The process of vilifying Blake Griffin has reached an absurd level, and it needs to stop. In no small part because of the media narrative that Griffin is a flopper, the crowd in Memphis booed Griffin the entire time he was down on the court, and continued to boo him as he was limping off. When did fans become such a-holes?
I can almost -- ALMOST -- understand the instinct for a home crowd to cheer for a Jason Smith or a Metta World Peace as they leave the arena after being ejected for ridiculous and dangerous plays. At least it's a positive, if completely misplaced, emotion to cheer. But to boo a player who is injured? To do so incessantly and vociferously? You stay class, Memphis.
There will be people who will say -- in fact, I'm sure there are people already saying this, but I'm afraid to even look at twitter right now -- that Griffin deserved it. That he's the boy who cried wolf, that if he acts hurt on every play then he gets what he deserves when he really is hurt. And that's bullshit. Because the REALITY of Griffin as flopper is no where close to the NARRATIVE of Griffin as flopper. The media (and let's face it, the blogosphere and twittersphere specifically) have latched onto this narrative, which has little bearing on reality, and turned Griffin into a melodrama villain in opposing arenas. People should still be smarter -- more human, really -- than to boo an injured player, but the media is culpable here as well to be sure.