the rest, only noise

Chapter 958 The Divided Knicks
Are Americans Patriotic?This question is like asking "Do dung beetles eat shit?"

Louis still remembers that every Independence Day he spent in Ohio, the school held a song party and invited family members and friends from the town to attend.

If it is said that all kinds of ballads with the main theme are arranged to be sung at domestic holiday parties, then of course this kind of song party in the United States sings all kinds of "beautiful songs", such as "The Star-Spangled Banner Never Falls" and "God Bless America"...

When the song was played, all men, women and children stood up, raised their hands to their chests, and sang in unison. In retrospect, I can feel how patriotic they were.

That's the insidiousness of Bristol's attack on the Knicks on patriotic grounds.

If not handled properly, the Knicks will stand on the opposite side of the United States.

Louis' heart sank when the Knicks' PR department informed him of the sudden situation.

"Tell this to others."

Players must know this news in advance, otherwise if they are interviewed by reporters at the press conference later, they will be in bad luck if they answer incorrectly.

When the team's publicist said that opponents attacked Mohammad Rauf and the Knicks who supported Rauf on the grounds of patriotism, the players who didn't know the seriousness of the matter laughed.

"Isn't that the truth?" Rodman said jokingly, "Is there anyone who doesn't know that MAR is not patriotic?"

Stockton, a fanatical patriot, even said: "Isn't this the attitude that Muhammad has always expressed? Now everyone knows, isn't it just right?"

"What's so good?!" Louis couldn't listen anymore, "Do you know how bad the impact will be if this matter spreads? Do you know what to say in front of the reporters later?"

Louie cannot count on the players to support Rauf.

This is simply fantasy.

After all, none of them recognized Rauf's approach, but just not supporting it was not enough for the fans.

In the eyes of fans, it is the great country of the United States that allows them to be promoted to the rich class just by playing football. What reason does this group of people have for not being patriotic?

The attitude of "not supporting" is perfunctory for fans.

They want to see a tougher attitude.

However, if they openly oppose Rauf's position, the Knicks will definitely be affected internally.

The Knicks locker room, already riddled with holes, is facing a difficult test at this time.

Even one opposition to Rauf would have been devastating to the locker room.

"So, we're going to pretend we don't understand?"

Stockton looked to Rauf.

"Muhammad, you should know that we do not support what you are doing, but we will not stop you from doing it. Now that things have become big, do you want us to face reporters and answer questions that we don't know the inside story?"

"No, he can't be interviewed!" Louie vetoed Stockton's plan to get Rauf to wipe his own ass. "If he got prodded at the press conference, something worse would happen."

However, Stockton has no plans to back down on the matter.

"I'm a patriot, I'm proud to be an American, and now you're asking me to make excuses for a disgraceful country hater. Isn't that terrible? Is that fair to us?"

Stockton asked the others: "Am I the only patriot in this locker room?"

What made Louis angry was not that Stokes blatantly sang against him, but that he could not see the awe of the head coach in Stockton's eyes.

Stockton's appeal is reasonable, and whoever caused it will solve it.

If Rauf was a normal person, Louis would of course let him face the monstrous flood of the outside world alone.

But he is not a normal person, he is a psychopath who may go crazy at any time, once he gets sick, he will turn into a mad dog, spouting a lot of dirty words uncontrollably.

"Muhammad, do you have anything to say?"

McHale considered Rauf's own opinion more important.

Rauf didn't want to drag his teammates into the water.

"This matter has nothing to do with you. I will solve the trouble I caused by myself."

"If you can solve it, do we need to discuss it behind closed doors?" Louis didn't speak clearly, because some things don't need to be pointed out, "Once you can't control the scene, once you can't bear the bombarding questions from reporters, everything will be over, do you understand? I don't agree with your attendance!"

Reggie Williams expressed his opinion: "Seriously, we don't know the specifics of this matter, but now we have to be questioned by reporters about this matter, which is unfair to me and others."

Rauf has no personal relationship with most of his teammates.

This is why everyone refused to stand up for him.

In this case, the opinions of the coaching staff cannot influence the will of the players.

Because the main body affected is the player.

Louis couldn't force them to fight for Rauf.

Among the players, there are not only Stockton and Williams, the sober faction of "whoever caused the trouble, who is responsible", but also Rodman's "one loss, all damage" co-prosperity faction.

Rodman and Rauf's friendship is watery.

"CJ (Rodman forgot to change his name) did not participate in the national anthem before the opening ceremony. Is it a recent start? Are you fucking selfless now? Didn't he say hello to us? Didn't we understand what he thought? Didn't he do it with our acquiescence? And now something happened, and you are patriots? Oh my god, I'm so fucking touched by your patriotism!"

Williams was furious: "I never said I agreed with him to do this!"

Rodman sarcastically said: "When did you object? If you have never objected to this matter, don't fucking talk nonsense! You don't care about this matter at all. This matter has never been important in your heart, just because it has become a big problem now. You have become a patriot again and want to break away from the relationship. Your patriotic way is really flexible."

"Dennis, you never understand what patriotism is, you have no sense of honor, you can't understand our feelings, and you have no right to criticize us." Stockton retorted fiercely.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Rodman was furious and stepped forward to make a move.

Kemp stopped them directly: "We can't solve the problem like this!"

Louis watched them quarrel indifferently.

While observing, he "marked" in his heart.

Rodman was a jerk, but his reaction was exactly what Louie wanted to see.

This is also the most appropriate response considering all kinds of situations.

If they're a united team, that's how it should be.

But apparently, Stockton and Williams and the rest of the silence don't think so.

At this point, there are only two people who can set the tone for this matter.

One is Ewing and the other is Wilson.

This is a matter between the players. Apart from expressing his attitude, Louis can only let the players decide for themselves.

Stevens agrees with Rodman's statement, but others speak lightly. In this case, it is Ewing and Wilson who can represent all players.

Therefore, he stopped the quarrel of the crowd first, and turned to look at You and Wei, who were always silent.

"Patrick, Benj, everyone has their own opinions, why don't you two discuss it and give us an idea, and we'll just do it."

Ewing and Wilson are the core of the team. Although they are not the loudest people in the locker room, the current situation is too rigid, and someone must stand up and call the shots.

This person cannot be Louis, because this matter has nothing to do with the game, but involves the image and public opinion of the team and players off the court.Louis objected to Rauf going out to confront reporters because if Rauf did not handle the matter well, it might turn into an irreparable public relations disaster.

There are endless disasters externally, and internal impact... Looking at it now, it may not be that big, because the situation cannot get worse.

The ball was kicked to the feet of Ewing and Wilson.

Wilson, who always calls Ewing the leader of the team on weekdays, does not intend to take any responsibility at this moment and stays out of the matter.

He justifiably withdrew and let Ewing decide where to kick the ball.

Even so, Wilson's statement also disappointed Louis.

"I listen to you on this matter."

Wilson said so, regardless of the outcome, he can get away with responsibility.

He didn't have to be the "patriot" who pushed Rauf out into the streets, nor did he have to risk offending other purebred patriots to propose a Rodman-style method of mutual prosperity and mutual loss.

He just needs to stand quietly and watch what Ewing does.

Louis was not disappointed that Wilson kicked the ball to Ewing, but that Wilson did not give his attitude.

He has not publicly expressed his support for Rauf or his disapproval.

Whether he supports it or not, it is reasonable.

Not expressing a position can be interpreted as being wise and safe, but to a certain extent, it is an attitude of indifference.

So Ewing needs to make a decision on his own.

Ewing looked at Rauf and said heavily, "Muhammad, I will go to the media interview room with you, let's settle this matter."

(End of this chapter)