Wilson / Gumbel Interview

[Storts]

Anyone got another video of this?

 

[Rob12]

Russell holds his dad near and dear to his heart. For those of us who have awesome dads that are our heroes, we understand. My dad is gone too, and it sucks. I always ask myself if he would be proud of me. Someone said it earlier that Russ' connection with baseball has a lot to do with his dad, and that's true. I read or saw an interview with him where he mentioned how his dad always wanted him on the diamond.

Baseball was my first love, and it never goes away. Football is neck and neck with it, but there has always been something magical about baseball. His love for the game is legit, and I don't believe for one second that he is using the game and his potential desire to play it professionally as leverage. What leverage is there, exactly? He admits that he can't hit the bendy stuff, and one look at his MiLB page tells you all you need to know about the likelihood of him ever seeing a big league roster. But there's that itch there that is very real with him. I get it, and respect the hell out of it.

But leverage? No. He already has all the leverage he will ever need to secure a longtime contract. He doesn't think about it (but come on, yes he does) because it's a foregone conclusion - he's going to get paid upwards of $200+ million dollars playing football.

He doesn't 'need' baseball. If he does it, he's fulfilling his own desires while challenging himself immensely, with his dad entrenched deeply in all of that.

 

[drdiags]

As far as Russell trying to play baseball late in his athletic career, one can just look at the interruption in MJ's career as an example of an athlete at the top of his game making a drastic choice that most didn't think would happen.

I could see Wilson at some point making the same type of choice. It would most likely have to happen within the next 4 yrs and would end up about as productive as Jordan's journey into baseball was. I am sure Wilson knows he couldn't pull off a two-sport pro career as a starting QB in the NFL. Doesn't mean he wouldn't make a choice for baseball by his early 30's just to challenge himself. It's not all about money sometimes.

 

[Rocket]

It's not all about money sometimes.

Bingo...

 

[Rocket]

http://www.hbo.com/real-sports-with-bry ... lip-1.html

http://www.hbo.com/real-sports-with-bry ... lip-2.html

I believe he said "blue and green forever". :179417:

 

[Rocket]

So you expect Wilson to have a major gambling problem in the future?

People say the darndest things... :roll:

 

[Rocket]

Sorry... I still don't see the comparison.

 

[EastCoastHawksFan]

He could play both and I wish he would .

Either the mariners trade for Wilson or the Cowboys/Texans trade for Wilson . It would be the only way a QB could do both

 

[hawksfansinceday1]

Sorry... I still don't see the comparison.

Rumors have been around since MJ went to play baseball that his gambling was going to get him suspended from the Association for at least a year and that baseball was the way for he and the league to save face. Don't remember the specifics of what the gambling situation was, but I do know the rumor has always been that he was facing suspension for it. Maybe FlyHawksFly can fill in the blanks here?

 

[Sports Hernia]

Correct me if I'm wrong but don't guys hitting .230 in baseball still make MILLIONS?

In the major leagues. sometimes yes. A lot of the .230 hitters in the majors were .320 hitters in the minors though.

 

[Sports Hernia]

Sorry... I still don't see the comparison.

Rumors have been around since MJ went to play baseball that his gambling was going to get him suspended from the Association for at least a year and that baseball was the way for he and the league to save face. Don't remember the specifics of what the gambling situation was, but I do know the rumor has always been that he was facing suspension for it. Maybe FlyHawksFly can fill in the blanks here?

I believe that was the case.

 

[Anthony!]

Sorry... I still don't see the comparison.

Rumors have been around since MJ went to play baseball that his gambling was going to get him suspended from the Association for at least a year and that baseball was the way for he and the league to save face. Don't remember the specifics of what the gambling situation was, but I do know the rumor has always been that he was facing suspension for it. Maybe FlyHawksFly can fill in the blanks here?

I believe that was the case.

Yep. Just meaning to say there is a reason MJ went to play baseball, and it wasn't due to his intense competitive nature. He was told to walk away until things blew over.

Your proof of this?

 

[hawknation2015]

Rumors have been around since MJ went to play baseball that his gambling was going to get him suspended from the Association for at least a year and that baseball was the way for he and the league to save face. Don't remember the specifics of what the gambling situation was, but I do know the rumor has always been that he was facing suspension for it. Maybe FlyHawksFly can fill in the blanks here?

I believe that was the case.

Yep. Just meaning to say there is a reason MJ went to play baseball, and it wasn't due to his intense competitive nature. He was told to walk away until things blew over.

Your proof of this?

It's an unsubstantiated rumor based on the fact that Jordan was a notorious, unabashed gambler. If the NBA wanted to nail him for betting on games, they could have done it. Playing baseball would not have made anything blow over, although it certainly cost the NBA a lot of money during his absence.

 

[Crizilla]

is there a full version of this anywhere?

 

[Anthony!]

It's an unsubstantiated rumor based on the fact that Jordan was a notorious, unabashed gambler. If the NBA wanted to nail him for betting on games, they could have done it. Playing baseball would not have made anything blow over, although it certainly cost the NBA a lot of money during his absence.

So in other words there is no proof, its all conjecture. In fact there was never any proof he bet on Basketball games. So basically nothing. Never mind I just did some research and saw were one writer said and I quote "I think" "The main reason why I believe this theory " but offers no proof of anything, only here say, and conjecture. So I am right there is nothing.

 

[Rocket]

I don't see how you get a capital WAS and then call it hearsay...
That's what they call mutually exclusive.
Kinda like an absolutely true rumor.

 

[Anthony!]

