for me. I had been there for seven years.”

Whether or not Bosh “quit” on the Raptors, or if he planned on leaving the team since well before the end of last season is completely irrelevant at this point. What’s done is done.

It’s time for Bryan Colangelo and Chris Bosh to face their new realities, and make the best of those two very different situations.

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  • JTaylor21 Posted: Jul.30 at 9:39 am
    It’s funny that all these owners ala dan gilber and JC were willing to pay max money and then some to people that “allegedly” quit. They would’ve have been praising this guys and claiming what hard workers they’re if they had signed with their teams. Fuc*ing clowns.

  • kh Posted: Jul.30 at 9:45 am
    Bosh brought it every night. If I guy gets hurt what can you do? In my eyes, his efforts were never in question. We’ll miss you in Toronto, but Good Luck in Miami!

  • c_cantrell Posted: Jul.30 at 9:46 am
    who wants to play for the raptors anyway lol seriously.. i couldnt even see myself playing my heart out for a team like that.. n he did the exact same thing lebron did (minus the hour long special).. so where is all the bosh hate? this young man did what was best for him basketball and business wise.. at least he didnt say the raps would win a championship before bosh would lol

  • Run'N'Gun219 Posted: Jul.30 at 9:48 am
    ^word up… these owner are full of crap. when i hear all this rubbish coming from owners like Gilbert or Colangalo all i can think about is the Jay-z song ” It Was All Good Just a Week Ago

  • Run'N'Gun219 Posted: Jul.30 at 9:49 am
    ^word up.. these owner are crazy. when i hear all this coming from owners like Gilbert or Colangalo all i can think about is the Jay-z song ” It Was All Good Just a Week Ago

  • Dacre Posted: Jul.30 at 9:49 am
    I don’t think these owners were willing to pay max money and at the end of the day, Bosh and LeBron just wanted out.

  • c_cantrell Posted: Jul.30 at 9:52 am
    ^Darce..
    what gave it away lol of cource they wanted out.. n the money is not the issue at all as u can clearly see bosh n bron both took pretty big cuts in their contracts

  • CHI-TOWN SAID IT.. Posted: Jul.30 at 9:53 am
    riiiiiiiiiiiight!! funny how he got injured in a game against cleveland

  • Spaceship Jay Posted: Jul.30 at 9:58 am
    You can’t quite on a team. That wasn’t playing in the first place.

  • Spaceship Jay Posted: Jul.30 at 9:58 am
    *quit

  • Jukai Posted: Jul.30 at 10:03 am
    He did quit on his team. It was pretty obvious.
    In fairness though, Bryan Collangelo tried his hardest and flopped hard surrounding Bosh with talent

  • Kundai Posted: Jul.30 at 10:04 am
    he broke his face. even if he didnt wanna come back which isnt true it was probably becasue he was hesitant to break his face even more like Brian c and go F**k himself with his buddy dan Gilbert.

  • T-Money Posted: Jul.30 at 10:08 am
    Dacre: Are you saying that Cleveland and Toronto wouldn’t have offered max money to Bron and Bosh? No offense, but are you stupid?

  • RM Posted: Jul.30 at 10:10 am
    Cantrell please, big pay cuts? They took 10 million less over a 6 year period. If you’re making them out to be saints for that is just ridiculous. Bosh was cleared to play and he insisted on sitting out an extra 6 games after his injury. That, I believe, would be considered quitting on your team which were desperately looking for wins.

  • Jukai Posted: Jul.30 at 10:16 am
    ^^^^
    Clearly has no idea about the concept of ‘money’ and ‘real world’
    I can see RM saying “whatever, so I only got a 3,000 demotion. It’s chump change. Nothing money.”

  • T-Money Posted: Jul.30 at 10:17 am
    RM: they did what every basketball analyst said that they would never even consider. 10 mil is a lot of money. A sh!tload of money. Even if you’re already rich.

  • whereisbisondele? Posted: Jul.30 at 10:19 am
    It’s over, and doesn’t matter. But BC isn’t talking about when Chris got his face broken, he’s talking before that, with the leg issue. Toronto’s still going to miss Bosh.

  • Clay Posted: Jul.30 at 10:30 am
    “I play this game as hard as I can every time I step on the court.” That still doesn’t disprove the GM’s comments.

  • The Seed Posted: Jul.30 at 10:33 am
    Bosh plays hard all the time, that’s why the Raptors had alot of playoff success.

