Bullshit. Sorry, man, but Bullshit. The Blazers training staff and doctors back then (Ron Culp) were fucking amatuers. Sports medicine was in its infancy to be sure, but Bill's foot was BROKEN, and the staff's answer to it was pump him full of painkillers and tell him to get back out there. Watch the first games of the Blazer/Sonic series in 78. There's NO FUCKING WAY a player with that kind of injury would be let anywhere near the court today, but the team was so terrified of losing their newfound status that they convinced Bill to take the shots, play through the pain, and in Game 2 of that series, his foot bones shattered, and he was so painkilled that he didn't even feel it. It was flat criminal what the team did to him. And as a 26 year old, he focused his anger broadly about the situation, which any one of us might have done in his situation. Bill has come back multiple times over the years and apologized to the fans for his behavior, but he should never have to apologize for what the team doctors did to him. It took YEARS for Bill to heal semi-properly, and he was never the same player again. He also dealt with a lifetime of foot and back pain.
The fact that we got to witness 1.5 years of, at his peak, maybe the greatest overall center in the history of the NBA is something we shouldn't discount or take for granted.
