Josh Howard said what he had to say Monday at the Dallas Mavericks media day.

The swing man apologized for his comments over the summer that many of you found disrespectful.

This is what Howard said over the summer in a cell phone video that made the rounds: "'The Star Spangled Banner' is going on right now. I don't even celebrate that (expletive). I'm black."

This is what he is saying now: "I'd like to say that I'm truly and really am sorry for
everything that's happened in the last five months. This is not the way I carry myself, not how I want to be portrayed. I'm sorry to everybody I've offended. I'm upset with myself and the way I've acted."

It's a start.

What makes this all more difficult for Howard is this isn't the first time he's said something he probably later wishes he hadn't.

Earlier this year he talked about how he sometimes smoke marijuana.

Both comments are stupid.

But here's the dilemma: We don't like what Howard says, but we (the media, mostly) also hate it when athletes give us the same rehearsed and tired lines over and over again.

The truth of it all is what Howard says matters very little. What Mavs fans care about most is how he performs on the court.

Maybe if he was playing a little better we'd all be a little easier on him.

Leave a comment

Name:

Email:

URL:  

Remember personal info?

Captcha:

Type the characters you see in the picture above.