  • namik Posted: Jul.30 at 10:34 am
    F*ck this. How is Ron Ron’s amazingly insane interview not the top news yet???

  • The D Train Posted: Jul.30 at 10:51 am
    How come Wade didn’t come out and defend Bosh’s “quitting” after he did likewise for his bridezilla Lebron?

  • The D Train Posted: Jul.30 at 10:53 am
    Kind of disappointed actually. And here I thought Wade and Eboy were the two defenders of all things Miami Heat. E, I know you’ll chime in, but I am a bit disappointed in your man Wade not falling on the media sword for his friend.

  • Dagger Posted: Jul.30 at 10:56 am
    I’m a Raptors fan, and I’ll always cheer for Bosh. He gave us 7 good years and was known as a very hard worker while he was here. He’ll be missed.

  • frank Posted: Jul.30 at 11:04 am
    I agree with dagger. Bosh was a good guy.

  • Migs Posted: Jul.30 at 11:20 am
    I’m with Clay on this – he didn’t exactly disprove the implications that he chose to sit for an extra 6 games despite being cleared to play. At the same time though, the guy’s a free agent heading into one of the biggest free agent frenzy’s we’ve seen – he had to look out for The Boshes on the back of the jersey, rather than the Raptors on the front.. It just looks worse because the Raps ran out of gas at back end of the season, ultimately missing the playoffs by a narrow margin.

  • Migs Posted: Jul.30 at 11:22 am
    … however, the conspiracy theorist in me also wonders what Bosh’s stock would have been like heading into free agency had he not broken his face, made the playoffs, and gotten killed in the first round like they normally do.

  • Kundai Posted: Jul.30 at 11:58 am
    This is actually boshes first major criticism actually tahts why i think wade hasnt come to his rescue (yet). Just wait if there is more boshes critisms to follow not only will wade back him up but lebron will aswell.

  • Sparker Posted: Jul.30 at 12:01 pm
    i liked the old chris more than the youtube chris, but he definitely earned his pay during his time as a raptor. as for this upswell of opinio of who would want to play for the raptors anyway… you can say that about 85% of the teams in the league, if you’re judging by consistent playoff success. they’re a genuine nba team as much as any other, and they’ve had some good years recently. they’re not a laughingstock and their attendance is good and no one has accused them of dicking their players around or being less than classy (although the fans haven’t done themselves any favours by continuing to boo vince). so unless you’re a dumb cracker who thinks that’s the only places worth living have a 7Eleven and a Denny’s around the corner (in which case you have enough problems as it is), just think of them as a fair to middling team until proven otherwise and get a little perspective on how tough it is to be among the NBA elite

  • IAMORANGE4EVER Posted: Jul.30 at 12:10 pm
    Me thinks Bosh will have a higher threshold for pain in Miami.

  • Groves Posted: Jul.30 at 12:14 pm
    you did play hard every time he hit court… the problem colangelo has with you chris is that he couldn’t get you on the court- even when you were fit… just saying

  • brotherwithwisdom Posted: Jul.30 at 12:16 pm
    shut up bc you know damn well that if he stayed with toronto you would be kissing this guy’s @$$. Same for dan gilbert.

  • c_cantrell Posted: Jul.30 at 12:19 pm
    ^RM…
    dude are u seriously trying to say 10 mil is not alot of money? lol no offense but are u insane? n no jk he quit on his team and he could have also jus been takin it easy to not risk re-injuring himself also.. but regardless it doesnt matter.. hes gone

  • rich Posted: Jul.30 at 12:29 pm
    Chris played his ass off everytime he was on the court, he carried the team on his back never complained, he basicly bled a pint of blood on the court and u think hes commin back to get swept in playoffs by cleveland? whats the point of ending up like amare’s eye when ur in a contract year… this is the last straw next time i see this guy in my press box, oh and i will hes gettin a piece of my mind i dont care if i never get free seats again he is not hatin on cb4. RETIRE THAT JERSEY NOW!!!!!

  • Noel Posted: Jul.30 at 12:35 pm
    10 mil is a lot of money. Guess he doesn’t have any Jew in him unlike Amare

  • Noel Posted: Jul.30 at 12:37 pm
    I should have kept that to myself. Please don’t ban me

  • c_cantrell Posted: Jul.30 at 12:37 pm
    ^rich..
    hes the best player the team has ever had.. i would be very disappointed if they did not retire his jersey

  • Allenp Posted: Jul.30 at 12:37 pm
    Wow, just random hatred.

