One big golf swing from Steve Nash has been the talk of the town in Los Angeles for the past week or so, and all the anger surrounding the issue forced the injured point guard to explain himself in a big way on his facebook account as an open letter to the fans.
Open Letter to Laker Fans: https://t.co/9VpsnBEGDk
— Steve Nash (@SteveNash) November 8, 2014
I definitely don’t want to be a distraction, but I felt it best everyone heard from me in my own words.
I have a ton of miles on my back. Three buldging disks (a tear in one), stenosis of the nerve route and spondylolisthesis. I suffer from sciatica and after games I often can’t sit in the car on the drive home, which has made for some interesting rides. Most nights I’m bothered by severe cramping in both calves while I sleep, a result of the same damn nerve routes, and the list goes on somewhat comically. That’s what you deserve for playing over 1,300 NBA games. By no means do I tell you this for sympathy – especially since I see these ailments as badges of honor – but maybe I can bring some clarity.I’ve always been one of the hardest workers in the game and I say that at the risk of what it assumes. The past 2 years I’ve worked like a dog to not only overcome these setbacks but to find the form that could lift up and inspire the fans in LA as my last chapter. Obviously it’s been a disaster on both fronts but I’ve never worked harder, sacrificed more or faced such a difficult challenge mentally and emotionally.
I understand why some fans are disappointed. I haven’t been able to play a lot of games or at the level we all wanted. Unfortunately that’s a part of pro sports that happens every year on every team. I wish desperately it was different. I want to play more than anything in the world. I’ve lost an incredible amount of sleep over this disappointment.
Competitiveness, professionalism, naiveté and hope that at some point I’d turn a corner has kept me fighting to get back. As our legendary trainer Gary Vitti, who is a close friend, told me, ‘You’re the last to know’ – and my back has shown me the forecast over the past 18-20 months. To ignore it any longer is irresponsible. But that doesn’t mean that life stops.
This may be hard for people to understand unless you’ve played NBA basketball, but there is an incredible difference between this game and swinging a golf club, hiking, even hitting a tennis ball or playing basketball at the park. Fortunately those other activities aren’t debilitating, but playing an NBA game usually puts me out a couple of weeks. Once you’re asked to accelerate and decelerate with Steph Curry and Kyrie Irving it is a completely different demand.
I’m doing what I’ve always done which is share a bit of my off-court life in the same way everyone else does. Going forward I hope we all can refocus our energies on getting behind these Lakers. This team will be back and Staples will be rocking.
Simply put, this is sad.
Yes, Nash is missing the entire season due to constant back issues that have compromised his life in a very negative way. It’s no secret that he has great passion for the game of basketball, so if he was able to play, he would be playing.
While he’s not well enough anymore to play the game he loves in the most elite league on the planet, he does, thankfully, have enough mobility to swing a golf club. Isn’t that supposed to be a good thing?
Apparently, some fans would feel better if he was suffering in his bed and barely able to move based on how they are reacting to Nash having a life outside of the world of basketball. It’s a damn shame that he had to explain and justify himself to the extent that he did, because the man has given us as many wonderful years as he possibly could on the court and doesn’t really owe us an explanation for what he does in his personal time. Again, if he could play, he would play.
It’s unfortunate that Nash never really was able to make an impact for the Lakers after signing the three-year contract, but it’s not exactly his fault that he suffered an unexpected injury (broken leg in his first year with the team) that ultimately derailed the rest of his career. It’s also not his fault that Los Angeles gave him that big contract.
The point? Some of these hateful Lakers fans really, really need to scale it back and put things into perspective. Nash can’t play basketball anymore. He can, however, swing a golf club. Let the man live and get the hell over it.
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James Park is a blogger and editor at Sheridan Hoops. Follow him on twitter @SheridanBlog.