Ainge Fires Back

ESPN.com - "There's one thing that I know for sure, and it's that KG would not offend cancer patients," Ainge said. "That makes no sense. It makes no sense on a lot of fronts. Not only is he experiencing it in his own family, but that's just not something I've ever heard -- in 30 years -- ever say, in trash talking. What is logical in a trash talking situation for a player to say to another player, 'You have cancer' or 'You are cancer'?"

"...Tweeting is about self-promotion in most cases," he said. "He's [Villanueva] not trying to be a public servant by telling everybody. As a matter of fact he's the one who brings light to this attention ... There's self-promotion in tweeting -- all the time. You are talking about a guy who tweets in the middle of a game. Talk about self-promotion."

 Let's give DannyAinge a round of applause. He is exactly right. Now let me say that if Garnett said what Charlie Villanueva claimed he did, than the insult itself is inexcusable. There is no sense in making fun of a very serious disease. I would in no way condone what KG apparently said.

But in all honesty, Villanueva shouldn't have brought the issue to Twitter. Leave it on the court. Beat KG next time you play the Celtics. But don't go on Twitter looking for pity and some fame. Nobody in the sports world cared what Villanueva did on the court (which wasn't much of anything), and nobody will care once this issue is passed. Villanueva went after a star in the NBA to get his name on Around the Horn and Sportscenter.

Secondly, trash-talking is part of the game, not real life. KG has family members who have dealt with cancer, and if he indeed said what he said it was in the heat of a game, and doesn't feel that way about him or the disease off the court. Which is why VILLANUEVA is more at fault for this situation; nobody would've ever found out about this issue if he didn't tweet it. Trash-talking has been around in the sport since they were using peach-baskets in a small gym in Springfield. It is a "staple" of the game. There have probably been worse things said on the court over the last 50 years than what KG allegedly said, so leave it on the court. You're not getting any pity as you made it an issue.

Ainge is spot on with his analysis of Villanueva; he's an attention-whore who cannot garner any buzz with his skill, something that KG has done all his career. I hope Villanueva enjoys these 15 minutes of fame, because in a couple of days he'll be back to the Top-10 bust he was before he started this whole "controversy."

What do YOU think of the KG/Villanueva situation? Let us know YOUR thoughts.