Miami Heat: Please Stop Complaining About Jimmy Butler’s Trash Talk
The Miami Heat’s Jimmy Butler is no different than a lot of other star players of the course of the league’s history.
To those of you challenging the sportsmanship or ethics of Butler’s action, remember, this is not only part of the sport; it is a strategy used by some of the best athletes in the sport. Legends like Kevin Garnett and Michael Jordan were constantly dogging opponents.
The venom that Allen Iverson, Charles Barkley and Reggie Miller brought to the court has to be mentioned. But trash talk doesn’t hold itself to the best player or even a few in the game.
Why is this a common theme? Because the best in the game will try to win on every level, including psychologically.
The stalwarts of the NBA are trying to break your mind and body to gain an edge. And not only is Butler an elite player vying for every advantage on the court, he and Towns are also rivals, which requires a particular level of smack talk.
Trash talk permeates every rivalry we love so much. Just like there was no love lost or kind words shared between the Duke Blue Devils and the UNC Tar Heels, the clashes between LeBron James and Paul Pierce or Patrick Beverly and Russell Westbrook holds the malice that spills into a verbal form.
In bouts that pits some of the best competition against one another, there is a chance that it gets, you know, competitive. But this is sports.
It’s not a Butler thing or a basketball thing; it’s a sports thing. When you have top-level players pushing, pressing, and doing everything they can to get the upper hand, sometimes you talk a little trash (even the most terrible players talk smack on the court, yeah, I’m talking about you).
While I’m not going to pretend that it isn’t personal for some of these players (if Lance Stephenson ever goes missing, question James first), it is and for the most part, like a tackle in football or a punch in boxing. It’s a part of the game.
Next. Kelly Olynyk has to be discussed… did they move the wrong piece?. dark
If it bothers you, don’t watch sports. I’ll leave you with a quote from Anthony Edwards following Friday night’s game.
“Man, they grown men, dog. They was just talking having a regular conversation if you ask me. Y’all come to see us compete. It no competition if you’re not talking sh*t to each other.”
That sums it up.