Breaking an Unwritten Rule? Coaches Who Talk about Their Players' Intelligence

Reading the Boston Herald this morning, a quote from Boston Celtics' coach Doc Rivers stuck out. (Steve Bulpett, "Blount and Banks Pine for Action," Boston Herald, Jan. 21, 2006). It concerns his decision to elevate rookie point guard Orien Greene to the back-up point guard position, while demoting veteran point guard Marcus Banks (pictured to the left with Rivers) to third-string status:

“Orien is definitely the backup point,” said Rivers. “There’s no doubt about that. Orien’s more solid, smarter, stronger, bigger. He gives me some size at that position. He just does a lot of little things that I like.”

"Smarter"? Sure, he is likely referring to Banks' "basketball smarts," or lack there-of, but it's not certain and his lack of specificity may be meaningful or at least damning. To publicly chastise a player's intelligence strikes me as a little inappropriate. Sure, we do it all the time with certain athletes (e.g., Manny Ramirez), just as we poke fun of politicians (e.g., think of your favorite joke about President Bush and I bet it pertains to his perceived intelligence) as well as celebrities (especially when they start opining about matters beyond their knowledge--e.g., Jane Fonda endorsing North Vietnamese treatment of American prisoners of war).

But it seems different when a coach publicly comments about a player's intelligence. I imagine we might feel similarly if a senator publicly called John Kerry "smarter" than George Bush, or if another actor called Alec Baldwin smarter than Jane Fonda (bad example!). There seems to be an unwritten rule that they shouldn't do that--call it a "situational deference" that is accorded to persons within a particular situation (think about all those times when you've told your friends or co-workers "just don't go there" with a certain remark because you were concerned about its possible effect on others present -- that's the situation at-play).

Should coaches talk about their players' intelligence? Is there really an unwritten rule at-play?

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