Respect for the dead
R.I.P. Eddie Griffin
The passing of Eddie Griffin… It’s already leading to discussions about his past and what he accomplished in life and all of that. Sure, the guy had his demons and a history of some bad to outright condemnable criminal behavior, but he only had a chance to live to age 25. The police reports say that he blew off a railroad crossing sign and hit the train with his SUV. Phrases like “burned beyond recognition” and “dental x-rays” are being used. Damn, Eddie.
I don’t feel comfortable judging the life of a stranger in death. Sure, I’ll say R.I.P. Phil Rizzuto or Red Auerbach and celebrate their legacies in death, but they are strangers. If I may speak from personal experience, there was a day over the past year where my friend’s father, a well-known artist, passed away. As some friends and I drove out to the funeral, someone read his obituary in the New York Times out loud. It wasn’t the kind of obit that a family member writes up, it was written by an art critic because of the stature of the deceased. We all felt that the critic went overboard talking about what the artist failed to do or how he came up short compared with some of his contemporaries, as opposed to just saying what the man accomplished and R.I.P. leave it at that. But I guess that’s how life, and apparently death is for a public figure.
I’m not writing much about Eddie Griffin himself, because truthfully I never knew Eddie Griffin and neither did you. We have a perception of him publicly as we watched him play the game of basketball, as was told through the media, filtered by PR, deconstructed by writers trying to navigate through that PR, but you never know how accurate any of that is. I could care less about his scoring average or his athleticism or any of the baggage. The guy was 25 years old and now he’s dead.
Eddie Griffin, R.I.P.
40 Responses to “Respect for the dead”
Aug.22 at 8:14 am
matt the jazz fan says:
word
Aug.22 at 8:24 am
white hot eboy says:
Sam, per usual, you say it best.
Aug.22 at 8:30 am
Esco says:
My cousin told me the other day that he was wondering hat Eddie Griffin as becoming. And then I told him about this. It’s messed up. It’s sad that he went at such a young age, even though he is 6 years older than I am, I know that 25 is still way to early to die. R.I.P. Eddie Griffin.
Aug.22 at 8:31 am
Esco says:
what…was…too…
Aug.22 at 8:42 am
Ryan Jones says:
I’m reluctant to even point this out, but there’s a column on the follower right now, written by one of those media celebrity cats who likes to hang out on shows like Around the Horn, which essentially if indirectly blames Eddie Griffin’s problems on going to the League too soon, and implies that if he stayed in college four years, maybe things would’ve been different. Yeah, maybe so — and maybe it would’ve even been better if he’d never gone to the League at all. Maybe if he’d just stayed poor and mentally f*cked up, as opposed to relatively wealthy and mentally f*cked up, his life would’ve been terrific.
Aug.22 at 8:46 am
peterparker says:
Sam you didn’t know him but I did. I respect what you are saying. Circumstances and situations like this are too often looked over with a simple rest in peace. More young people are going to die if we don’t talk about his (Eddie’s) issues.
Aug.22 at 8:47 am
white hot eboy says:
Bravo, Jones.
Aug.22 at 8:50 am
Cheryl says:
Well said, Sam. R.I.P Eddie.
Aug.22 at 8:51 am
peterparker says:
Ryan, I certainly agree. This has nothing to do with going to the league too early or socio-economic status. These “around the horn” types are searching for something else to talk about.when those comments are made one cant help to wonder if they aren’t racially motivated.
Aug.22 at 8:52 am
H to the izzo says:
F*ck J.A Adande
Aug.22 at 8:56 am
peterparker says:
H to the izzo WOW you get right to the point
Aug.22 at 8:58 am
peterparker says:
a
Aug.22 at 9:01 am
Tariq says:
Ryan– This is from the same folks who were mocking Lang’s “nap report” yesterday, right? Now they’re providing nuggets of wisdom about the demise of unstable young men. I can’t help but think that this guy thought “Eddie Griffin’s dead…oooh, here’s an idea for a column.” To me, unless someone is a world leader or something like that, someone whose life and death affects people’s lives, I think people should just shut up about the deceased until the immediate grieving period is over. Can you imagine being Eddie Griffin’s sibling or parent or best friend, and having to read ignorant sh*t from strangers about how this 25-year-old was a “bad guy”? Even if, for the sake of argument, he was, what good does it do to bring that up? If someone wants to write something about how too much fame corrupts youth, it shouldn’t be written on the DAY of someone’s death, as if that person is the poster child for the ills of society. And I’ve never even seen Eddie Griffin play, by the way.
Aug.22 at 9:05 am
Ryan Jones says:
In fairness Tariq — not like I feel I owe them that — it’s two totally different writers in, essentially, different parts of the site. So I’m not too bothered by that. Abbot is pretty harmless, I think, and he’s not the one who wrote about EG. But, in general, I share your rage.
Aug.22 at 9:10 am
Tariq says:
No, I know. I read that column before you mentioned it. And I might be guilty of being unfair to individual sportswriters, but there is this cult of “pundits” who like to think of themselves as serious “journalists”, as if breaking a story about somebody’s latest trade demand or some such thing is akin to writing the Diary of Anne Frank or something. Like in 2103 people will discuss how Stephen A. Smith’s draft analysis was truly poignant. I wish these d*cks would stop taking themselves so seriously. Which is why I appreciate full-length reports about the SlamBowl.
