The Blazers deserve all the criticism they get

[ad_1]

The Blazers announced that Chauncey Billups was their new head coach on Tuesday afternoon, and with that, the organization sent an even bigger message: The NBA Glass Ceiling is alive and well and thriving.

Billups, with just one year of assistant coaching experience under his belt, was given the job of Spurs assistant coach Becky Hammon, who has spent the past seven years working under Gregg Popovich at San Antonio, learning from one of the greatest basketball minds in the history of the sport. Another near miss for Hammon, whose inclusion in hiring processes is starting to look more and more like a team-calculated PR move, rather than actually being seen as a serious candidate.

Hiring Billups is perhaps the most cheeky and brutal reminder of the mountains women must overcome to break into NBA coaching circles, rather than their male counterparts. Especially considering that the Blazers immediately had to go out of their way to defend Billups, who in 1997 was credibly accused of sexual assault while a rookie with the Celtics.

The public backlash began a week ago, when discussion of the assault allegations against Billups resurfaced. In 1997, a woman alleged that Billups, along with her former teammate Ron Mercer and another man, assaulted her. No criminal charges were filed, but medical reports supported his claims. Billups and Mercer would settle a civil lawsuit with their accuser in 2000.

When The Athletic’s Jason Quick asked about the incident at Billups’ introductory press conference, the Blazers ended the conversation entirely, saying he was asked for an answer, although she was not asked or answered.

The complete lack of transparency and the fact that Blazers PR is stepping in to shut down a reporter asking a legitimate question of interest to fans and the community is reprehensible. People who devote their time, effort, and money to supporting a team deserve a better understanding of the process of putting someone in a position of power, especially someone who has been sexually assaulted in the workplace. the past.

However, when asked directly, GM Neil Olshey’s response was to literally take our word for it.

I asked Neil Olshey for more details on the investigation. “It’s exclusive, Sean. You’re just going to have to take our word for it that we hired an experienced company that drove us to the results we have already discussed.”

Sean Highkin (@highkin) June 29, 2021

No Neil, no one should take your word for it. You, as the CEO of a team, have a bare minimum of responsibility, which in this case would be to explain how the organization made the decision and which outside company looked into the allegations. Speaking around the matter, there is no other conclusion to be drawn that the Blazers have something to hide, and it makes the situation so much worse than it already is.

We need to start talking more about how people in positions of power in sport want to control the message and avoid scrutiny at all costs. If most CEOs and owners had what they wanted, there wouldn’t be an independent media to interview them. No post-match press conference. No opportunity to answer for questionable decisions. The only media coming from an organization would be the sanitized website of the company’s towing team, producing articles about how everything is perfect and rosy, like the dog sipping tea in his burning kitchen.

There are hardly any occasions in life when, once examined, you should put someone to work, especially someone in a position of authority.

The incident in Billup’s past is deeply concerning and people have a right to be concerned. The coach said the incident had shaped him and there was a real opportunity for Billups to show his work. How did the allegations change his perspective? How has the resolution of a sexual assault case shaped him over the past 21 years? By preventing Billups from responding and cloistering him out of sight, the Blazers made a questionable decision that was misleading. Now they owe fans and the city answers, real answers as to why they felt the need to tell a reporter to take our word for it when it comes to a sexual assault allegation. .

Let’s face it: Men have taken advantage of the fact that the world takes their word for it for decades, which has helped create the entire Me Too movement as a whole.

And yet, in the background of this dumpster fire, remains Becky Hammon. The other candidate. The one with pedigree and player endorsements, working for an organization with more sustained success than any other in professional basketball. Once again ignored, again for a man whose resume isn’t as strong as his. This time around, with the sting of his competition in need of a full support structure, independent investigation and a public relations team behind him.

Why did Neil Olshey and the Blazers hire Billups knowing his baggage and the public response looming on the horizon on Becky Hammon? It is difficult to find a decent justification. I guess you’re going to have to take their word for it.

[ad_2]