  • c_cantrell Posted: Jul.30 at 12:42 pm
    ^noel..
    dude jus shut up

  • goattree Posted: Jul.30 at 1:00 pm
    10 Mil is a ton of money…..however, it won’t be nearly that much when the smoke clears. The major downfall of playing for the Raps is the lidicrous amount of money that the players lose to taxes, whereas the situation is opposite in Florida (apparently).

  • kudos Posted: Jul.30 at 1:05 pm
    Who the F can say Bosh took a “huge paycut” when he decided to take less than 10% OFF his deal. Considering the tax-less state of Miami, he obviously wouldn’t actually be taking any kind of ‘pay cut’. Any loser who says otherwise has no concept of economics. Prolly still in elementary school. Did Bosh quit? Look up his last game on youtube. It’s hilarious.

  • SWIFTboy Posted: Jul.30 at 1:18 pm
    I see both sides of the story on this one. Bosh probably had his impending free agency on his mind when deciding whether or not to come back.
    That being said, I don’t really blame him. Getting bounced in the first round probably wouldn’t have changed anything.
    More importantly, regardless of if he ‘quit’ on the team at the end of this already hopeless season, it would only be after 6 and a half years of giving it his all. I have no ill will towards Bosh.

  • jose Posted: Jul.30 at 1:53 pm
    He had a career best ave last year. how’d he quit…(though i can understand that that there exists a difference between playing hard and getting stats…) i believe bosh didn’t quit tho

  • james Posted: Jul.30 at 1:59 pm
    YOU AINT GOTSTA LIE CRAIG YOU AINT GOTSTAA LIEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

  • Shem Posted: Jul.30 at 2:17 pm
    Chris Bosh needs to just shut up and be gone. Honestly, he was medically cleared to play the last 6 games. There’s no I didn’t quit or didn’t give enough effort. It wasn’t about mentality. HE WAS MEDICALLY CLEARED TO PLAY. He can’t say I’d do anything for the city. He said he wanted to be the #1 player on his team. He wen’t for third. He said he absolutely deserved a max contract. He opted to not get one. He missed 12 games last year, 5 games in 08-09, 15 games in 07-08, 13 games in 06-07, 10 games in 05-06 and it goes on. 4 of his 7 seasons he missed 10+ games. He’s mentally fragile. Superstar players play through it. Kobe plays through absolutely ridiculous injuries. Same goes with LeBron etc. Bosh is NOT a number 1 guy on a team. He will never be a top 5 player in the L and will always be a #2 guy on a team that’s the 15-20 best player. You can’t build a team around him. I’m not a Bosh hater because he’s left. I’ve loved him for 7 yrs and really hopes he wins a championship eventually because he deserves it. But all I’m doing is giving the facts.

  • Shem Posted: Jul.30 at 2:19 pm
    @ Noel: Really, that wasn’t even funny. Who you trying to impress with that bullsh*t? That’s just pathetic man.

  • c_cantrell Posted: Jul.30 at 2:27 pm
    ^kudos..
    who said he took a huge paycut? why u runnin your mouth? your an ignorant nobody.. i said he took a paycut not a huge paycut.. yeah 10 mil does not have the same value to him as it would to us but it still is a chunk of money

  • ConeyIslander Posted: Jul.30 at 2:30 pm
    I was wondering what the hell was wrong with him when he didn’t skip town when his rookie deal ran out! He’s no good for the Craptors anyway…He speaks English as a first language!

  • T-Money Posted: Jul.30 at 2:41 pm
    i kinda hate slamonline right now. where are the regular commenters at?

  • c_cantrell Posted: Jul.30 at 2:44 pm
    ^t-money..
    im here dude lol

  • Ghost Posted: Jul.30 at 2:49 pm
    ConeyIslander.Open a book, please.

  • JoeMaMa Posted: Jul.30 at 2:50 pm
    We still love you in TO, Bosh! At least you didn’t give away plays at the end of games and stop dunking!!! Sigh. Okay, I’ll stop with Vince too. He’s Orlando’s problem now. Anywho, he didn’t take a paycut. HE DID NOT TAKE A PAYCUT. Taxes are different. And one cannot really put a price on playing with two other mega stars in one of the world’s best places to party/enjoy. Please PLEASE don’t make this out to be “players sacrificing”. I’m happy for LeBron and Bosh, but let’s not go down that financial path without looking seeing the bigger picture.

