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ESPN's Jason Whitlock rips Andrew Wiggins and Canadian athletes
It wasn't enough for ESPN's Jason Whitlock to critize Andrew Wiggins, who became the second Canadian ever to go No. 1 overall in the NBA draft last month, Whitlock had to take out an entire nation of athletes.
Wiggins has been at the centre of discussion since LeBron James returned to Cleveland, as the Cavaliers ponder whether they should trade the 19-year-old Ontario native for Timberwolves all-star Kevin Love.
Whitlock appeared on Keith Olbermann's show to discuss the latest news out of Cleveland. When Wiggins was brought up, Whitlock had a laughable take on why the Cavaliers should make the trade (3:20 mark in the video below).
"Andrew Wiggins is from Canada, and Canadian athletes, I think, among NBA players and NBA people, perhaps don’t want it as much as even some of the Europeans and certainly the American players."
Olbermann's final response on the subject was that he didn't know if the criticism of Wiggins' on-court intensity "has anything to do with him being Canadian."
This is a narrative that should be familiar to hockey fans, except it's European players that find themselves on the receiving end of the negative stigma. Both Whitlock's comments and those directed towards European hockey players are lazy and derived from unfounded stereotypes.
Whitlock conveniently forgets the times when Steve Nash played through a swollen eye and a broken nose in the playoffs, not to mention the thousands upon thousands of times a Canadian athlete in any sport has persevered to be the best. You know, Georges St-Pierre, Christine Sinclair, Wayne Gretzky, Clara Hughes, Terry Fox...
This isn't the first time Wiggins has been criticized for his effort. It was a major talking point while he was at Kansas and leading up to the draft but it didn't stop the Cavaliers from making him the top pick.
A fair share of Americans, those who according to Whitlock want it more than Canadians, have been hit with similar criticisms. Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady were alleged to lack focus and drive. Even LeBron has been accused of not possessing a "clutch gene" and fading late in games.
The Wiggins-for-Love trade talks bring up numerous interesting basketball questions. Can the Cavaliers afford to wait for Wiggins to develop? How will he fit playing alongside LeBron? Whether or not Canadians basketball players have the same drive to win as their American and European competitors? Not at all relevant.
Whitlock should be thankful Dr. James Naismith, a Canadian, had the drive to invent the game of basketball over 120 years ago.
