“I never said I didn’t wanna go back in the game. I love the game. I love to play. No caoches came to me. I never told anybody [I didn't want to go back in the game].”
Those words were sent from Andray Blatche to 106.7 the Fan this afternoon via text message.
In a phone conversation with Blatche, more of the player’s side of the story was revealed.
Blatche confirmed that he didn’t want to listen to what his head coach, Flip Saunders, had to say when he was removed from the game eight minutes in to Tuesday night’s loss, Washington’s 12th straight.
“I thought it was gonna be about shot selection, and it was too early to be talking about that,” he said. “So I just went over to the bench and sat down.”
That wasn't Flip, that was your Guilty Conscience, Dray.
According to Blatche, Saunders announced that one of his players didn’t want to play while addressing the Wizards at halftime. Blatche said that was the first time he’d heard that he didn’t want to play. Saunders’ words were news to him.
One of the assistants came over to Blatche and told him that James Singleton would be taknig his place in the second half. Blatche wasn’t happy, but he said that he was stille expecting to play. “I was okay with it at the time, cuz we were winning,” he added.
If true, I don't like this lack of communication. If a player is being benched for the rest of the game for punitive reasons, he should know it then and there.
In the 15 hours since, Blatche said that he has met with General Manager Ernie Grunfeld and Head Coach Flip Saunders (after the game at Verizon Center last night). He’s also watched Saunders’ press conference (in the team hotel upon arriving in Indiana last night).
He’s not happy about the way the story of last night’s events are being portrayed. He says he would never quit, He’d never let his team down. “It’s not true, and that’s what hurts,” Blatche added.
In a team meeting this morning, Flip Saunders apparently told his players again that Blatche didn’t want to go back on the court. That he had left his teammates out to dry.
According to the former 2nd-rounder, he stood up and refuted the point in front of his teammates. He said that he didn’t refuse to play. That no coaches approached him.
“I think they know my side of the story now,” he said. When I asked Blatche if any players had expressed frustrations with him, or told him that they were disappointed in his actions, he said “No. I think they understand. That’s why I wanted to tell them what happened in the meeting.”
Interesting to hear how Flip is handling this internally. It's a jerk move, but it's not unheard of. Coaches attempt to use fear of teammate disapproval as a motivator all the time.