  • Allenp Posted: Jul.30 at 2:53 pm
    medically cleared means the doctors say you won’t get injured.
    Grant Hill got “medically cleared” multiple times when he was coming back from the Magic, and also regularly re-aggravated the injury.
    some of you people suck.

  • AJBALLER Posted: Jul.30 at 3:11 pm
    yes he did quit he didnt want to play in the playoffs he just wanted to b done with them and move on to the next team cus he knew he wasnt going to stay in canada and he just wanted to stop playing for them so he quik on them

  • AJBALLER Posted: Jul.30 at 3:11 pm
    b faking in ijury

  • Migs Posted: Jul.30 at 3:19 pm
    @ConeyIslander – he moved to Miami – doesn’t half that city speak Spanish anyway? … come up for a visit to Toronto – You’ll love our igloos, polar bears and year-round winters.

  • Jukai Posted: Jul.30 at 3:52 pm
    T-Money: You’re not even an original. Unless you are and you changed your name to prove a point. So, you know, either way, dumb statement.

  • Scottie Pimpin Posted: Jul.30 at 3:57 pm
    cut the guy a break. he got his face broken. i think toronto still sour from the vince carter years. and rightfully so.

  • Josh Posted: Jul.30 at 3:58 pm
    When a GM trades a player they say ‘it’s just business’ but for some reason the GM’s (Cleavland/Toronto) are pissed that their star players left like they would have had some special loyalty if it was the other way around. It’s just business guys.

  • total scrotal implosion Posted: Jul.30 at 4:32 pm
    Allenp, I was going to say something similar. Grant was medically cleared at end of 2000 season, busted his ass, got his ass busted in the first round, ankle destroyed, and was never the same. As a side effect, caused tmac to carry orl like few have ever done before, heavily contributing to his past and current health problems. I bet if bosh wasnt going to be a fa he would have played.

  • BossTerry Posted: Jul.30 at 4:42 pm
    haha @ migs…

  • The Philosopher Posted: Jul.30 at 5:33 pm
    To The Masses:
    If you must play, decide on three things at the start:
    Rules of the game, the stakes, and the quitting time.
    (Chinese proverbs)

  • The Philosopher Posted: Jul.30 at 5:35 pm
    Age wrinkles the body.
    Quitting wrinkles the soul. (Douglas MacArthur)

  • chingy Posted: Jul.30 at 5:58 pm
    Toronto fans are one of the most passionate fans in the NBA. When they won the division title, the ACC was rocking. Even last season, people came out (cus the Leafs sucked). Toronto is dying for a winner (Leafs/Raps/Jays all in rebuild mode). Having said that, yes the taxes suck (I pay it everyday), but its also one of the more beautiful cities to live in (and raise a family). I’m going to miss “oh my bosh” but I’ll always remember that missed put-back right in front of the basket at the end of the game as his lasting image…

  • Pardeep Posted: Jul.30 at 6:18 pm
    LOL Bosh is going to get booed just as much as VC is when Miami plays Toronto next season

  • Shem Posted: Jul.30 at 6:30 pm
    @Allenp: Medically cleared is when doctors say that it’s alright for you to play and there isn’t a risk of an injury no? (of course there’s always chance for an injury but no chance for an injury based on the previous injury so i guess re-aggrivating it). When doctors say it’s fine to play and you decide not to for whatever reason, then you did quit on your team. Especially when your team is fighting for the playoffs. We could have easily gotten 8th because when he was with us right up until the All-star break we we’re the 5th seed and we went on an incredible run. If we didn’t have that awful start, we we’re playing as the 2nd best team in the league for a good two months behind the Lakers. He checked out early, don’t give him any excuses.

  • Joel O's Posted: Jul.30 at 7:39 pm
    Bosh definitely tuned out a bit toward the end of the season, but can you really blame him, with the Raptors sucking terribly and free agency coming up? Instead on focusing on half a dozen games, think about the last seven years – half Chris’ career – that he’s given to the Raps, where he’s often put in way more effort and hustle than his less talented teammates.

  • Robb Posted: Jul.30 at 9:36 pm
    This Raptors GM is an å∫∫høl€. You sir, should accept the fact that you suck at your job. You couldn’t build a team and now you blame a player who always worked hard and who did everything on the court for Toronto.

