Author:
RDW
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Date Posted: 21:20:44 12/29/02 Sun
While I do not have any well thought out musings to share with the cool hombres, I did come across the attached recent article from the best small-town newspaper in the country, The Muncie Star Press.
As you read this article about one of the nastiest NBA players today, remember Doug Shrieve is even nastier and stood up to this punk while attending good old MCHS. Now that's what I call a cool hombre!!
Bonzi should channel energy into his hometown
DOUG ZALESKI
dzaleski@thestarpress.com
Bonzi Wells has done more to tarnish his reputation in just four-plus seasons in the NBA than the majority of misfits do in a career.
People here know what he did as a high school and college standout to get the ball rolling. Unfortunately, his unruliness has accelerated as a professional player with the Portland Trail Blazers.
On Nov. 9, Wells spit in the face of San Antonio's Danny Ferry during a game and was suspended one game.
On Dec. 24, Wells was suspended two games for fighting with Golden State's Chris Mills at the end of a game. After the game, Mills tried to hunt down Wells in the Blazers' locker room and on their team bus. Some players speculated Mills might have been carrying a gun.
Mills, who was suspended three games, had harsh words for Wells. "I think Bonzi Wells is a straight punk, with a capital P," Mills said.
Perhaps even more troubling, Wells has been accused by NBA players of making racial taunts toward white players.
Ferry told writers Wells called him a "[blanking] honkie" during games dating to last season.
In an exhibition game this season, Golden State's Troy Murphy said Wells called him a "cracker" - a derogatory term for whites.
Last April, Dallas guard Nick Van Excel, a black, said Wells referred to the Mavericks as "a bunch of soft-assed white boys."
The totality of Wells's actions and verbal flares is beginning to accumulate like sand in Dubai. What little credibility he might have had with the majority of fans in his hometown has all but vanished.
Wells and his inner circle of friends and family, of course, don't see it. If they do, they refuse to acknowledge it. But the 99.5 percent of the other people in Muncie can see what is happening.
Wells is becoming a laughingstock in his hometown. Mention the name Bonzi Wells in Muncie and you're likely to get one of these reactions: rolling of the eyes, shaking of the head, pitying laughter.
Can he reverse those feelings? Perhaps.
In a column I wrote last month, I noted Wells's new contract with the Blazers would pay him $21 million during the next 3 years. I got a call the that day from his mother, who wanted to correct me. She said the deal was worth $24 million.
Good enough. Here's a plan for Wells to give something back to the people in his hometown, the same place where he makes his offseason home.
Bonzi's mother said her son had done a lot of good things, such as buying basketball shoes for the Central and Ball State teams and staging a summer basketball clinic for kids. Wells recently even contributed $250 to The Star Press Children's Charities.
That's all well and good, but he has the wherewithal to do much more. He has the ability to better the quality of life for many kids in his hometown.
It's not uncommon for well-paid athletes to give something back.
NBA player Steve Smith, a former teammate of Wells in Portland, donated $2.5 million to his alma mater. The gift, given in memory of Smith's mother, was used for an academic center to help student-athletes at Michigan State. The money also funded a scholarship at Smith's high school to help deserving students who want to attend Michigan State.
NFL player Warrick Dunn has established a program to help single mothers become homeowners. Dunn pays $5,000 to $6,000 for down payments on the homes and works with local businesses to supply such necessities as appliances, dishes, linens, and lawn and garden equipment. To date, Dunn has helped more than 2 dozen single mothers acquire homes they otherwise could not afford.
Those athletes are making a difference. Instead of being called "a punk with a capital P" by their peers, they are improving the quality of life in their home areas.
So here's my suggestion to Wells. He should take the $24 million his mom says he's earning and pledge $1 million of it toward making Muncie, his home, a better place for the kids who live here.
Already this season, Wells has squandered $210,000 in salary by being suspended three games. Just threw it out the window because he acted like a clown.
It would be nice to see Bonzi do the right thing for once. How about committing $1 million to the kids - black, white, orange, whatever - of Muncie? Couldn't the YMCA, the Boys' and Girls' Club, and any number of other agencies and programs greatly benefit from that kind of philanthropy?
It's time for Wells to reshape his image instead of continually bringing shame upon himself.
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