Aug.22 at 9:12 am
BETCATS says:
R.I.P Eddie Griffin, and around the horn sucks.
Aug.22 at 9:13 am
Ryan Jones says:
Word. Although, having seen multiple SlamBowls in person, I can tell you the writeups are probably the most interesting part.
Aug.22 at 9:18 am
Tariq says:
Yeah. That’s because they play Madden instead of Winning Eleven.
Aug.22 at 9:23 am
Ryan Jones says:
I’m also biased because, before Ben gave him some real work to do and the Links was more than a once-a-day update, playing Madden appeared to be Lang’s full-time job. Not that he wasn’t good at it.
Aug.22 at 9:24 am
Captain America says:
Said. There are lessons from Eddie. Eddie was a gifted baller who simply amazed when right. He was on the tight rope. John Lucas worked with him. There were bright flashing warning lights in Minne. Damn shame it is.
Aug.22 at 9:25 am
Tariq says:
By the way, regarding Adande’s Spanish-soap-opera-inspired “story of talent and temptation”, I don’t think the NBA is a healthy environment for anyone at any age. I remember a post from last year when Lang and I think Khalid were trying to guess who was on the cover of Entertainment Weekly (which I read all the time, by the way). Anyway, they were saying something like “you can’t have a book cover, unless maybe Harry Potter”…There’s something wrong when that’s true, but I’m starting to sound like a corny, vegan televangelist, so I’ll stop now.
Aug.22 at 9:36 am
Hisham says:
still only the slightest mention on nba.com.. that’s pretty weird and disrespectful, imo..
Aug.22 at 9:37 am
Hisham says:
i mean, i know he wasn’t an allstar, or a great role model, but come on.. show some respect
Aug.22 at 10:01 am
Esco says:
I’m with you on that one Hisham…that’s the first thing I thought when I saw that…It’s almost as though they’re saying “Good Riddance”…
Aug.22 at 10:03 am
Mo Daddy says:
it’s really ridiculous when people try to judge others. its downright shameful when people try to judge others who are dead. God bless the dead.
Aug.22 at 10:10 am
whooo! says:
wow, that’s true hisham. just a side posting on nba.com. i hope that it’s because they hadn’t updated the site yet, but it’s not even a main story? maybe they think it’s bad publicity since he had so many problems, but damn!
Aug.22 at 10:25 am
Sam Rubenstein says:
I can see all of the stories about Eddie that will come out now, like “He lived fast, so he died young, therefore he is a cautionary tale.” Very predictable. The best thing about the SLAM Bowls were the condescending looks and comments from Ryan and other people around the office. “You’re playing video games… at work?!?!” Yeah what are you doing, curing cancer?
Aug.22 at 10:31 am
Ryan Jones says:
Whether or not our “work” was important is irrelevant, Sam. What matters is that we were doing the actual “work” we were being paid for. Although, considering you were essentially unpaid in those early days, I guess you were doing all the work you were being paid for, too.
Aug.22 at 11:20 am
Matt Caputo says:
I can only think of how terrible his family must feel. God bless him, I hope he’s good wherever he is.
Aug.22 at 11:22 am
Brian says:
To me it seems as if Eddie Griff could have stayed out of SUV’s rather than the NBA his life might have taken a better turn.
Aug.22 at 11:35 am
Brian says:
You make all us Brians look bad, ya douche.
Aug.22 at 12:14 pm
Jones says:
What a waste of human life. Good riddance!
Aug.22 at 12:47 pm
dblizzy! says:
RIP Eddie Griffin
I don’t think the NBA is to blame for misguided youth, but I do think they should do more to help these athletes make the adjustment to the NBA lifestyle. I know they have the rookie orientation, but whenever I see write up on it, it sounds like theres not much more than xbox tournaments and boring classes.
I think some form of continued counseling would go a long way in helping them. I’m sure a lot of people won’t take part, and most of them don’t need it, but the option should be there.
Earlier in the summer there was talk of some NBA academy to teach young guys the “fundamentals” of the game, why not try that, but include stuff on wealth management and substance abuse…
Aug.22 at 12:57 pm
Tarzan Cooper aka Jesus Shuttlesworth says:
for one day youre here, and then youre gone *ronnie spencer tone*
Aug.22 at 1:08 pm
Joel O's says:
Blaming the NBA’s culture is just silly, and all too easy. Any organization out there has its trappings - be it the corporate world, the military, etc. If the Follower wants to seize this opportunity to write some dramatic tale about EG, make headlines and have some more godless readership / internet clicks, so be it. I’m just glad you guys aren’t doing the same. R.I.P. Eddie.
Aug.22 at 1:46 pm
Dennard says:
This is really sad, he was too young to die. I don’t care about NBA culture and him being drafted early, I just feel for his family and friends. RIP Eddie.
Aug.22 at 3:55 pm
Russ Bengtson says:
J.A. Adande’s off to a truly awful start on follower.com, IMO.
Aug.22 at 6:38 pm
SchW says:
word Sam, word…
Aug.24 at 10:31 pm
Andrew Malek says:
wow…That was deep…RIP Eddie Griffin
Aug.25 at 2:17 pm
ken says:
That was a very good piece. Thank you for writing that.