It's an unsubstantiated rumor based on the fact that Jordan was a notorious, unabashed gambler. If the NBA wanted to nail him for betting on games, they could have done it. Playing baseball would not have made anything blow over, although it certainly cost the NBA a lot of money during his absence.

So in other words there is no proof, its all conjecture. In fact there was never any proof he bet on Basketball games. So basically nothing. Never mind I just did some research and saw were one writer said and I quote "I think" "The main reason why I believe this theory " but offers no proof of anything, only here say, and conjecture. So I am right there is nothing.

Hawknation is going down the conspiracy side of it, my comment did not. Jordan WAS asked to step back from gambling because it was giving the NBA and Jordan a bad name because people THOUGHT he might be gambling on games. He couldn't give up gambling because he was/is addicted to it. That is all it took. He was a huge gambler, sometimes with bets in the millions of dollars. The NBA didn't want to deal with a Pete Rose situation, which to counter HN's point would have lost them even more money than Jordan playing baseball for a short while.

PS: it is hearsay not "here say"

Thanks for the spelling reminder, as to your comment again I can find nothing that proves what you are saying. Only writers speculating as to why and what. So to me it is just that hearsay

 

[hawknation2015]

It's an unsubstantiated rumor based on the fact that Jordan was a notorious, unabashed gambler. If the NBA wanted to nail him for betting on games, they could have done it. Playing baseball would not have made anything blow over, although it certainly cost the NBA a lot of money during his absence.

So in other words there is no proof, its all conjecture. In fact there was never any proof he bet on Basketball games. So basically nothing. Never mind I just did some research and saw were one writer said and I quote "I think" "The main reason why I believe this theory " but offers no proof of anything, only here say, and conjecture. So I am right there is nothing.

Hawknation is going down the conspiracy side of it, my comment did not. Jordan WAS asked to step back from gambling because it was giving the NBA and Jordan a bad name because people THOUGHT he might be gambling on games. He couldn't give up gambling because he was/is addicted to it. That is all it took. He was a huge gambler, sometimes with bets in the millions of dollars. The NBA didn't want to deal with a Pete Rose situation, which to counter HN's point would have lost them even more money than Jordan playing baseball for a short while.

PS: it is hearsay not "here say"

Wait, you are now claiming this "scurrilous" rumor, in the words of David Stern, to be a fact? Jordan never took a step back from gambling. When he returned to the NBA after playing baseball, he was well known to be gambling even more than he ever was before. The Bulls even scheduled a preseason game in Vegas in 1996, so that Jordan and his teammates, including Dennis Rodman, would have time to gamble. Do you think that is something the NBA would have permitted if Jordan had in fact been asked to step away from gambling?

This is just one of the many instances in which someone has confused correlation for causation -- in this case, to explain Jordan's idiosyncratic decision to temporarily forego his dominant basketball career for a floundering one in baseball.

 

[hawknation2015]

I know for a fact he was asked to tone down the gambling, and he told them to screw off. It isn't something you will read in the papers, for various reasons, but people that were present have told the story many times. They were worried about Pete Rose type allegations. Basically the NBA thought they could make it without Jordan, he called their bluff. I know a number of people that were around the story at the time, and even attempted to cover the story at the time and was told to leave it alone.

I guess Anthony! was right all along: your view on this is based solely on hearsay, i.e. undocumented, and therefore unreliable, 3rd party accounts of things that were said by others related to the NBA pressuring Jordan to leave basketball for two years because of his gambling. None of it passes the smell test given the documented facts at the time, Jordan's continued gambling, the obvious financial motivations of the NBA, and the NBA's public comments and conduct, i.e. calling the rumor "scurrilous" and scheduling a preseason game for the Bulls in Vegas against the Sonics in '96.

 

[hawknation2015]

I know for a fact he was asked to tone down the gambling, and he told them to screw off. It isn't something you will read in the papers, for various reasons, but people that were present have told the story many times. They were worried about Pete Rose type allegations. Basically the NBA thought they could make it without Jordan, he called their bluff. I know a number of people that were around the story at the time, and even attempted to cover the story at the time and was told to leave it alone.

I guess Anthony! was right all along: your view on this is based solely on hearsay, i.e. undocumented, and therefore unreliable, 3rd party accounts of things that were said by others related to the NBA pressuring Jordan to leave basketball for two years because of his gambling. None of it passes the smell test given the documented facts at the time, Jordan's continued gambling, the obvious financial motivations of the NBA, and the NBA's public comments and conduct, i.e. calling the rumor "scurrilous" and scheduling a preseason game for the Bulls in Vegas against the Sonics in '96.

Well, to be fair, most things are hearsay when it comes to stuff like this, as it was a very fragile situation. All I can say is, I know without a doubt the NBA asked Jordan to tone it down. At the time that it happened, no one would go on record, and I haven't followed any recent developments but as far as I know, no one has gone on record to say anything other than denying the accusations. But, behind closed doors, a lot of people talked and it is part of the reason why the rumor won't go away even to this day.

I have no doubt he was asked to gamble less in '91. . . I just do not see any relationship between the NBA asking him not to gamble, and Jordan's blatant refusal to do so, and his later decision to leave basketball to pursue baseball. This is where the conspiracy theorists have confused causation with correlation.

It's similar to people who think Russell Wilson's continued decision to attend spring training with the Rangers has anything to do with his contract negotiations. They see he is in the middle of contract negotiations and assume this decision is somehow motivated by leverage. The more realistic explanation is the stated one: youthful ambitions, probably a desire for more publicity, and obviously ego. Like Jordan, he seems to think he would be good enough to make it in the majors, as he has done in his dominant sport.