In an open letter to fans and critics, the two-time NBA MVP detailed his back problems and myriad aches and pains. The tabulation of the injuries picked up by logging more than 1,300 career NBA games with the Dallas Mavericks, Phoenix Suns and Lakers is enough to make just about any reader cringe. The letter posted to Facebook on Friday might also give pause to some of Nash’s critics. The 40-year-old point guard, who has been ruled out for the 2014-2015 season due to nerve damage in his back, drew the ire of some Lakers fans earlier this week when he posted a video of himself hitting a golf ball to Instagram.
once upon a time, I grew up dreaming of being an NBA point guard. I lived and breathed basketball, so I think I have at least a basic understanding of what Steve Nash, an athlete I truly admire, is going through. I suffer from significant back issues myself, though certainly nothing along the lines of what Nash is dealing with. I don’t experience anywhere near the pain and discomfort Nash does, but it can be tough getting though my day sometimes. I can’t begin to imagine what Nash is enduring after 1,300 NBA games. To be a relatively young (though not in athletic terms) 40-year-old man in a game designed for athletes half his age is astonishing enough. That he’s been able to play the game at the highest level for as long as he has given the pain that’s become his constant companion seems difficult to imagine. Yes, he’s obscenely well paid, but that fact doesn’t diminish the damage done over the years.
One of the problems with professional sports today is that too many fans think of athletes as commodities, as something almost less than human. Because they’re professional athletes, they’re not granted them right to feel the things mere mortals feel- pain, fear, anguish- and when they do manifest a degree of humanity they’re taken to task for not taking care of business. Steve Nash has played professional basketball at the highest level for longer than most of his fellow players. He’s subjected his body to a tremendous amount of abuse, which has caught up with him and is now exacting a tremendous toll. The human body simply wasn’t meant to play 82 games (not including preseason and playoffs) year after year after year. Nash has worked hard at taking care of his body and doing what he could to keep himself on the floor, but Father Time eventually catches us all. An athlete’s tool is his body; when that tool breaks down beyond repair…well, you have Steve Nash. And some fans don’t seem to understand that what precludes Nash from being on the court every night may not necessarily prevent him from doing other things in life…like swinging a golf club.
I have a ton of miles on my back. Three buldging disks (a tear in one), stenosis of the nerve route and spondylolisthesis. I suffer from sciatica and after games I often can’t sit in the car on the drive home, which has made for some interesting rides. Most nights I’m bothered by severe cramping in both calves while I sleep, a result of the same damn nerve routes, and the list goes on somewhat comically. That’s what you deserve for playing over 1,300 NBA games. By no means do I tell you this for sympathy - especially since I see these ailments as badges of honor - but maybe I can bring some clarity.
I’ve always been one of the hardest workers in the game and I say that at the risk of what it assumes. The past 2 years I’ve worked like a dog to not only overcome these setbacks but to find the form that could lift up and inspire the fans in LA as my last chapter. Obviously it’s been a disaster on both fronts but I’ve never worked harder, sacrificed more or faced such a difficult challenge mentally and emotionally.
I understand why some fans are disappointed. I haven’t been able to play a lot of games or at the level we all wanted. Unfortunately that’s a part of pro sports that happens every year on every team. I wish desperately it was different. I want to play more than anything in the world. I’ve lost an incredible amount of sleep over this disappointment.
The fact that Nash was still playing a kid’s game at 40 is remarkable. That his body finally and irretrievably let him down isn’t surprising. That some fans seem to take that personally say a lot about the spoiled, inconsiderate way we dehumanize and commoditize athletes.
I’m a fan myself, so I understand how some can place a great deal of importance- sometimes far too much- on what happens between the lines. In the pursuit of wins and championships, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that athletes are flesh and blood, just like those who watch their performances and live and die with the results. As spectacularly talented and gifted as these athletes may be, they experience the trials and tribulations of life much as any mere mortal. Just as we try not to bring our problems to work, athletes do the same, and just as happens with mere mortals, sometimes that doesn’t work so well. Of course, you and I don’t have to worry about our body breaking down to the point where we can no longer perform our jobs at the highest level.
Lakers fans upset with Nash because he swung a golf club need to lighten up. The one person whose commitment to their craft NO ONE should be able to question is Steve Nash. If you seriously think he’s slacking so he can continue to collect on his multi-million dollar contract, you really need to get over yourself. Nash will very likely be in varying degrees of pain for the rest of his life…and you think you have the right to criticize him for posting a video to Instagram? Get a life.
