Exclusive: Kermit Washington's Advice to LeGarrette Blount
[A version of this piece appears online at www.SportsIllustrated.com]
When Kermit Washington saw highlights of Oregon running back LeGarrette Blount punching Boise State linebacker Byron Hout following the Ducks' 19-8 loss to the Broncos last Thursday, his heart sank. If anyone could understand what Blount would face, it's Washington.
On December 9, 1977 Washington earned a place in infamy during a game between the Lakers and Rockets when he punched Rudy Tomjanovich, breaking his jaw and leaving him unconscious in a pool of blood. A former academic All-America at American University, Washington has gone on to fight against hunger and HIV through his organization, Project Contact Africa, but he will always be known for The Punch.
"I wish it never happened, but it did," said Washington. "Thirty years later, I am still identified with that no matter where I go. They say, 'Kermit, you're the guy who hit somebody,' and that's life. There's nothing you can do about it. I always wanted to be a politician, but after that being a senator or being a congressman was out of the window."
Washington was concerned for Blount's future, and at the request of Oregon coach Chip Kelly, spoke with Blount on the phone Sunday.
"This is what I said to him: 'Don't make any excuses because nobody wants to hear that," said Washington. "You do need to be public with your regrets. Write an open letter to the University. Write a letter to the Oregonian. And just say your sorry. Say publicly the truth: that you embarrassed your school, your coach, and your team. People respect honesty, courage, and truthfulness.
"Even those who think the worst about you and will always think you're a thug. They might not like you but they respect those traits. It's very important that you write the letter in your own words. No PR people. And remember: no excuses. You are going to lose people if you say, 'he taunted me.' And don't make it a black white thing [Hout is white]. Don't even consider that route. You will go the way of Maurice Clarett: from bad to worse."
Washington also told Blount to take full advantage of the fact that he will be able to keep his scholarship and stay in school and practice with the team, even if he is suspended for the season. (Though Blount skipped his first practice with the Ducks on Monday.)
"There are those at the university who want you to disappear," Washington told Blount. "Don't. Do your school work. Cut your hair, and change who you are. It you turn yourself around, people will support you. Everybody will be running to you for interviews. Trust me. Learn from me. You can't turn people around from what you did, but you could turn people around as time goes on."
9 Reader Comments | Add a comment
cut your hair?
I'm surprised there's no comment from you, Dave, on what Washington said. It seems like awful advice, advocating the exact opposite of the courageous stands typically extolled in Edge of Sports: Don't make it a color thing? Don't even consider that route? Cut your hair? WTF?!?
What if it really was a color thing? Haven't we had enough sidestepping of enormous racial issues in the past few years? Kermit's letter could just as easily have been from Scott Boras, or some other sports agent concerned only with the marketability of their client.
I don't mean this rhetorically, but how is Hoyt's taunting and Blount's punch an "enormous racial issue"?
What I meant was that there have been issues in the past few years - Katrina, the Jena 6, and Professor Gates to name a few - that have had undeniable racial issues that have largely been swept under the rug. If this was in fact a case of racist taunting, or something similar, it needs to be confronted, not glossed over.
JF - there is more to the Blount story than meets the eye and I will be telling that story hopefully in the weeks to come. But I wrote Kermit Washington's words without comment or editorializing because I believe that he deserved the space. I think my views of this are well known.
Was Kermit Washington Michael Jackson's spiritual advisor? Is he suggesting Mr. Blount follow Jackson's lead and mutilate himself? Sad. Disgusting.
Dudes need to quit jumping the gun on this issue. We don't know what was said!! And I don't see anything wrong with Kermit Washington's advice. We're talking about a college football player here, not a pro, which means millions of POTENTIAL dollars coming his way in the future. It would be in Blount's best interests to take into consideration what Mr. Washington said. If we ever find out what was said, and it did happen to be egregious racism, then we can shift the discussion, but right now we have absolutely no idea. Don't label the dude courageous yet, because he might just be a huge dick.
I agree that if there was a racist taunting it should be addressed. I just wasn't sure we knew that yet. But given what Dave said above I guess we will learn soon enough.
Cut your hair??! What happened to accepting people for what they look like? Is it not a clean enough negro for you, Kermit? You know who never had long hair, wore his hat backwards? He was immaculate always. Never even a smudge or missed spot shaving? Adolf Hitler. And remember that Dick Cheney doesn't drink. And George W. Bush doesn't smoke weed. And you want a kid to cut his hair? Ridiculous.
9 Reader Comments | Add a comment
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Dave Zirin is the author of the book: "Welcome to the Terrordome: The Pain, Politics and Promise of Sports" (Haymarket). You can receive his column Edge of Sports, every week by going to dave@edgeofsports.com.
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