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He’s the MVP of dummy spits, but go easy on James Ennis

The Perth Wildcats have one of the greatest finals records in professional sport, but their streak looks to be in trouble. (Image via NBL)
Expert
3rd April, 2014
20
2196 Reads

According to witnesses, James Ennis threw his All-NBL First Team trophy off a Docklands pier in rage after missing out on being named MVP at the NBL awards dinner Wednesday night.

The Perth Wildcats star himself insists it was merely a water bottle he threw and that he still has the trophy, although he declined to produce the trophy from his luggage when asked by a reporter.

Did he throw the trophy? Did he throw a water bottle? Well, it doesn’t really matter, because either way we can conclude two things.

First, this is a great week for Melbourne’s treasure-hunting community.

Second, Ennis – despite a more civil take on events talking to media yesterday – was pretty miffed at not being named MVP. In addition to water-bottle-or-trophy-throwing, he took to Twitter, saying: “It’s all about scoring lol wins don’t matter.”

Despite the fact Ennis averaged more points than eventual winner Rotnei Clarke, neither matched the points leader, Chris Goulding.

Let’s start with the obvious here. Any analysis of this situation can’t miss the fact these actions send all the wrong messages. Such carry-on for an individual award in a team game – and on the eve of a grand final, which Perth are in – has understandably rubbed people the wrong way.

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The actions also carry the implication of disrespect.

“I only heard about it at the dinner and it’s extremely disrespectful,” said Melbourne Tigers star Mark Worthington. “It probably shows he doesn’t respect the league, Rotnei Clarke or Chris Goulding and gives an insight into the guy.”

You’d have been hard-pressed to find a single person in the room that night who believed any of that trio were unworthy.

That said, what Ennis did is not a hanging offence. We should all just cool down a bit. We’re talking about an athlete here who wants to get the best out of himself. An athlete who is passionate about his craft and takes pride in his performance.

In the AFL back in 2008, cameras caught a very visible wince on Gary Ablett’s face as he missed out on the Brownlow Medal for the second year running. Gazza obviously didn’t proceed to throw his All Australian medal into the Yarra that night, however the point is that disappointment in such a circumstance is understandable.

Yes, both are team games, but the team can’t succeed without individuals striving to give their best. When a player gives a contribution they feel qualifies them for individual recognition, we can forgive them for spending one night of the year being human.

In the case of Ennis, in particular, he probably set himself a goal of winning that award. Not having it on his resume could possibly – rightly or wrongly – alter perceptions of him among decision-makers in the NBA. In his own head, it would’ve been kind of a big deal.

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So you can understand the disappointment. You can understand a bit of anger, too. Where he went wrong is he expressed that disappointment and anger in a highly ungracious manner. He opened himself up to accusations of being a sore loser.

He’ll have to cop everything that comes with that, because you wouldn’t accuse Gary Ablett of being disrespectful to Adam Cooney.

My only concern would be if this behaviour is a symptom of a larger issue to do with Ennis’s ego. I don’t know Ennis, so it’s not my call to make whether he does or doesn’t have an issue, but it’s fair to say he’ll have to get used to not being a star if he makes the jump to the NBA.

There’s a great interview on YouTube with former Memphis Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins about how to make it in the NBA.

Our friend Sam Young even gets a mention:

The basic message is that there comes a time, after you’ve gone up through the ranks, when you’re no longer the star. The ones that survive in the NBA are the ones that swallow “their ego and their pride”, accept it, and adapt.

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If Ennis struggles with losing an MVP award to a player as talented as Rotnei Clarke, this could well be an issue for him as his career goes forward.

Hopefully, though, I’m misreading that.

As for the fateful throwing incident, it’s not worthy of mass overreaction. It was a disappointing act from a disappointed man, but no one was hurt and we all got a good laugh out of it.

Like a trophy bobbing through the ports of Melbourne, we should let this issue float away.

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