CHUTZPAH AWARD NOMINEE: Today's award goes to '70s NBA star Kermit Washington. In this week's Sports Illustrated there is an excerpt from a new book by John Feinstein on "The Punch" which was thrown by Washington at Rudy Tomjanovich in a 1977 game, nearly killing Tomjanovich and leading to permanent changes in the lives of both men. The story follows Washington's gradual descent and blackballing from the game following the fight, and then shares that Washington's attorneys once wrote a letter to NBA commissioner David Stern accusing the league of "manipulating the situation... for public relations purposes and worked against Kermit," and thus the former star was threatening to sue- for $5 million. Somewhat surprisingly, the NBA was not to keen to offer a settlement to a man who had ruined his own career by punching another player during a game, and the suit was never filed. Shocking, I know.
Posted by Stephen Silver at October 21, 2002 12:54 AM