Comments on: Kermit Washington’s Remarkable Redemption

By: The 10-man rotation, starring NBA rest days | TOP NBA VIDEO.com

The 10-man rotation, starring NBA rest days | TOP NBA VIDEO.com — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 06:01:13 +0000

[...] case you haven’t seen it yet, here’s the trailer for Melo’s new reality show.SG: The Starting 5. Zirin talks with former NBA’er Kermit Washington about combating hunger and HIV in [...]

By: Unsilent Majority

Unsilent Majority — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 19:16:05 +0000

Excellent interview, Mr. Zirin.

By: NBA Linkin’ Park: 5 Players You Forgot About | Sports On My Mind

NBA Linkin’ Park: 5 Players You Forgot About | Sports On My Mind — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 07:15:54 +0000

[...] Kermit Washington’s Remarkable Redemption – The Starting Five: It is long past time to forget “The Punch”. 1n 1994, Washington took a trip to Rwanda to see how he could help out. He has been doing tremendous work ever since. Also, listen to Washington give an unfiltered assessment of the Ron Artest you might not know. [...]

By: MODI

MODI — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 01:47:40 +0000

Yes, great interview. Kermit Washington is doing some serious work, and the story he tells about Artest does not surprise me because there are a lot of off-camera stories about Artest like that.

As for the punch, he could have thrown the same punch and if nothing happened to Rudy T, then it would be a forgotton footnote. Just horrible luck.

By: Eric Daniels

Eric Daniels — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 01:18:51 +0000

great interview, I remember seeing that fight on the news when I was 11 and even then I thought Washington was just defending his teammate like our coaches in little football taught us too. Washington was tarred as an animal by fans and the media and that was unfair considering he was pratically blackballed from the NBA for nearly 20 years, I remember seeing the Brian Gumbel HBO special and watching him in Rwanada and talking about Africa and the his life in the NBA. Clearly Washingston was misunderstood in context and NBA players who are involved in charity.

By: Celebrity Athletes Charity Gigs & Gossip » Athletes, Africa, Fans and Favorites

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 19:13:51 +0000

[...] on the court, but off the court, he’s one of the best guys out there. Period. The boys at the Starting Five just posted an incredible interview with Former NBA player Kermit Washington. In the interview, he [...]

By: Mizzo

Mizzo — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 17:58:14 +0000

I just interviewed Jerome Williams and a story he told me about South Africa is frightening. 80% of the children in the community were raped. 80%! How would we as a society deal with such a horrific statistic over hear.

Thank God there are people like Kermit. He gets my applause no matter what.

By: The Most Known Unknown

The Most Known Unknown — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 17:40:49 +0000

People like Mr. Washington and Ron Ron have gotten a bad rap for things that have happened during the course of a game. However these men are SAVING lives.

I don’t think that people here in the States understand that dynamic. I live and grew up in Philadelphia. I know death, but not because of a lack of food, water, and shelter. What Mr. Washington is doing and has done is bigger than any game he could ever play in. This is life, and he is living it to the fullest.

By: Temple3

Temple3 — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 13:33:07 +0000

Frankly, all of Mr. Washington’s actions in the “fracas” with respect to Rudy T are perfectly understandable. Certainly no one wishes ill of competitors – even boxers don’t want to inflict that type of damage. With that said, the very idea of passing a moral judgment on a natural, instinctive and widely shared reflex is patently absurd. I’ve known since the age of 5 never to run up behind someone in the middle of a fight.

Sadly, it remains true that peacemakers often catch haymakers.

Kudos to Mr. Washington for his recognition of and engagement in the critical work needed to be done on the continent. He could have chosen so many other paths (begging for gigs from the beneficiaries of Africa’s travails, for one). Instead, he has chosen to blaze a trail of authentic service born of love. It’s a beautiful thing.

By: Mizzo

Mizzo — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 02:09:25 +0000

DZ thanks so much for this. The bad rap that Kermit has received is bs. The affect that punch had on the league could be seen in the undeveloped skills of Darryl Dawkins. When he looked at someone crazy they called an offensive foul. Chuck and I speak on it in one of the interviews.

By: delinda

delinda — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 01:59:03 +0000

Beautiful read. I really hope we see an increase in the number of publications running these types of pieces. Gossip columnists make millions of dollars for writing about non-sense, yet those of us interested in humanitarian work get left in the dirt. We need a movement towards the betterment of mankind. And if anyone wants to send me to Africa, my passport is ready, my tent is packed, and I’ve had all my shots.

By: America » The Last Campaign: Robert F. Kennedy and 82 Days That Inspired America

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 23:36:36 +0000

[...] Kermit Washington’s Remarkable RedemptionTourism is really all they have over there. So when you see the people from Africa and Asia and how they come over here and get such great grades, it’s because they know what they could go back to. We cry when we have to go to school. … [...]

By: kos

kos — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 21:41:10 +0000

DZ –
Loved this interview. Glad it didn’t harp on “the punch” and instead focused on Washington’s work. I read at one time he wanted to be an NBA coach, but figured out that because of what happened, he was blackballed from ever getting a chance. Too bad the NBA won’t go to bat for him with commercials to show his good deeds.

By: michelle

michelle — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 20:31:53 +0000

Nice interview Dave! Mr Washington has a great story. We all make mistakes and none of us should be defined by them unless of course your name is George Bush!