I’m sure at some point we have all been compromised and in a “celebratory” mood. Be it through drink – or whatever other elements – we have all experienced some sort of inebriation that makes our judgement seem skewed. The saga of Ty Lawson, is one of mistakes of compromised judgment, and the fallout from those (often poor) decisions.
However … it made me think about my own life, and the hypocrisy of knee jerk public shaming. Now that Lawson has been traded to the Houston Rockets, while he still has TWO lingering court cases from poor judgment, maybe I should take a step back and understand that mistakes can be made…
Yesterday was my birthday party. My amazing, and very good friend Andrew Feinstein has (among his many ventures) a Beach Club and pool in the RiNo district. I went there yesterday and invited a ton of my friends to join in on the birthday festivities. I had SOOOO much fun, even Periscoped some videos from the day. Included in that fun was drinking (safely, surrounded by friends and I did not drive … we took Lyft) and it was amazing.
When the news broke about 8:00 p.m. last night, I was in NO condition to talk basketball. Normally when news breaks like this, I will text sources, get things confirmed, and then either Nate Timmons, Andy or myself will write a post; after we've covered our bases. Quite frankly I'm not sure I could have composed a cogent sentence, let alone write a post about Ty. I just wasn't capable … I'm not Allen Iverson in is prime, who could party hard and then put up 35 points the next night.
When I awoke this morning, among other things, I began to ponder my own reaction to Lawson's various missteps and lapses of judgment. What if I hadn't celebrated safely? What if I didn't have an amazing support group of friends, who would make damn sure I didn't get myself into any trouble? What if I lived the isolating life of an NBA star? Lots of "what ifs", and lots of questions I didn't ask myself when I was wagging the moral finger at Ty.
This isn't to excuse Lawson's behavior, but it did give me a bit of perspective. We all make poor decisions in life, at times, but on in the same public light as professional athletes. How do you balance the isolating life of celebrity and the trappings that come with money with improving judgment? I don't know. Ty is the master of his own destiny and NEEDS to improve. Getting away from a situation where he was asked to be the leader of the team in Denver, to Houston – where he can be just "Ty" should help him in a lot of ways.
It's clear to me that the Nuggets want to surround Emmanuel Mudiay with as many "character" guys as possible. This will be good for him as he navigates the baller life. It is a dramatic change in lifestyle that brings with it, the pitfalls and rewards that many of us can't comprehend.
I wish Ty the best in Houston, and I wish Houston the best with Ty. This could be a situation that helps him out in so many different ways as long as he can improve his decision making. Be mature. More than anything, I think Ty needs people around him who will make damn sure he won't get into any trouble. I'm thankful that I have that support group (on a much, much smaller scale than Ty) and they made sure I was ok. Maybe the change of scenery will help Lawson find that group.
It's great to have fun once in awhile, and it's also great to know your limits. That support group and great group of friends will help you out more than you will ever know at the time. I hope Ty Lawson the human being finds that in his new home.
Meanwhile, I leave you with my favorite Ty Lawson moment from his time with the Nuggets:
