Dan Le Batard admittedly doesn’t know who’s been more truthful over the course of the past few months: the Miami Heat or Jimmy Butler?
But when it comes to the aftermath of the saga that ultimately resulted in the six-time All-Star being traded to the Golden State Warriors last week, the Meadowlark Media co-founder took issue with one specific aspect of it.
In a story published following the trade, The Athletic’s James Jackson, Sam Amick and Jon Krawczynski detailed the circumstances surrounding the months-long breakup that led to Butler’s departure from South Beach. And according to one nugget that proceeded to go viral, Heat president Pat Riley broke down crying while trying to connect with the 35-year-old over the shared experience of having lost their fathers.
“According to multiple league sources with knowledge of the meeting, tears welled in Riley’s eyes as he attempted to connect with Butler on a human level,” the report reads. “Both men had lost their fathers, and Riley’s famed toughness faded in the moment as he thought about Butler mourning his father’s death last season. But Riley’s vulnerability did not land with Butler. The player viewed Riley’s behavior as ‘unhinged,’ a league source close to Butler said.
“Butler left the meeting more convinced than ever that he needed a new basketball home. Team sources close to Riley say he promptly sent word that the meeting did not go well and was more motivated than ever to oblige.”
During Tuesday’s episode of The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz, the show’s host addressed the report. And in doing so, Le Batard took issue with the portrayal of Riley as being “unhinged” based on the circumstances presented.
“The idea of using crying to be male weakness — that is so weak,” Le Batard said. “Honestly. Like the idea that what is male is to repress the feelings, push them down and secretly not show anyone that you’re hurt about the death of your father. Like, that you keep that buried inside, private. And if you need to blubber on the toilet with the door locked, fine. But don’t show that to anybody.
“It’s so uniquely male and so uniquely repressed and stupid, that it’s totally unsurprising to see it used to slap Pat Riley across the face, when Pat Riley is somebody that I have known to cry when he talks about his father since I’ve known him.”
While Le Batard obviously has a personal relationship with Riley and has never been shy about being the Heat’s (literal) mouthpiece, that isn’t necessarily what’s happening here. Rather, the former Miami Herald columnist is drawing on his experience as an empath and someone who’s been an advocate for mental health, stances he’s repeatedly applied to Heat and non-Heat topics alike.
To Le Batard’s point, there’s little that actually seems “unhinged” about the idea of a 79-year-old man crying while connecting with a player over losing a loved one. And the fact that the anecdote was weaponized as such just goes to show how ugly this entire situation had gotten and, in some instances, still is.
