Chapter 65: People Who Don’t Want Dignity
On Media Day, the scene was bustling with voices, flashing lights nonstop, reporters holding equipment crowding the interview area impenetrably. However, the Memphis Grizzlies’ area presented a subtle atmosphere. The players weren’t sitting together amicably but were vaguely divided into several areas with clear boundaries, as if an invisible wall quietly mapped the locker room factions onto this place.
Head Coach Marc Iavaroni stood a bit farther away, his gaze sweeping the entire scene before finally landing on the center of the storm—Xu Ling.
This young third overall pick was surrounded by a throng of reporters in layers, including many media teams from China, with microphones, voice recorders, and cameras nearly pressed to his face.
Xu Ling handled it calmly in fluent English and Mandarin, his posture steady, as if he were already accustomed to this level of attention.
Iavaroni gazed at the dense crowd and constantly flashing lights, his expression momentarily dazed. This scene couldn’t help but remind him of the 1970s and 1980s when he was a player for the Philadelphia 76ers.
Back then, “Dr. J” Julius Erving was similarly tightly surrounded by a tidal wave of media and frenzy; he was the face of the franchise of the entire league, the eternal spotlight focus—wherever he went, that was the center stage.
At this time, the Grizzlies were mired in the lowest point since the team’s founding. The owner was eager to sell the team but couldn’t find a buyer—after all, in Wall Street’s eyes, NBA franchises have always been blue-chip stocks worth holding. Despite the league’s constant negative news in recent years and the overall economic stagnation, the commercial value of professional sports is never a one-day thing. If this decade doesn’t develop well, what about the next? As long as held long enough, team appreciation is almost inevitable.
Yet even so, the Grizzlies remained hard to offload, showing just how dire this team’s situation was.
But what if a dazzling figure like Julius Erving really joined the team?
Iavaroni gathered his swirling thoughts and walked toward the group of reporters waiting for his interview.
As mentioned before, players often live in their own “bubbles.” NBA teams that seem united are actually mostly loose collectives, and Media Day precisely reflects this the most.
Besides superstars, most players only talk to reporters they’re familiar with. They exchange their thoughts, even some inconvenient-to-publicize team insiders, for support from the media circle. That’s why the public opinion field is flooded with messages from “team insiders who wish to remain anonymous.”
Xu Ling was surrounded layer upon layer by Chinese and foreign reporters, impenetrably; on the other side, Pau Gasol was venting frustration to Spanish media, then reiterating to American reporters he knew: “I see no future in Memphis.”
Not far away, veteran Mike Miller was also pulled by reporters to ask about the team atmosphere. He showed a professional smile and firmly denied rumors of discord between Xu Ling and Gay: “They’re both highly competitive young guys; that talk is too exaggerated.”
In the corner, new addition Darko Milicic faced gossip reporters’ questions with a helpless look. “I’m not a VIP at any Beale Street nightclub,”
The Serbian shook his head in denial, his attitude even quite proper, “Right now I only care about grabbing rebounds well and doing defense well.”
On the other side, Jarrett Jackson and Kyle Lowry seemed much more upbeat. Facing the camera, Jackson didn’t hide his excitement for the new season: “We’re full of talent, even more full of hunger. I can’t wait to run with these guys!”
When asked about rumors of Xu Ling possibly playing point guard, Lowry’s face showed a sly and expectant smile: “If Eli really plays the one position, I’ll have to get ready to run fast breaks ahead of time—trust me, it’ll make games very simple.”
Everything seemed normal, everything seemed calm. This was like a standard Media Day: cheers, laughter, players saying platitudes they might not even believe themselves, just waiting to take the full team photo in harmony at the end to declare a successful close.
But things didn’t go as planned.
Rudy Gay wasn’t without media attention. If he wanted, a large group of reporters would flock to him too. But today, he refused all unfamiliar media, only taking questions from a few trusted reporters.
It was less an interview and more a premeditated statement.
Remember how Jimmy Butler recited the timeless classic 《Who has the most talent?》 in that hot MILF reporter’s interview? He first led the third unit to blow out the starters, then completed that dramatic moment. Years later, people learned that the reporter was quickly cut and fired for privately mocking her colleague “winning by skin color,” and the details of her plotting that big show with Butler were exposed.
