Nash’s Nose, Brady’s Hair
May 9, 2007
Entirely too many words are given over to debating the superficial in sports (and subjects beyond), but in this eventful week for issues tangentially related to sports stars, Steve Nash’s nose and Brady Quinn’s haircut seemed to warrant at least a minor note. (For those looking for a reprieve from the infamous Yankee-cap seen atop a Patriot QB’s head, you’ll find it here – that is not the Brady referenced in this edition of this column.)
Brady Quinn, former Notre Dame QB and a Cleveland Browns’ draft pick, was publicly chastised by fellow former ND QB Joe Theismann who was critical of Quinn’s hair and general appearance on draft day. Following the usual media circus that surrounds such insignificant comments, Kornheiser and Wilbon of PTI discussed the issue and fallout (Quinn showed up at Browns’ mini-camp with a haircut) on their show. Both agreed that Quinn did the right thing in getting his haircut and that acknowledging Theismann’s many successful years in the league was in keeping with the proper deferential attitude young NFL players should show the old guard. Here’s the problem with that: it’s Quinn’s hair. Even if Theismann had offered a critique of Quinn’s football skills (he offered no criticism at all on that front), Quinn does not owe Theismann anything. He can take or leave his ramblings as he will – after all, Theismann may be a College Football Hall of Famer and a television analyst, but that does not make him the authority on everything. If Quinn wants to sport a longer hairstyle, or a punk rock-inspired multi-colored mohawk, he has every right to. And he has every right to do so without Theismann judging him and without the sporting media bowing to the latter’s purported “wisdom”.
Steve Nash, on the other hand, had a problem with his nose – it wouldn’t stop bleeding. Following an accidental collision with Spurs’ Tony Parker (which floored Parker and resulted in a large bump on his forehead) Nash received a gash to the nose. Twenty bandages later and the Suns’ trainer was powerless to stop the scarlet stream from flowing forth. In the waning seconds of a close game, Nash’s nose would not stop bleeding and with the Suns’ trainer seemingly utterly helpless, applying band-aid after band-aid in a vain attempt to staunch the bleeding, the referees enforced the rule disallowing any player from returning to the court with a bleeding, open wound. The Spurs wound up winning the game as the Suns fell apart without their fearless leader and repeat MVPer. The explanation provided later that the position of gash made it difficult to treat is unacceptable. The media has largely been silent when it comes to assigning blame for this one, but this is an easy one. As a trainer for an NBA team, it is expected that these docs are some of the most qualified in the country when it comes to treating sporting injuries. A bloody nose is a fairly common sporting injury. Yet viewers at home watched as tiny band-aid after tiny band-aid was applied to the large wound, as if the trainer was hoping his First Aid treatment would be all that was required. Why a large gauze/Ace bandage wasn’t just wrapped around his head – after all, there were only a few seconds left in the game – is uncertain. Why they couldn’t attempt a temporary stitch-job on the bench is also unclear. But as the Suns fell apart on the floor as Nash restlessly tried to check himself back in, there’s one person should be blamed – one person whose ineptitude cost them game 1 and home court advantage.