Kermit Washington
Kermit Alan Washington ( born September 17, 1951 in Washington, DC, United States ) is a former American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics, San Diego Clippers, Portland Trail Blazers and the Golden State Warriors in the NBA. The 2.01 meter tall Washington played the position of power forward and was considered one of the toughest defenders at his position. His career was overshadowed by a fist blow to Rudy Tomjanovich. " The Punch ", as this bat was called, Tomjanovich took almost and ran the end of the so-called " Enforcer " era in the NBA one.
Career
Washington was committed in the 1973 NBA Draft by the Lakers in fifth place. In its first three years, Washington was Benchwarmers, before in 1976 he played himself into the starting five, and ( bodyguard ) was appointed by center Kareem Abdul -Jabbar to the " Enforcer ". So called player of great physical hardship, guarded the opponent's own Stars and Stars intimidated with hard fouls. The NBA was a stage in fist fights were common and running away was interpreted as cowardice. During this time, Washington made 11 points and 11 rebounds per game.
The Punch
On 9 December 1977, the Lakers played the Houston Rockets with star forward Rudy Tomjanovich. After a hard foul Rocket Kevin Kunnert and the Lakers Abdul- Jabbar and Washington clashed. As Tomjanovich Kunnert wanted to help, Washington swung around and hit the Rocket with a punch knockout. Abdul- Jabbar compared the noise to that of a " bursting melon ", and the silence afterwards called Rockets guard Mike Newlin the " loudest silence ever ". Tomjanovich even thought the scoreboard had fallen on him. Washington's impact - which is today known as just " The Punch " - had his face smashed and causes life-threatening bleeding in the brain. The NBA locked Washington for two months, and he had to pay $ 10,000 penalty. The NBA increased the penalties for unsportsmanlike fouls dramatically and ended the " Enforcer " era. Washington's reputation was destroyed. Although he had only been one of many enforcers, he was regarded everywhere as the villain, who had almost killed the popular Tomjanovich. He became a persona non grata transferred at the Lakers and soon to the Celtics. Teammate Jerry West (who later became manager of Los Angeles was ) said: ". Kermit assist in its worst hour would have been better in hindsight, but he was such a public relations disaster that we had to give him " Although Tomjanovich was healthy again and managed a comeback, it never managed again to reach his old level.
A public apology for " The Punch " remained from what has been harshly criticized by Tomjanovichs teammates Calvin Murphy and John Lucas. In 2008, Tomjanovich found that he had Washington " forgave " despite the lack of apology.
Later career
Washington was transferred after a short stint with the Celtics Clippers, where he played one year and again managed 11 points and 11 rebounds per game. This was followed by three years for the Trail Blazers. Washington was long booed by the fans, he was a trusted service providers ( 14 points, 12 rebounds per game) in Oregon. Reward was his first and only All- Star game in 1980 and two nominations for the All-Defensive team in 1980 and 1981. 1982, he ended his career, but gave a brief comeback in 1987 with the Warriors and then ceased altogether.
Private life
Washington was married to his wife, Pat Carter, but the marriage was divorced. Washington originally wanted to be coach after the "punch " because his reputation was destroyed but, all applications remained unrequited. He sank into depression and only found new courage to face life when he was involved in various charitable projects in Kenya.
Documentation
In 2006, the NBA turned a one-hour documentary about Washington, titled Searching for Redemption: The Kermit Washington Story. It describes the rise of Washington, the "punch" and the effects afterwards. It also sheds light on how rough the NBA was in the seventies and unsportsmanlike fouls were common.