Erik Spoelstra told reporters after Sunday's crushing Miami Heat defeat at the hands of the Chicago Bulls that some of his players were so stricken by post-game grief that they were crying in the locker room. The Heat then became stricken by laughter and ridicule from an unfeeling or just opportunistic nation of haters. So Spoelstra did what any good coach would do: He backtracked. From the South Florida Sun-Sentinel:
Miami Heat Coach Erik Spoelstra Says Players Weren’t Crying After All
“I really think you guys [the media] are probably reaching for this. Guys were very emotional about it in the locker room. Heads were down, glossy eyes but that’s about it. I think everything else is probably an exaggeration.”
Glossy eyes, that’s it. Of course, Spoelstra himself said there were “tears” in the locker room, so he has no one but himself to blame for the widely disseminated belief that Heat players were crying over the loss. If Coach Spo had a point to make, it’s about why this would even become a story, why it would be so freaking outrageous that a player or two show emotion after a brutal loss during a brutal stretch. That’s where the media -- who indeed sensationalized the story -- finds blame.
But the idea that there were tears in the first place comes straight from Spo's mouth. If we criticize LeBron James for backtracking when he sticks his foot in his mouth (see: contraction), Spoelstra deserves it, too.
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