How did NBA coaching legend Jerry Sloan go from re-signing to resigning in a whopping five days? Conventional wisdom says that he was forced out, and that former Illini legend Deron Williams was the ring-leader in getting Sloan run out of town.
If true, it makes Deron look like a petulant pud to say the least. This was a PR catastrophe on all levels, whether it’s accurate or not. The World Wide Leader, the evil empire, the mothership of ESPN seems to be on Williams’ side, shifting the issue to other less salient points, and the blame elsewhere.
Still, you can’t un-ring this bell, and the dominant narrative still seems very likely to me. Despite what Williams is doing today to dispell that notion.
By Paul M. Banks
ESPN is replaying a Williams soundbite from a radio show all day today on their many networks, and that audio file sounds rather similar to this Miami Herald quote (via a local Utah radio station):
“I would never force coach Sloan out of Utah,” Williams said. “He’s meant more to this town, more to this organization than I have by far. I would have asked out of Utah first.”
It’s also always possible that Sloan is just finally tired of the grind but to quote the Feds in Goodfellas. “spare me the babe in the woods routine Karen…err Deron.”
Your amateurish disinformation campaign sticks out like a sore thumb. In fact, we can all make a pretty good guess as to which reporter is going to get the exclusive when Williams flees Salt Lake City after the 2011-12 season.
He does a weekly radio segment on Chicagoland Sports Radio.com and Cleveland.com
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