Paul George’s tweets on the Ray Rice situation were crude, inappropriate and damaging.
He’s already tweeted an apology, and now the Pacers are on full damage control.
Statement from Pacers President of Basketball Operations Larry Bird:
"Paul George’s tweets from earlier were thoughtless and without regard to the subject of domestic violence and its seriousness in society. We have talked to Paul to strongly express our displeasure and made it clear that the NBA and the Pacers’ organization will not condone or tolerate remarks of this nature. Paul understands that he was wrong and why his tweets were so inappropriate and is very apologetic."
Statement from Paul George:
"I want to apologize to all victims of domestic abuse for my insensitive tweets. They were obviously without proper understanding of the seriousness of the situation and I sincerely regret my poor choice of words."
I hope George’s tweets were thoughtless. If he seriously considered his words before posting them, that would be much more troubling.
That we shouldn’t get upset about domestic violence if the victim defends the abuser is not an idea without merit at first glance. But deeper reflection, including accounting for the issue of intimidation, reveals the issue is more complex. “If SHE ain’t trippin then I ain’t trippin” is not a constructive paradigm for domestic violence.
And I hope George learned that.
It’s unfortunate for him this learning process had to play out in such a public manner, but there’s another lesson here for him too: Think before you speak. If George had privately discussed this issue before posting his thoughts for the world, maybe he would have realized his gut reaction was in poor taste.
