After being let go by the Knicks early February, Derek Fisher is finally ready to tell his version of events. In a recent post on Sports Illustrated, the former coach dishes on all the drama and gossip that has plagued him in recent months.
“First, let’s address this idea that I lost my job because of certain “character” or “integrity” issues. Not only is any such insinuation untrue, it’s downright offensive,” says Fisher. “The reality is that NBA coaches get fired for all sorts of different reasons. Coaches that have been at it much longer than I have — and have been far more successful than I was — have been fired.”
Fisher goes on to say that to his understanding, he was fired because things weren’t working out the way the Knicks organization had hoped. He says that at the time of his short meeting with the organization, no one brought up anything about his personal life.
He then talks about the stuff we really want to know about: his relationship with Gloria Govan and how it relates to Matt Barnes.
He began by expressing his displeasure with how Gloria was portrayed in the media following his incident with Matt Barnes. “First, I was stunned and disappointed by the way Gloria was treated in the media,” Fisher writes. “After the much publicized (and unfortunate) situation went down in Los Angeles last year, story after story was published that portrayed her as a piece of property, instead of the strong, independent woman and mother she is; someone who is capable of making her own decisions. This is a human being we are talking about, not some pawn in a game.”
Fisher also explains that he and Matt were nothing more than teammates. They played together with the Lakers for one season and had no personal relationship beyond that.
“When Gloria and I started dating, she and Matt had already been separated and living apart for more than a year. Same thing for me. My wife and I were long separated; she was in L.A., I was in New York. Matt and Gloria were not trying to work things out, and I certainly wasn’t seeing her behind Matt’s back or in secret. The relationship wasn’t something I was trying to publicize, but it also wasn’t something I was trying to hide, either. There was no reason to.
I don’t know what was going through Matt’s mind that day in October when he showed up unannounced at Gloria’s house, and started swinging. I didn’t retaliate. No one who was there did anything but try to get him to calm down, particularly because Matt and Gloria’s children were present. There was no fight.”
Read the rest HERE.
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