penbeast0 wrote:Johnlac1 wrote:penbeast0 wrote:
Yeah, on court it could be Laimbeer. He was not only a master of all the little dirty tricks out there; he was a rich white boy too. I might still go Brisker though; had an opposing coach admit he offered his players money for anyone who would go punch Brisker out to start games. That and he was a nasty black racist too. When you are talking visceral issues of hatred; race cranked both those players' sets of issues up another notch.
He was a rich, white boy? Gee whiz, that sure qualifies as a serious crime.
(a) talking about ON COURT dislike in this post, not off court criminality like Fast Eddie, Alvin, or Jarvis
(b) If you don't think race and social status enters into like/dislike by other players (and us fans, including me) you have a naive view of the world.
Remember when Rodman and Isiah were quoted as saying that if Bird were black, no one would be calling him a star player? It mattered to his peers that Laimbeer was probably the only guy in the league that was taking a pay cut to play in the NBA (his family's business was appreciably more lucrative!)
I believe the gist of the original post is "the worst person to ever play in the league." I'm sure there have been more than a few other white players who had money when they came into the league. But for the last thirty years virtually every player in the league was an instant millionaire when they made an NBA team. That was my point.
I don't think the average fan knew much about Laimbeer's background. They just knew he was a player who was a little too dirty at times. I doubt they cared if he came from a rich family. If someone dislikes somebody because they're white and/or came from a wealthy background, maybe they have the problem and not the white player with the money.
I was more amazed that Laimbeer turned into a good NBA player, because a few of my friends and I didn't think he had a chance to even make it as a scrub. He didn't look very impressive when he played for Notre Dame. I was not a Laimbeer fan. But he proved me and a lot of other people wrong, so I'll give him that.