Compared to Butler, Gay’s approach seemed crude and hasty. He didn’t boost himself with on-court performance first then follow with words; in fact, he was thoroughly defeated by Xu Ling in their intra-team confrontations.
But that didn’t stop him from firing at the SSOL system that Marc Iavaroni championed: “If one word to describe it, it’s chaos. Honestly, none of us feel comfortable in this system.”
Of course he couldn’t avoid mentioning Xu Ling, though without naming him directly—everyone knew: “‘All for one, one for all’ should be our belief, but now everything has changed. Some people are born with privileges, and some aren’t. I can’t accept such differential treatment.”
Finally, he struck a pose of worrying about the team’s future, summing up: “We should be a team, not lone wolves fighting individually. I’m sorry to say, we seem headed for failure, and I’m powerless to change anything.”
As Gay’s remarks quickly spread through familiar reporters, Adidas’s Media Day PR staffer Lisa keenly caught the negative tilt. She immediately unobtrusively moved to the periphery of Xu Ling’s interview area, contacting Xu Ling’s private team via a subtle hand signal and swiftly passing the message: “Rudy is complaining about everything to reporters.”
Hearing this, Xu Ling’s eyes suddenly turned cold, but on the surface he remained unruffled, giving a calm smile to the reporters in front of him and saying mildly: “Next question.”
Though Gay only shared his thoughts with a few trusted reporters, he knew well the dissemination logic of this industry—sources are both closed and intangibly shared. Unless it’s something needing absolute secrecy like the Trade Deadline, reporters don’t pursue exclusives but prefer pushing information spread, because only fermentation turns it into real big news.
Sure enough, Gay’s interview content spread like a virus. When Marc Iavaroni attended the group interview with Xu Ling and Mike Miller, ESPN reporter Rick Humphrey couldn’t wait to throw out the sharp question: “Eli, Rudy Gay says he’s very confused by the team’s new system and hints at privileged players in the team disrupting competitive balance. What’s your response?”
As soon as the words fell, the atmosphere on site suddenly cooled.
Iavaroni’s face darkened, about to speak in response, but this was ultimately a question directed at Xu Ling.
Xu Ling glanced at the head coach, giving a steady look of “don’t worry, leave it to me.”
Iavaroni’s concern wasn’t unfounded; Xu Ling had never experienced such a public backstab. How many could truly handle facing a teammate’s accusations head-on in the media?
“He’s confused? I can understand.” Xu Ling spoke, his tone calm yet with an indisputable measure that surprised not just the reporters but even made Iavaroni widen his eyes. “No matter who, suddenly going from the team’s first option to third or even fourth indeed requires tough mental adjustment.”
Xu Ling paused briefly, his gaze sweeping all the reporters, then continued clearly: “But the NBA rules are simple: everything is decided by on-court performance. Your role depends on what you contribute to victory, not what you want for yourself.”
“As for privilege.” Xu Ling’s voice rose slightly, “I don’t think the trust gained by someone who from the first day of training camp wins head-to-head matchups on both offense and defense is privilege.”
“If earning the coach’s and teammates’ trust through strength is called privilege, then I hope every player in the league has such privilege.”
Xu Ling looked at the questioning reporter, his gaze sharp yet candid: “Finally, if he has any questions about tactics, my locker is right next to his. He can come over anytime, ask me man-to-man instead of like a kid who feels bullied, hiding behind the media to cry and seek outside support. Sometimes I even want to ask: how hard is it for an adult to face reality squarely?”
The site immediately erupted in an uproar.
Reporters had expected some peacemaking platitudes—at most as direct as Gay—but Xu Ling seemed never trained in media handling, laying out all his true thoughts without cover, each sentence cutting off any room for maneuver.
From this moment, the Grizzlies’ Media Day utterly surpassed the other 29 teams in the league. Kobe’s trade drama? Boston’s Big Three? Suns, Spurs, Mavericks championship declarations? All step aside!
