Betrayal of Jerry Sloan

What happened today between the Utah Jazz and Jerry Sloan is infuriating. I'm not going to talk about what I think of his coaching style or whether he'll win a championship, because I don't think that's relevant.

A coach who has been here for 23 seasons and over 1,000 wins should not be disrespected this way. I'm sure there was more to it than Deron Williams calling his own play in the game against the Bulls, but I'm also sure that Deron's attitude didn't help. Maybe Deron didn't love Jerry's style, but guess what...it worked for John Stockton. Stockton's stats didn't suffer because of Jerry Sloan, they were incredible...because of Jerry Sloan. Maybe Sloan wasn't going to take the Jazz to a title, but the current roster isn't going to do that no matter who the coach is. There are a lot of factors that go into a team's success or failure, and everyone involved knows it, which is why it is so disappointing that the Jazz management and the players would allow a storied, hall of fame career to end this way.


Jazz fans aren't going to like it, this is not going to help Deron's image, or Greg's image or improve loyalty to the team. Jazz fans don't buy tickets or watch games religiously because of any one so-called super star. The Jazz have always represented the down-to-earthness of Utah residents. We don't put up with diva players (the reason why players like Stockton, Hornacek, and Matt Harpring are the most talked about...not people like Boozer or even Malone). We value hard workers who are going to stick around and get the job done. Jerry Sloan represented the best of that, and for him to leave with anything but a standing ovation is a travesty.