By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Maccabi Tel Aviv star guard Wade Baldwin addressed the controversial move he made at the end of the game of his team at Baskonia when he got into the face of a referee.
The American player explained his action and what led to venting a “built-up” frustration in such a manner.
Here’s what Baldwin said in an interview with Israeli website Sport 5:
“You have here the obvious reason. And the politically correct answer is that you should never behave like that after a game. You should never treat somebody like that and act like that. You need to be very professional in your responses. You need to just let the play go, hear the call, honor it, and go from there. That’s the correct answer to say – that’s how you should behave.
But I will speak on all American players who play out here that go through a bit of unjust situations sometimes during games and through the business of basketball in general. It’s very hard for, I would say, black Americans to be successful here. It’s just a rough business. Because there’s so many of us that come through here. You see a lot of guys that come in and out of situations. It’s very important to put yourself in good situations and perform well. And that specific situation… it’s very tough being officiated by European referees. Different style of game that’s out here [compared] to what you’re accustomed to. With me personally, I feel that I’m one of the tougher people to officiate. A lot of the time I’m stronger, I make very quick moves and it’s hard to make a split-second call.
That was a situation where it was a built-up. You go through small things, you try to communicate, and it didn’t go the way for me so I reacted. It’s not racial. It’s just tough. Because as an American you’re always competing with the next NBA guy that’s coming over. I was an NBA guy that was coming over to EuroLeague… You feel you have to be on top of your game at all times. In terms of officiating, you’re coming from a different environment. In USA, there might be a little more hands n you. but now you’re transitioning to his game, you have to adapt your game, your culture and your mindset. Everything has to be adapted. And it’s difficult to do that all the time.”
Among many other topics, Baldwin also talked about Mike James recently becoming the all-time leading scorer in the EuroLeague and how he aims to pass him in the future.
“We worked out in Portland sometimes. I called him to congratulate him on his success and being the new all-time leading scorer and the first thing I told him was: ‘You know I’m going to beat the score right?’ It’s just my belief. I think I’m very close. I’ve done some things in EuroLeague that have been remarkable from an individual standpoint. And I’m still so young. I’m only turning 28 this week. If I stay here for the rest my career I see no reason why I can’t achieve that goal.”
In his fifth EuroLeague season, Baldwin is playing arguably the best basketball in his career. He’s averaging a career-high 17.7 points, along with 4.9 assists and 2.9 rebounds, entering the MVP conversation over the last couple of weeks.