  • Lloyd Posted: Jul.30 at 9:50 pm
    Bosh gave Toronto a lot when he was here and he definitely kept the team on his back and pulled almost all the weight for us. That said, he DID quit on the Raptors in the end. You can’t crucify Colangelo for saying a factual statement. Don’t even compare him to DGil and his “crazy ex-girlfriend tirade” which was just embarrassing. When your team is fighting for a playoff spot and is in a desperate need for wins, to sit when you’re cleared to play is not called “giving your all”. The fact that Bosh talked about the name on the back of his jersey rather than the one on the front speaks volumes about where his priorities were. He placed himself over his team, therefore he quit on them for his own benefit. And this Heat team is supposed to be the next big thing in the NBA. The “pay cut” will be more than compensated through endorsements and media events as soon as they pull together a couple wins.

  • Darksaber Posted: Jul.30 at 11:28 pm
    You know when i thought he was leaving? When Paul Pierce slammed one on him then adding injury to insult, kneed him in the groin as Bosh challenged. None of the soft brigade (Bellinelli, Bargnani, Calderon) tried to help their leader up. Big oops..

  • DP Posted: Jul.30 at 11:42 pm
    Bosh isn’t that tough to me but he always played hard for his team. He WAS raptor basketball for the past 5 to 6 years but his team just couldn’t jell together. They had some nice pieces, just didn’t go as planned. These GM cats just need to all go to therapy together and learn how to overcome this together. It will take time, but hopefully they will pick up the pieces.

  • Shem Posted: Jul.31 at 1:10 am
    Co-Sign Darksaber, that was embarassing. All of the Toronto coaches we’re on the floor and Turk, Bargnani, Belinelli and Calderon just watched. Jack was on the floor but it was such a bad sight. Marc Iavaroni, Alex English, Jay Triano showed a lot more guts and heart then the guys actually on the floor.

  • León Posted: Jul.31 at 2:22 am
    I want to see Durant in the free agency if he is like mike or like lebron

  • Bruno, RJ Posted: Jul.31 at 7:58 am
    this guy never played hard in his life!
    i lived 3y in T.O. and it was always obvious he wanted out.
    he is as idiotic as fella lebron, but its not their fault… they are what their generation is.

  • Chief Posted: Jul.31 at 8:48 am
    Bryan Colangelo never signed talent up until drafting derozan that would gel with Bosh. They had one year could have been sick but BC signed a 15 mil band aid called Turkulu when Garbajosa would be filling that role if he adn mgmt weren’t dicks. waste of time adn money. Turkglue will never get back off the bench.

  • Dacre Posted: Jul.31 at 10:57 am
    T-Money: Who are the ‘original commenters’? Jukai, BETcats, Eboy, AllenP, Pardeep Darksaber! Ummm of course there is everyone that actually WRITES for slamonline… where’s Russ at actually???? [@ T-Money] And to answer your question, no I am not stupid. I’m actually more awesome than you in every concievable way. I’m on some ‘SteveNash-XXXvitaminwater-inception-MacbookPro-otherworld-differenttimeline-IownYou.com-binge up in here.
    ____No offense of course.
    How much did Cleveland or Toronto actually put on the table for LeBron and Bosh?? Do you know. I don’t think you do – Was there even specific offers?? Cleveland were looking to get LeBron to re-up on a basic contract extension. In a bid to have him accept less money and draw more star power to the Cavs. Toronto weren’t even as sincere – BC tried to surround Bosh with talent sure – but as soon as Bosh started ‘qutting’ as B.C. called it, he was more interested in getting talent to REPLACE Bosh, not keep him around. So he we have two teams once vying for playoff positions (if not a finals showing in the case of Cleveland) about to experience a free-fall dive into the lottery, possibly for an extended period of time.

  • IAMORANGE4EVER Posted: Jul.31 at 11:15 am
    Shaq said it best, Bosh is the RuPaul of big men.

  • Dacre Posted: Jul.31 at 11:27 am
    Bosh Spice

  • ClutchPerformer Posted: Aug.3 at 5:53 am
    Bosh gave us his all, and put it out there, its more than I could say for lebron, quitting in the playoff or too busy dancing all year. Bosh wont get booed cuz he play it out every game and its hard to do when your back up is Andrea, Calderon and Hedo, Softest of the soft. but he busted his butt, and hes no VC who faked injury or downplayed his talents to get a trade to seem like we were unloading him, then plays amazing once traded
    BC is bitter but be happy he didnt do what lebron did with the hour special and ego maniac, bosh just did it silently
    he might have stayed if the team didnt take such a nose dive when he got injured it meant he could never have a night off .
    BC needs to stop filling the team with Euro trash

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