Bad sports, good sports: Kobe Bryant calls fans stupid for booing Carmelo Anthony. He’s wrong.

Posted on January 24th, 2011 by Alan Spoll

Some athletes just don’t get it. I guess it’s because of how far removed their lives are from those of the average fans. When you make millions of dollars a year for playing a game, it must be easy to lose sight of what it’s like to have to save to take your family to a game. That’s the only way I can explain comments like those made by Kobe Bryant this week, discussing the fact that Carmelo Anthony is being booed by his home fans in Denver. Bryant called the fans of the Nuggets “stupid” for daring to boo Anthony, the team’s star player who is trying to force a trade to the New York Knicks. Apparently, those fans should stay quiet about the giant middle-finger that Anthony is sending their way.

I have never been a fan of Kobe Bryant. Sure, he is a fantastic basketball player, maybe even the best currently playing. Like many Philadelphia fans, though, I have despised Bryant for years, despite his roots in suburban Philadelphia. Because of them, actually, as he has done several things over the years that have made him reviled here. The comments about Anthony are completely unrelated to any past offenses, but show the elitist attitude that so angers us. Let me get this straight: Carmelo Anthony, a true superstar in the NBA, is doing everything he can to force Denver to trade him to the Knicks, and the people paying good money to attend the Nuggets games should not be expressing their displeasure? It’s “stupid” to boo a guy who is very openly stating that he can’t get out of town quickly enough? I could not disagree more strongly. Fans spend more than just money on their teams. They spend their time, energy, and emotions on the teams they love, reveling in the successes and despairing at the defeats. They are not only justified in booing poor performance or bad attitudes, it is their responsibility to do so. Bryant essentially said that the Denver fans should just be grateful that Carmelo played there for a few years and entertained them. Booing him makes them stupid. That’s just so wrong.

I will defend my right to boo until my last breath. If I were a fan of the Nuggets, I would be furious at the actions of Anthony and would certainly not hesitate to let him know. Any of them that didn’t already hate Kobe can now feel good about booing him as well. I’m sure Bryant will call them stupid for that too. He’ll be wrong.

Bad sports, continued:

2) The Australian Open, the first of Tennis’ four Grand Slam events, began this week. Already, two different things happened that few can claim to have seen before in professional tennis. First, Agnieszka Radwanska found out that banging your racquet on the court throughout the match is a bad idea. Next, Maria Sharapova’s third-round match was delayed when something very odd occurred: they found a spot on the court where the ball didn’t bounce. At all. Totally bizarre.

3) Current Major League Baseball player Milton Bradley and former NFL player Terry Glenn were each arrested this week, Bradley for making threats against a woman and Glenn for DUI and possession of marijuana. I am not the least bit surprised by either one of these events.

4) Golfer Padraig Harrington continued an unusual trend of this past year by being disqualified from a golf tournament after committing a violation reported by a television viewer. Harrington moved his ball illegally, although unintentionally, and the offense was emailed in by someone watching on TV.

5) Jay Cutler, quarterback of the Chicago Bears, missed most of the second half of his team’s loss to the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship game on Sunday. Cutler reportedly suffered some kind of knee injury in the first half and could not play effectively. The mysterious nature of the injury and the fact that Cutler stood on the sideline throughout the second half without obvious pain will surely lead many to question his toughness.

6) Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer is demanding to be traded. I am not sure how a player who has been as ineffective as Palmer has been over the last several seasons feels like he has the right to demand anything, honestly.

Bonus – During the first half of the AFC Championship game, Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez was spotted doing something quite amusing to his backup quarterback, Mark Brunell. Check it out.

Good sports:

1) Rather than collect $12 million for what was sure to be another ineffective season, Kansas City pitcher Gil Meche has chosen to retire. His pride would not let him take that money, knowing he no longer has the ability to earn it.

2) Francesa Schiavone won the longest women’s match in the history of Grand Slam tennis, beating Svetlana Kuznestova in 4 hours and 44 minutes by a score of 6-4, 1-6, 16-14.

Bonus – I wanted to use this space to acknowledge the death of Sargent Shriver at 95 years old. Shriver was a major figure in the history of the Special Olympics, helping it to become the wonderful event that it is today.

Bad Sports, Good Sports appears every Monday.

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Alan Spoll

Alan Spoll is a software quality assurance director from the suburbs of Philadelphia where he lives with his wonderful wife and children. He has spent his entire life as a passionate fan of the Eagles, Phillies, Sixers, Flyers, and Penn State. Recent Phillies success aside, you will understand his natural negativity. Follow me on Twitter - @DocAlan02