In the End, Garbajosa Screwed the Raptors

This Jorge Garbajosa thing has taken several turns toward farce. Over the weekend, we found out Garbo would be seeing a specialist on Monday; he did so, and the result is another surgery on his broken leg and likely the end of the season for one of Toronto's vital cogs. We knew the insurance issues -- Spanish basketball stuck a $1 million insurance policy on Jorge's leg so he could forego surgery in August and instead play in the European championship against Toronto's wishes -- could cause problems between the league and FIBA. We understated this rather dramatically.

Dave Feschuk of the Toronto Star reports Jose Calderon spent Monday insinuating the severity of Garbo's injury is a hoax, saying Jorge has looked fine for weeks. (Feschuk calls this a lie.) The columnist also relays the sentiment from Spain that the Raptors 'hold a grudge' (Pau Gasol's words) against Garbo for playing this summer and have found a doctor to call for surgery only so Toronto can collect the insurance pay-out, not because Jorge actually needs surgery.

Michael Grange of The Globe & Mail adds to the carnival, relaying Calderon suggested Garbo felt so well after the initial surgery he full-on practiced with the Spanish national team well before Toronto cleared him for basketball activity. Medical evidence -- some extra wear on screws inserted in the leg -- suggests the same, that Garbo went behind Toronto's back to practice with the Spaniards long before Toronto thought he was ready.

Both Feschuk and Grange talk about how this is indicative of Garbo's pride in himself (by fighting through a gruesome injury) and in country. That's fine. But pride can be misplaced, such as when it takes precedence over responsibility. In this case, Garbajosa gave more import to his own pride than to his contractual responsibilities for the Raptors. He'll always be a hero in Espana -- but he made a selfish decision. Who suffers? Garbajosa suffers, the Raptors suffer, and every other NBA player -- now more likely of being blocked from international play -- will suffer. Garbo screwed this up.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

11-27-2007 @ 2:05PM

theomnivore said...

For what its worth, American culture (which reaches Canada too) is probably the only culture in the world which emphasizes contractual responsibilities over pride and patriotism. This may be reason #49184 that USA Basketball can't win a gold medal. To Team USA, the Olympics are the off-season; to the rest of the world, they are the highest competition.
Look at the arguments coming form both sides. The Spaniards claim that an NBA team is using a falacious medical opinion to make money. The NBA team is claiming that Garbajosa cared too much for himself and for his country to worry about his contractual obligations. This is a major culture clash, not just a fight over an athlete.

11-27-2007 @ 5:15PM

bluemeanies said...

Omnivore- you obviously don't pay enough attention to soccer to see these things happening all the time especially with the bigger clubs. If being upset over a player being injured on national team duty is an American thing almost all the big soccer leagues in Europe and a number of the fans are American.

11-27-2007 @ 10:10PM

SHOTT3R said...

Americans will never EVER get that sometimes there are more important things in life than money.

11-28-2007 @ 8:57AM

Bluemeanies - Of course I get that pro clubs (in any country) always want their players to be ready to play for them, i'm talking about the public reaction. Ziller seemed outraged that a person would put love of country above love of money; I have a hunch - yes a hunch, no proof here - that there is little to no outrage when players get hurt playing for national teams in soccer. People are angry, upset, sad, but not outraged. In Europe, you play for your club, and you play for your country. Any injury is seen to affect both equally.

11-28-2007 @ 9:55AM

Adrian said...

@Bluemanies: Sorry, but there are no soccer clubs that have forbidden their stars from taking part in an official match of the national team. Doing that could even result in a suspension for the player and a fine for the club.

The only situations where this is an issue is when a national team plays a friendly, the player is hurt and there is no need for him to push his luck. That's the only time that there is a conflict between club and country. And country always wins.

11-28-2007 @ 12:24PM

Country always wins because Fifa is more powerful than Fiba. If a game is taking place on a designated international day the club faces penalties for not releasing him for his country unless they are injured, a point which the countries doctors are allowed to verify. There are a number of iffy injury situations where clubs try to hold back a player. If Fiba could enforce international days on the NBA we'd see it look like that in basketball. So the arguement is not that they care more about country than club but that they can enforce more.

And little to no outrage- look at Newcastle & Michael Owen.

11-28-2007 @ 1:04PM

SR said...

Ziller never said anything about love of money. His clearly-stated conclusion is much broader than that, and I totally agree - this situation is bad for everybody: pro-ballers, pro clubs, the NBA, and FIBA tournaments. It's bad if you're a FIBA fan and it's bad if you're a Raptors fan. This is a bad precedent and a stupid amount of turmoil that will negatively affect future tournaments and player-club relationships.

Garbo came back too early, period. Whether he was playing for national pride ("European culture") or for money ("NBA culture"), he came back to early. That's kind of obvious now, isn't it? He'll miss the NBA season, which is bad for his club, and he's endangered his long-term healthy, which is bad for his country. See Bobby Orr, who ended his hockey career early by playing in the Olympics on bad knees. He's Canadian, by the way, so don't ignore what people (like Ziller) actually say to make simplistic sweeping judgements about cultures and worldviews.