I rarely do follow ups on articles that I write. Check that, I NEVER do follow ups on the articles I write. I usually see a story that I am passionate about, state my opinion and move on. In my burnout of chasing the thought process of LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and every other sports writer that I respect, I caught a story that caught my eye. That story was the reported fight of Charlotte Hornets first round draft pick P.J. Hairston and a high school kid at a YMCA in Durham, North Carolina.
I wasn’t particularly kind to P.J. Hairston. I called him dumb. I said he lacked common sense. I gave three solid reasons of why I thought so. I received two comments that seemed to disagree with me for some reason. These two comments are as follows.
The first comment was from Tony Mitchell…
"“Yet another terrible article. A rant is all it is. So you hate P.J…Blah…Blah…Blah…We get this already. How are you tying this to Chicago’s rookies at all? Where is there ANY connection? Oh, right-they play basketball…Pointless writing. Now I know where washed up Bleacher Report writers go to. For P.J.’s part I hope he’s a perennial all-star just so I never have to read garbage like this again."
The second comment came from someone. No name, no face.
"“Your three points are idiotic at best. He’s an NBA player now. There is no way car troubles would stop him from arriving for training. Charlotte would send a car or since he is an NBA player he could afford a cab/limo. What if he gets injured? Every serious basketball player is playing on a daily basis. He’s staying in shape and enhancing his skills which leads to your third stupid point. The high school player he was against is a strongly recruited player with talent. It would be worse to play against an older person who couldn’t compete than a young person who is “thirsty”."
First off, thanks for the Bleacher Report comment. The Bleacher Report is a great organization who has articles featured on Pippen Ain’t Easy. To be even put in the same sentence as those guys is a wonderful thing. As for the second comment. Thanks for the inspiration of a new segment to the website…D.U.M. As Mud Backwards!
You know Pippen Peoples. I have a confession to make. This has nothing to do with the Chicago Bulls. This has nothing to do with LeBron James (everyone needs a second from that drama.) This has nothing to do with Carmelo Anthony. Eventually they’ll make their decisions and we all can go back to our lives. This is about making a point. Pay attention to what the second commenter said about cars and read on.
According to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer, P.J. Hairston met Cleveland Browns wide receiver, Josh Gordon at a Chapel Hill grocery store. which eventually led to Gordon driving Hairston’s Cadillac when he was arrested on a DWI charge in Raleigh.
P.J. Hairston traded his Cadillac for a Mercedes for the night. Here’s an explanation of events from Hairston after a Hornets summer league practice…
"“Me and Josh Gordon met at the Fresh Market in Chapel Hill, I walked there to get food and happened to run into him in there.”“I’m a football fan so I knew who he was. Right away, we started talking about football, basketball and we walked outside. He saw my car and asked me ‘What are you doing?’ He asked if I minded if he switched cars and we exchanged numbers and he was going to drive my car that night and bring it back to me.”” I said okay and we switched cars. The rest is history.”"
Okay everyone. Let’s hang on to the word “history”. Two troubling things here.
1) If P.J. Hairston was such a football fan, he would know that Josh Gordon is facing a season long suspension for his third violation of the NFL substance abuse policy. According to profootballtalk.com, Gordon has a hearing next month. Boy, a DWI will make him look like a choir boy won’t it?
2) Who just switches cars all willy-nilly. What are these two guys, 12 years olds or something? Hey I’ll let you ride my ten speed if you let me ride your dirt bike.
Now back to the history part. Guess who bailed Josh Gordon out?
I bet the two guys that made these comments know who did.
According to court documents, Gordon was bailed out by Haydn “Fats” Thomas, a convicted felon and party promoter who was linked to Hairston who was driving around in a rental car given by Thomas. That was investigated by the NCAA and was declared an improper benefit. Hairston was kicked off the UNC squad. THAT’S how he ended up in the D-league. Oops! Six degrees of separation is something ain’t it?
Check out the comment of P.J. Hairston about the “Fats” Thomas involvement.
"“Once I realized that he (Gordon) had connections with people who got me in trouble in the past, I figured, it would be a problem,” Hairston said."
Boy simplicity is the object of genius ain’t it?
Hey P.J., if you jump off the Empire State Building, it would be a problem.
Swimming in shark infested waters would be a problem.
Trying to jump the Grand Canyon would be a problem.
Diving into Niagara Falls for a swim would be a problem.
Not having a certified agent would be a problem.
Oh yeah! This gets better and better folks. Come to find out there is no record of Juan Morrow in the NBA Players Association’s Security and Agent Administration according to the Sporting News.
Morrow works for the Upside Media Group.
In 24 hours, Juan Morrow went from “Certified NBPA Agent” to “Marketing Expert”.
What does this mean? Well it means that P.J. Hairston can’t include this guy in the negotiations with the Hornets. If they try, the Hornets have to pay a fine of 50,000 dollars.
For the two guys that are OBVIOUS UNC Tar heel fans that made these comments. I don’t hate P.J. Hairston. I happen to think if he had people around him that actually get this guy to catch a clue, maybe he will last through his rookie contract. That is IF he can get an agent that’s certified to get him one. One more thing, no he is not a NBA player, he’s a grown man…”allegedly” that happens to BE a NBA player. He needs to act like one before it’s too late.
Okay everyone…back to chasing LeBron and Carmelo!
Here’s the guy who was driving Hairston’s car…Josh Gordon.
Enjoy!
Dec 10, 2013; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon watches a game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the New York Knicks in the fourth quarter at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports