ESPN's Bill Simmons offended a semi-pro basketball player when he called the man's dreads "stinky." The basketball player, Wayne Washington, blasted Simmons on Monday for his insensitive remark, USA Today Sports reports.
Simmons and ESPN analyst Jalen Rose convened last week to examine potential candidates for Nike's upcoming "Summer is Serious" pickup game. Washington, a former Shenandoah University player, was the first contestant screened of the dunk group. Simmons called Washington "pretty impressive," but then went on to comment on the player's hairstyle.
"Where do you stand on cornrows in 2013?" Simmons asked Rose.
Rose corrected him and said Washington's hairstyle is actually dreads. Simmons shrugged it off and said, "Or whatever ... the dreads I should have said."
Simmons then gave his take on dreads.
"(It's a) competitive advantage possibly to have the dreads though," Simmons quipped. "They can get a little stinky."
The Grantland editor seemingly intended to be funny, but the insensitive remark prompted Washington to respond on his blog, WayneWashingtonHoops.com.
"Bill you seemed to be distracted by my 'cornrows' which led you to make several ill-informed comments," Washington wrote. "You should be thankful Jalen was there to correct you time and time again. Not only did you make me uncomfortable, you made other viewers uncomfortable, and I'm sure you made Jalen uncomfortable. You would never know because Jalen is a pro and did his best to refocus your attention back to the task at hand which was discussing dunks.
"'How do you feel about cornrows in 2013.' Bill you've covered the NBA for how long? You're 43 years old. You don't know the difference between Allen Iverson's cornrows and Kenneth Faried's dreads? To make matters worse, when corrected by Jalen you responded with 'or whatever' in a laid back attitude almost to say 'ta-may-toe, toe-mah-toe.' That's something I'd expect from Bill O'Reilly not you Bill Simmons.
"... Do I look like a dirty person Bill? Or maybe it wasn't a personal jab and you believe all dreads stink? ... Whether someone is 'stinky' or not has nothing to do with a hairstyle. ... Please understand with comments like these you perpetuated a stereotype and in a way contributed to the struggle for blacks to find employment or simply be respected as equals."
Washington went on to say he cut his dreads three weeks ago, before the video aired, because he was tired of being judged for his hairstyle. As for hard feelings, Washington doesn't appear to harbor any - he just wants Simmons to learn from the flub.
"I'm not angry at you Bill. I was actually embarrassed for you while watching the video. You came across as a sheltered, uncultured snob. ... I do know this wasn't the first time you put your foot in your mouth on camera and probably won't be the last.
"Hopefully you can learn from your mistakes. ...You reduced a moment of praise to ill-informed 'schtick' that can be perceived as offensive. Do I think you are a racist or a bigot? No. Do I think you are a habitual line stepper that needs to think before you speak? Yes.
"Don't get fired Bill. I actually like Grantland."
Simmons hasn't yet responded.
