Hawks rookie and owner call Garnett a dirty player

There is no question that Boston Celtics star Kevin Garnett has the reputation of being a dirty player, but two people associated with the Atlanta Hawks have no business calling out Garnett. Don’t they realize by calling Garnett dirty is only going to motivate him.

Hawks co-owner Michael Gearon Jr. called Garnett, a dirty player while speaking at an event. Gearon Jr. was the featured speaker at the Third Annual Art of It Luncheon at the Piedmont Park Conservancy. Here is what he said to say thanks for the quotes from the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

“On top of all that, we don’t get any calls, which I know everybody always hears. But I’ll give you a stat. Last night, we are playing this old physical team. They are old. I know what happens when you play basketball, old guys foul. [Kevin] Garnett is the dirtiest guy in the league. We are playing Boston last night and they had two fouls the whole first half. We had five times that and we’re athletic.”

This just sounds like sour grapes to me. He is just unhappy because his team is down 3 games to 2 in the series with the Celtics.

Earlier in the series Hawks no name Ivan Johnson called out Garnett for being dirty.

“Garnett, he’s a dirty player,” Johnson said. “He gives me a lot of elbows and I can handle that.”

Johnson said he expected that Garnett and the Celtics would attempt to do things to incite a reaction.

“I was prepared for that,” Johnson said. “I already knew how KG was going to come at me. They’re a whole bunch of mess-talkers.”

“I know we’re not going to fight on the court,” Johnson said. “I can handle it. I can take some hits. I try not to (give hits) because I’m usually the one that gets caught.”

Really, Johnson is calling out Garnett? He has no credibility because he hardly plays. If it was the Hawks best player Josh Smith saying this than more people would pay attention. While Johnson is calling Garnett out, Johnson himself has been kicked out of leagues and teams. Johnson only spent one season at the University of Oregon after run ins with the head coach. Before playing with the Hawks Johnson, played in the Korean Basketball League. However, he was kicked out of that league because he made an obscene gesture to an official.

This is really not smart for the Hawks owner and no name player to call out Garnett. This will only add fuel to Garnett’s fire. So far in the series Garnett is averaging 16.8 points and 9.8 rebounds.

I know one thing for sure both Johnson and Gearon Jr. would take Garnett on their team in a heartbeat.

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Tags: Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Kevin Garnett