Apologies for the asterisks in the headlines. We don’t believe that words should be censored here, but the various news sites that pick up our RSS feed tend to disagree. Also, Google and Google News, supposedly we’re told, doesn’t take too kindly to putting the words “pus**” and “b**” in your headline.
However, these crude words are just part of sports. Trash talking happens in basketball; and it’s brutal, vicious and sometimes very low brow. As Christian Laettner himself said in the new 30 for 30 documentary “I hate Christian Laettner,” sports are not like church where everybody is civil and nice to one another.
Sports are competitive, and tensions run high. And Michigan’s Fab 5 freshmen talked a lot of trash. They didn’t hold back. Laettner talked trash right back to them. If you’ve seen the 30 for 30 on the Fab 5, you know all about how the Wolverines freshmen called Laettner “a bitch” and “a pussy.”
That’s covered. What’s not common knowledge, and what hasn’t been covered as much, is that the Michigan players came to respect and admire Laettner’s game and talents after playing him.
Christian Laettner joined director Rory Karpf and ESPN Films VP and executive producer John Dahl to preview “I Hate Christian Laettner” and answer questions from the media this afternoon.
Here’s the link to the vital when and where to watch info) Here’s the link to our review/critique of the film. Remember though that the version we watched is a “rough cut,” as ESPN PR told us, and could end up being somewhat different from the version that will air Sunday night for the general public. Still, this one is could be at the top of the ESPN 30 for 30 all time top ten list. The documentary is about much more than basketball, or even the story of just one basketball player. It truly is a movie about society, where we’ve come since 1991 and how far we still need to go.
Issues related to race, class and even sexual orientation serve as vital plot points. The gay rumors which surrounded Christian Laettner in the early 1990s are covered in full detail here; as well as in the doc.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter