Former Evessa star Washington claims he is 'blackballed' despite exoneration

The Osaka Evessa and bj-league office claimed that Lynn Washington, one of the league's original superstars, retired on April 9 after he was exonerated of all charges following his arrest and 18 days in Osaka Prefectural Police custody.

The former Indiana University forward, however, is now telling a different story.

"I have been wrongfully blackballed from Japanese basketball," Washington told The Japan Times in an exclusive interview this week.

The two-time MVP and three-time title winner was the undisputed leader of the Evessa before his March 13 arrest on suspicion of smuggling about 1 kg of marijuana into Japan. When he was released by the police, neither the Evessa nor the bj-league issued a statement saying they would welcome Washington back into the league.

The 34-year-old Washington was ordered to keep quiet, to say nothing about his "retirement," this reporter has learned, after the team's news release was issued. He admitted as much. One source familiar with the situation called it "hush money," and Washington didn't speak out about the end of his successful career. Until now.

Despite the fact, he said, that no bj-league team will sign him, "if I did have a contract from a team, I would probably sign."

Recently, "I turned down two gigs in South America. So, no, 100 percent retired, absolutely not," he added.

Washington became the first player in bj-league history to reach the 5,000-point milestone, doing so on Oct. 15, 2011, against the Takamatsu Five Arrows, and also earned back-to-back All-Star Game MVP awards the past two seasons. He cherishes those accomplishments, he said, but is miffed about the way he and his family were treated by bj-league personnel.

Lynn's wife, Dana Washington, was arrested in February and released on May 25 after pleading guilty to drug possession.

Dana Washington's lawyer, Ichiro Morioka, presented her prescription, issued in California for medical marijuana to treat arthritis, sleep deprivation and migraine headaches, to court officials in Osaka. The 3?-year sentence sought by prosecutors was dropped.

(Washington maintains that he had no knowledge of his wife sending the package to Japan, and that he would have told her not to do so because of Japan's strict Cannabis Control Law.)

"Even though my wife did what she did, no one cared for my (three) children who were the most affected by what happened," Washington said.

Other key officials around the league demonstrated rude, thoughtless behavior after Washington's arrest, he said.

"For instance, the Shiga GM (Shinsuke Sakai) laughed when I went to jail and said the Evessa are finally finished," Washington said.

"Who cares if the Evessa are finished or not? Family is at stake, something, I thought all Japanese people cherished. I guess not."

Another incident involving the Saitama Broncos illustrated the immature way some individuals around the league handled matters after Washington's arrest.

"In Saitama, one of their team officials paused my picture on television from one of my endorsement commercials and started laughing," Washington said. "One of my friends on the team cursed him out because of his insensitivity.

"In the last 10 months, I have learned more about Japanese people than I have in the 10 years living in Japan," he said. "Most Japanese people will disown you if it saves their face. I'm OK with that however."

What angers Washington, though, is the way the championship-caliber team fell apart after the end of the 2011-12 season. The Evessa were 26-12 at the time of Washington's arrest, sitting in second place in the Western Conference behind the eventual-champion Ryukyu Golden Kings.

Osaka finished the season with a 35-17 record and remained in second place entering the postseason, giving the Evessa the right to host a second-round series against the Kyoto Hannaryz.

After the team's playoff exit, then-coach Ryan Blackwell said, "We lost arguably the greatest player in league history and we still had a chance (to make the Final Four)."

Washington said, "I understand the public relations aspect of disassociation, but cruelty reared its head therein. How so? Ryan Blackwell was fired for keeping a team together during troubling times and by being guilty by association. In one word, 'unreal.' "

In the Osaka front office's view, anything but an Evessa championship in May was an acceptable reason to unload Blackwell, one longtime league insider told this newspaper.

"All in all, the league handed down sanctions on anyone associated with what happened to me," Washington said. "Blackballed, absolutely. . . "

"I'm not bitter at all however. I had a nice career in Japan with a very promising future in America. I will come back to Japan and watch bj-league games this winter. I just hope I can get a front-row seat."

Washington's saga is a cautionary tale for anyone who expects the bj-league to offer them a second chance, even if they are declared innocent by the courts. Case in point: On March 30, Washington said in another exclusive interview after his release from police custody that he definitely wanted to return to the Evessa. "Give me a week of training and four games with the Lord with me, and I'm back where I left off," he said at the time.

That never happened.

"The Lynn Washington situation truly upset me," a former bj-league player told The Japan Times in a recent interview. "An innocent man being forced to retire, a week after he says to you that he only needs a week to get back in shape, then comes out and retires. Ridiculous."

The Evessa stumbled out of the gates losing three times in as many days by a combined 60 points in the recent Seiki Cup in Shiga Prefecture. It appears new coach Zoran Kreckovic will have his hands full building a team with only three of 12 players back on the squad from last season. General manager Hirotaro Nomamoto's ouster last week is the latest sign of a team far removed from its glory years — six Final Fours and seven straight playoff appearances.

For Washington, Nomamoto's departure was no surprise.

"By the way, Nomamoto being fired is just what happens when you have no knowledge of how a team should be put together," Washington said.

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Heat overcome Celtics despite Rondo heroics

MIAMI — The biggest postseason comeback in Miami Heat franchise history wasn't enough.

Close quarters: Boston's Kevin Garnett (left) and Miami's Udonis Haslem compete during the Heat's 115-111 win on Wednesday. AP

The Heat needed more — and got it, digging deep to take a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals.

LeBron James scored 34 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, Dwyane Wade scored 23 and the Heat rallied from 15 down to beat the Boston Celtics 115-111 in overtime on Wednesday night.

Mario Chalmers scored 22 for the Heat, who won despite an unbelievable night by Rajon Rondo. The Celtics guard played all 53 minutes and scored 44 points, dished out 10 assists and grabbed eight rebounds. The Heat expected Boston's best — and the Celtics didn't disappoint.

"This group had resolve," Wade said of the Celtics. "They came out and played a great game. It was physical early. They brought the game to us. That can't happen. We used our crowd and the energy to get back into the game and we had to play better."

Paul Pierce scored 21 points, Kevin Garnett added 18 and Ray Allen 13 for Boston.

Rondo finished 16 of 24 from the floor, 10 of 12 from the foul line and made both his 3-point tries.

"He was absolutely phenomenal," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "Put us, put the whole team at times on his shoulders. . . . We had a lot of opportunities to win the game."

Allen's 3-pointer with 34.3 seconds left tied the game at 99-99. James missed two shots, first a layup — he got the rebound of his own miss — and then a jumper on the final possession of regulation, and to overtime they went.

"We had to do it the tough way," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

Game 3 is Friday in Boston.

The Heat had come back to win from 14 points down in playoff games twice before, first in Game 6 of the 2006 NBA Finals — their title clincher — and again last season against Philadelphia.

And this one was slipping away, more than once. James missed two free throws 21 seconds into overtime, and Miami looked in trouble. But the Heat held on, in a game where they took 47 free throws — 24 by James — to Boston's 29.

The scoring dossier in overtime began like this: Rondo scored, Heat tied it, Rondo scored, Heat tied it, Rondo scored, Heat tied it.

When Rondo missed a layup — he thought he was fouled, and the Celtics agreed — with 1:33 left, Miami took advantage, with Udonis Haslem getting a dunk to put the Heat up 105-103. And after a turnover on the next Boston possession, Wade drove the lane, hit the deck and watched as his layup bounced on the rim and dropped through.

Garnett stood over Wade and glared, to no avail. Wade hit the free throw, and Miami was up 110-105 with 59.7 seconds left.

On a night where the Heat missed 16 free throws — including at least four by James in crucial situations — they would survive.

"Now we're going home," Boston's Mickael Pietrus said. "Our jersey is going to be white. They got two. Fine, good for them. But we're going home now and you know what that means."

NEW YORK — New owner, and now a new star player. The future suddenly looks bright for the New Orleans Hornets.

Meanwhile, it was yet another loss — in a historic season full of them — for Michael Jordan and the Charlotte Bobcats.

The Hornets, recently sold by the NBA to Saints owner Tom Benson, won the NBA's draft lottery Wednesday and the No. 1 pick overall — which they almost certainly will use to pick Kentucky star Anthony Davis.

At least that's what the consensus college player of the year is expecting. Moments after the Hornets won the lottery, Davis said he was looking forward to playing professionally in the place where he led the Wildcats to a national championship in April.

The good news for the Hornets comes after a difficult season in which they traded All-Star Chris Paul and a couple of years in limbo where they couldn't do much to upgrade the roster while the league was looking for a buyer.

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Inaba, Miyamoto reach greatness despite first-round snub

Join the club: Atsunori Inaba hits an RBI single to right to record the 2,000th hit of his career on Saturday in Sendai. KYODO

When Kensuke Tanaka and Sho Nakata both apologized to Atsunori Inaba after recording outs that denied the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters veteran a shot at reaching the 2,000-hit milestone last Thursday at Tokyo Dome, Inaba knew he had to get things done quickly.

So he did, carving out a little slice of NPB history in his very next at-bat, on Saturday in Sendai against the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, with an RBI single that made him one of only 39 players to reach 2,000 hits in Japan.

Soon he'll share that distinction with Tokyo Yakult Swallows infielder Shinya Miyamoto, who with 1,996 hits is poised to soon become the 40th to 2,000.

It's fitting the pair will, barring injury, join the Meikyukai, or Golden Players club, in the same season. They may have taken differing routes to the achievement, but the decorated veterans began their journey in the same place, with the Yakult Swallows.

Unless there was a crystal ball involved, there's no way the Swallows knew what they had on their hands during the 1994 draft.

But that's the funny thing about drafting players. No matter how much you think you know, the whole thing is essentially just one big crapshoot. Quite a few players pegged for greatness flame out, while other prospects, thought of as little more than warm bodies, end up in the Hall of Fame.

The supposed can't-miss players are generally drafted early, and in 1994 pitcher Tetsuya Kitagawa was the Swallows' first choice. Yakult selected Miyamoto in the second round and grabbed Inaba in the third.

Kitagawa retired in 1999 with four career wins and a 5.18 ERA. Miyamoto, meanwhile, is in his 18th season and has a career average of .283 and eight gold gloves. Inaba has been even better, with a career average of .291 to go along with 249 home runs and 977 RBIs.

Between them, Miyamoto and Inaba have been apart of four Japan Series winning teams — three as teammates with Yakult in 1995, 1997, and 2001 and then Inaba's triumph with the Fighters in 2006. They were also members of Japan's triumphant 2006 World Baseball Classic squad.

Inaba won the WBC a second time in 2009, while Miyamoto is the owner of an Olympic bronze medal, won at the 2004 Games.

Of course, there was no way to know any of that in 1994. Back then no team would even use a first-round selection on them, and Inaba, who has had the more prolific career, had to wait until the third round.

Looking back, the only first-rounder to make a major impact over the years was Kenji Johjima, selected by the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks, though Saburo Omura chosen by the Chiba Lotte Marines, has had a productive career.

An incredible work ethic propelled Miyamoto and Inaba to new heights, and reaching 2,000 hits will help put their careers into perspective.

It's one thing to hang on for as long as they have, but to continue to be viable long enough to reach these heights is something few players do.

Inaba deserved the cheers that came his way on Saturday and Miyamoto will have paid his dues for his spot in the sun when his time comes.

They began their careers together 18 years ago and now, likely no more than a week or two apart, they'll each take a big step toward cementing a positive legacy in the game.

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Chargers keep Turner, Smith for 2012 despite missing playoffs

SAN DIEGO — San Diego Chargers president Dean Spanos didn't feel he had to issue any ultimatums when he made the unpopular decision to bring back coach Norv Turner and general manager A.J. Smith despite the team missing the playoffs for the second straight season.

"Everybody knows in this business that you've got to win. OK?" Spanos said Tuesday. "That's the net bottom line. You don't have to say that."

The Chargers haven't been winning enough lately, which is why Spanos was forced to decide the future of his top football men. The Chargers are 17-16 since the end of the 2009 season, including an embarrassing home playoff loss to the New York Jets in January 2010 that was the Chargers' last postseason appearance.

San Diego went 4-1 at the beginning and end of this season but was undone by a six-game losing streak in the middle. One more win would have earned the Chargers (8-8) the title in the mediocre AFC West.

Feeling that he has a good team with a marquee quarterback in Philip Rivers, "Keeping this intact gives us the best chance to win and change this thing as quickly as possible," Spanos said.

Spanos said he was heartened by the players' response to Turner in winning four of five down the stretch. The one loss, though, a rout at Detroit, eliminated the Bolts from playoff contention.

"I was confident that I had a good chance to stay here," said Turner, who has two years left on his contract, at $3 million a season.

Turner has a 49-31 regular-season record in five years in San Diego but is only 3-3 in the playoffs.

"I would expect we'd have to make the playoffs" to stay employed, Turner said. "If we manage things right and have some good fortune, I imagine we will."

Turner was an unpopular hire in February 2007 after Marty Schottenheimer was fired following a 14-2 season and a home playoff pratfall against New England.

When the news came that Turner would be back for a sixth season, fans reacted angrily on radio talk shows and the Internet. Some threatened to cancel their season tickets.

"Obviously, I'm very sensitive to what the fans have to say," Spanos said. "I've come to the conclusion that I can talk until I'm blue in the face that this is the right thing to do. But until we go out and win and change the course of where this team has been heading, get back into the playoffs and make a serious run for the Super Bowl, anything short of that isn't going to change their minds. We have to go out there next year and win."

LAKE FOREST, ILLINOIS — The Chicago Bears borrowed a page from the Indianapolis Colts in end-of-season house cleaning: fire the GM and keep the coach.

Chicago won four division titles and reached the Super Bowl while Jerry Angelo was general manager. The Bears also crumbled in a big way this season.

Now Angelo's out. Coach Lovie Smith, however, will remain.

Angelo was fired Tuesday following a team collapse marked by injuries to Jay Cutler and Matt Forte and a drug scandal involving Sam Hurd.

One day after the Colts parted with vice chairman Bill Polian and his son, Chris, the general manager, the Bears called for change after an 8-8 season. A questionable draft record and an inability to fill big holes, particularly on offense, led the ouster of Angelo, who had been on the job 11 years.

"I think Jerry achieved a lot as general manager," Bears president Ted Phillips said. "He's a wonderful man, high character. I've enjoyed every day working with him. He's put his life's blood into the Bears."

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