Thugs or Slugs? – Cavs Trying to Make Browns Look Competent
It may have been a slip of the tongue for Cavs head coach John Beilein. However, what came out of his mouth offended the entire Cavaliers team during a film session. A team that is 10-27 and stinks as it is…
Read this explanation courtesy of ESPN:
“I didn’t realize that I had said the word ‘thugs,’ but my staff told me later I did and so I must have said it,” Beilein told ESPN on Wednesday night. “I meant to say slugs, as in slow-moving. We weren’t playing hard before, and now we were playing harder. I meant it as a compliment. That’s what I was trying to say. I’ve already talked to eight of my players tonight, and they are telling me that they understand.”
This is what I actually take away from this situation.
For the players to actually get pissed, to the point of walking out of the session, for a word such as that means that there was a build-up to this happening. It goes to show that clearly the players don’t like Beilein to begin with and that word did not help the cause.
I would be curious what the response would be if it was a coach that all of the guys loved and respected that said the same thing? Would all of them have walked out in such a manner?
Let’s be honest…there’s a lot worse that can be said about a person. That is why it just feels like there is more to this story than is being told. At least Beilein reached out to his guys individually and apologized. It may have been a slip of the tongue, it may not have been, we will never know. Hopefully, the players will be able to forgive and forget.
The frustration of a terrible season is clearly growing within the organization and this incident did not help as such. Hopefully, these guys can just make it to April.
Lastly, the Cavs did sign Beilein to a five-year contract this past offseason. Thus, it is unlikely he’d be let go because of this situation or the poor season that the team is in the process of going through.
Sources: Cavaliers coach John Beilein met with team in what was described as an emotional apology prior to shoot-around in Detroit today. He’s coaching Cavaliers tonight and franchise plans to continue with him on the job. https://t.co/BEhvH4xOuc
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 9, 2020
