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TEMPER, TEMPER |
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Rasheed
Wallace was ejected from Thursday night's game against Sacramento
for arguing with an official in the third quarter.
Wallace extended his technical total to 29 after receiving two
from referee Ron Garretson. Last season, Wallace set an NBA record
with 38 technicals.
It was the fourth ejection for Wallace this season and his
second in three games. The All-Star was suspended for two games for
throwing a towel at referee Gary Benson after Wallace was ejected
in a victory over Phoenix on Feb. 1.
Garretson called Wallace for an offensive foul with 8:02 left in
the third quarter and the Blazers ahead by 15 points. Wallace said
something to Garretson and walked toward him, and teammate Damon
Stoudamire rushed up to the official to try and push him away. But
it was too late.
Wallace kept arguing, and Garretson issued another technical,
resulting in an automatic ejection.
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PORTLAND, Ore. – It was the most explosive outburst of
Rasheed Wallace's 5-1/2 year NBA career: In the fourth quarter of the
Portland Trail Blazers' victory over Phoenix on Feb. 1, Wallace was
ejected by referee Gary Benson and became so incensed that he
charged at the official and threw a towel that grazed his face.
The image of Wallace spewing profanity at Benson, held back by
teammates and coaches, was surprising, even considering the
player's turbulent history. Wallace was suspended for two games and
fined $10,000.
But two weeks later the Blazers, with the best record in the
Western Conference, dismiss the incident as no big deal.
"If he cares too much and is too excited about it, that's part
of his makeup," Portland president and general manager Bob
Whitsitt says. "But (for) all these people that decide that
they're psychologists and can't even spell the word -- and I'm not
saying I am either -- these are not new subjects. Right now we're a
first-place basketball team. But they always want to find things
they don't like."
Others, however, including some real psychologists, see deeper
problems with the talented yet volatile player.
Wallace's inability to control his anger threatens the stability
of his team and even his playing career, they say. Furthermore, his
recent blowup – and the relatively light punishment he received for
it – could signal worse trouble to come.
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“ |
I don't care what y'all cats think about me, because you're
not in my inner circle. The only people I care about
are my wife and kids, my mom and brother, close friends to the
family. Anybody outside my circle, I could care less. You could say
that I'm a mean guy, or you could say I killed the president or
whatever. It doesn't matter to me. ” |
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— Rasheed Wallace |
"It doesn't stop at one level. It escalates," said Tom Tutko,
a respected sports psychologist and retired professor at San Jose
State University.
"If you're not going to be punished for this kind of behavior,
it just moves up a notch. `Not only am I going to throw a towel in
the official's face, I'm going to deck the official. If they're
just going to slap me on the wrist for something this serious, why
not keep doing it?"'
A former colleague of Tutko's is Bruce Ogilvie, who was the
Blazers' team psychologist from its first year, 1970, until coach
Jack Ramsey left in 1986. Ogilvie, 80, said Wallace clearly needs
anger-management counseling.
"If I was his shrink, I'd be working with him one-on-one. I'd
be seeing him at least five times a week to see what's going on,"
he told The Oregonian.
Between the lines, Wallace, 26, is having his finest season. The
6-foot-11 power forward's averages of 19.3 points and 8.2 rebounds
are career highs. Last Sunday he played in his second straight
All-Star Game. On Tuesday night, he had a typically solid game: 18
points, eight rebounds and six assists, while forcing Kevin Garnett
to commit five turnovers in Portland's 109-88 rout of Minnesota,
which snapped the Timberwolves' 11-game winning streak.
Then there's the dark side. Wallace has 29 technical fouls,
ahead of the pace to break the NBA record of 38 he set last season.
He's been ejected four times – including two of his last three games – and during his suspension, the Blazers lost to the L.A. Clippers, 90-89.
"You always worry about being at risk for him getting thrown
out of the game," coach Mike Dunleavy said after the Phoenix game.
Wallace's teammates unequivocally support him, praising his
selfless play and desire. But even they hint that he needs to chill
out.
"Sometimes he may overdo it with the refs," Dale Davis said.
"We all have problems with the officials, but sometimes you have
to just let it go. That's Rasheed's biggest problem, letting it
go."
Wallace refuses to enlighten the outside world about his
motives. He routinely declines requests for interviews, unless they
are required by the league. Wallace was forced to endure such a
mandatory session at Media Day during All-Star weekend in
Washington, D.C.
After a profanity-laced introduction in which he declared that
the subjects of technicals and referees were off-limits, Wallace
made no apologies for who he is, and said flatly that the opinions
of others meant nothing to him.
"I don't care what y'all cats think about me, because you're
not in my inner circle," he said. "The only people I care about
are my wife and kids, my mom and brother, close friends to the
family. Anybody outside my circle, I could care less. You could say
that I'm a mean guy, or you could say I killed the president or
whatever. It doesn't matter to me."
As an organization, the Blazers have defended, and protected,
Wallace. The night of the Suns game, spokeswoman Sue Carpenter
pointed out that Wallace never has been in trouble with the law.
"This is not a case of Jason Kidd beating his wife," she said.
When Whitsitt was asked a couple years ago whether Wallace
needed counseling, he scoffed at the idea. Asked the same question
this week, Whitsitt also made a reference to Kidd – this one more
subtle – to play down Wallace's behavior.
"I think what you really need to focus on is, what's a guy like
off the court? Is this guy having criminal charges, does he have
domestic violence cases? Absolutely not. This guy's a pillar in the
community and is a great person."
Tutko, 69, said the Blazers' reaction has the affect of
absolving Wallace of any responsibility. Tutko said Wallace is a
case study of the "aggression-frustration hypothesis," a theory
developed decades ago that contends some people, when extremely
frustrated, take it out on others.
"It's the child with the exploding temper tantrum," Tutko
said. "`It's not my fault, you made me do it. I should have made
the shot.' We interpret that childish behavior as competitive
behavior, but it's not."
Tutko said teams and fans are partly to blame because they have
such high expectations of athletes, and that aggression and
fearlessness – highly valued qualities that can contribute to
victory – are difficult to "compartmentalize" in everyday life.
But he notes that the Michael Jordan seldom lost his cool.
"Players who accept responsibility get better. People who blame
others stay at the same level," he said. Send this story to a friend
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