Paul Shirley

The end.

you can thank your pals at i love hoops for writing angry notes to the espn ombudsman

I barely played, but I was on the active roster and so had something of a unique perspective on life in the NBA. I was living it, but not really. I was like my hometown Kansas City Royals -- in the league, but only barely.

"these 'black people' are SO WEIRD guys!"

An Idiot Among Us: Paul Shirley on Haiti
By Dave Zirin

In most cases, I've believed strongly in the right of professional athletes to state their political beliefs loudly and proudly. The concept that jocks should just "shut up and play" denigrates our collective freedom to stand up and be heard. But defending an athlete's right to speak is far from defending the political content of their words. Case and point: former NBA journeyman Paul Shirley.

Shirley, who fancies himself as a cultural critic on espn.com, thought it would be a good use of his time to blog about the ongoing disaster in Haiti. First he wrote, "I haven't donated to the Haitian relief effort for the same reason that I don't give money to homeless men on the street.... If I use history as my guide, I don't think the people of Haiti will do much with my money either."

Then he penned an open letter to the Haitian people:

Dear Haitians – First of all, kudos on developing the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Your commitment to human rights, infrastructure, and birth control should be applauded. As we prepare to assist you in this difficult time, a polite request: If it's possible, could you not re-build your island home in the image of its predecessor? Could you not resort to the creation of flimsy shanty- and shack-towns? And could some of you maybe use a condom once in a while?

Sincerely, The Rest of the World

I had plans to write a political response to this excrement. I was going to wonder why someone would write something so hurtful while people are still digging their own family members out from the rubble. I was going to marvel at Paul Shirley's ignorance of Haiti's history. I was going to ask if he knew anything about the crushing debt Haiti has lived under for two centuries. I was going to point out the U.S. occupation of the island from 1915-1934, which left behind a 98 percent illiteracy rate, a broken economy, and a U.S.-trained military schooled in the art of repression. I was going to ask if he had any knowledge of the unspeakable brutality of the Duvalier dictatorships. I was going to write that before he talks about "history as a guide," he should dare read some history like The Uses of Haiti by Paul Farmer or The Rainy Season by Amy Wilentz.

I was also going to suggest that he actually try to live on a dollar a day or care for someone H.I.V. positive who has no access to medicine. I wanted to dare him to work for ONE DAY in a garment industry sweatshop. I was going to write all of these things. But instead I think I'm just going to write my own open letter:

Dear Paul Shirley, I only wish your father had taken your own advice and worn a condom. Go to hell.

Sincerely, Dave Zirin

FUCK YES

holy shit reading that is so cathartic

yooooooo that is hardbody

who is dave zirin btw

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Zirin

more like dave ziring

watching some of his youtubes, seem like an awesome dude

seems*

u guys realize paul shirley is just some idiot right, there are millions like him, not really worthy of yr scorn

you could say that about everyone who's ever written about espn.com tho

ESPN: a bunch of idiots not worthy of yr scorn

one down...

i mean the thing abt shirley is his thing on the site was being an ex-pro who was also this interesting erudite dude. i don't really give a fuck about the guys who actually just talk about sports.

really he is not erudite either, by any measure, just a dumb

i know that, you know that, everyone on this thread knows that, but i'm talking about how he was presented on the site

yeah im just failing to get upset abt what he said, it was so dumb and wrongheaded, the work of a feeb

it wasnt even quality trolling imho

ya thats a fair reaction--i'd rather ppl just be dumb than front like theyre smart

right but he had a freelance job @ espn, so it's good that he lost that. everything since is just harmless old schadenfreude, a little fun

well see the thing abt being dumb is

xp to icey

u guys were hella mad abt this, i have the threads to prove it

no i def was mad, prolly still am a little! no argument

the really depressing thing is exactly what you said, that there's MILLIONS of people who think this way, people we probably know and think are normal

death penalty for paul shirley imho

yeah but heres the thing, and bear w/me here, what if hes right. im jus tryin to make people think here.

no homo

so glad to b sharing this boring saturday night w/you guys

this is a pretty hilarious progression btw:

...has a new blog.

― Aaron W (Aaron W), Thursday, October 20, 2005 5:14 PM (4 years ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

He is my favorite NBA writer of all time now.

― The Obligatory Sourpuss (Begs2Differ), Friday, October 21, 2005 11:49 AM (4 years ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Yeah, this is pretty excellent. Let's hope he does more writing on the NBA than NIN and Chuck Palahniuk.

― scrimhaw1837 (son_of_scrimshaw), Friday, October 21, 2005 12:19 PM (4 years ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

4 years pass...

The end.

― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, January 27, 2010 11:53 AM (3 days ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Begs2Differ, now THERE is someone to get pissed at for that statement

IM LEARING TO TROLL