Jahlil Okafor, the Philadelphia 76ers rookie center out of Duke, is off to a great rookie year averaging 17 points and 7 rebounds a game for the season. To go along with his success in the court, Okafor made headlines for some off-the-court drama in late November. However, how Jahlil Okafor’s character is viewed should not be based on his off-court antics, it should be determined by how he has reacted to these events.
Okafor was allegedly in a fight in Boston, which involved a heckler telling Okafor, “The Sixers suck and you guys are all losers, you’ll never win a game,” a source close to Okafor told ESPN’s Jeff Goodman [http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/14232109/philadelphia-76ers-rookie-jahlil-okafor-involved-boston-street-fight].
A second video surfaced about a week later that showed Okafor yelling while another man was on the ground, apparently bleeding. Both videos were from the same day: late Wednesday night/Thursday morning on November 25th/26th. After this news broke, a Philadelphia Inquirer report emerged about an incident at a Philadelphia nightclub in October, in which a man pointed a gun at Okafor.
Even though legal issues are no joke, these controversies should not affect how Okafor is perceived as a player or human being. Okafor was only 19 when these things happened, the same age as some college freshmen and sophomores. Except, Okafor doesn’t have parental guidance, he doesn’t live in a dorm with other kids his age, and he is alone. With no real knowledge of the real world, he is bound to make mistakes. Many people Okafor’s age make dumb decisions. It’s in their nature, but that is part of growing up. Okafor can use these experiences as building blocks of learning. Instead of letting them bring him down, he can look at them as a silver lining to use as a building block for his maturity.
In fact, Okafor immediately regretted this conduct. After reports about the fights emerged, he released a series of tweets:
I hold myself to a higher standard than anyone else ever could and I’m not proud of some of my decisions over the last few months.
— Jahlil Okafor (@JahlilOkafor) November 29, 2015
I own my choices both personally and now publicly. At this point I am cooperating and respecting the process I have to go through.
— Jahlil Okafor (@JahlilOkafor) November 29, 2015
Going forward I don’t want to be a distraction for my team and am grateful for the support and guidance those close to me are giving.
— Jahlil Okafor (@JahlilOkafor) November 29, 2015
I am 100% focused on my responsibility to the League, my teammates and fans.
— Jahlil Okafor (@JahlilOkafor) November 29, 2015
This shows how he took responsibility for his actions and accepted the two-game suspension the Sixers handed to him.
In addition to Okafor taking responsibility for his actions, his close ones advocated for him, including his former coach at Duke, Mike Krzyzewski. “[Okafor] did a couple of stupid things, and so knock him for it. Suspend him, but let’s move on. Make him learn from it, but don’t characterize him based on that. He’s a special, special kid,” Krzyzewski said [ESPN, http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/14278266/duke-blue-devils-coach-mike-krzyzewski-defends-jahlil-okafor-philadelphia-76ers-one-greatest-kids-ever].
Chucky, Okafor’s father, understands that these are events that can be looked at in a positive light. “I have a clear understanding that Jahlil is a child. I don’t look at it through the media’s eyes. I look at him as a grown boy who’s going to make mistakes. He’s going to do different things to become a man,” Chucky Okafor told ESPN’s Robert Sanchez [http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/14750370/bar-fights-court-troubles-jahlil-okafor-opens-up].
Okafor is not the first athlete to make bad decisions off the court either. Other NBA players have overcome legal issues early on in their lives. According to a documentary by Fox Sports, Caron Butler grew up in Wisconsin and turned into a drug dealer when he was 11. Butler was arrested fifteen times before he turned 15 years old. Instead of accepting his fate as someone who would spend the rest of his life behind bars, Butler got serious when he discovered his love for basketball in a juvenile detention center. He later got a scholarship to UConn, was drafted 10th overall in 2002 by the Miami Heat, was named an All-star in 2007 and 2008 while playing for the Washington Wizards, and won a championship in 2011 with the Dallas Mavericks. Butler found his problems early on, and used them to turn himself into a successful basketball player.
Zach Randolph, the current power forward for the Memphis Grizzlies, got into legal trouble when he was younger. One day when he was young, he tried shoplifting from Walmart, but was caught and went to juvenile detention for 30 days. In high school, Randolph was charged with possession of assault rifles and spent more time in juvenile detention for it. Randolph eventually went to college to play for Michigan State. Tom Izzo, the MSU basketball coach, asserted, “I never had a problem with [Randolph]. You just have to surround him with the right people” [Grantland, http://grantland.com/features/the-controversial-life-career-memphis-grizzlies-zach-randolph/]
However, Randolph was drafted to the NBA by the Portland “Jail Blazers” squad, who got their nick-name due to their individual players’ criminal history. Randolph was arrested for underage drinking, got into fights with teammates at practice, and in 2006 he underwent a criminal case for rape involving a stripper. However, Randolph kept working hard, and finally found himself when he was traded to the Grizzlies in 2009, and has been named a two time All-star since then.
Similar to Butler and Randolph, Okafor is ready to put his mistakes behind him and focus on basketball. “”I can learn from this,” Okafor says in the same interview as his father with ESPN’s Robert Sanchez. “Don’t let it happen again.”
Instead of viewing Okafor as a troublemaker and thug, fans should understand that Okafor is a talented young basketball player who’s owned up to his mistakes in the past and is ready for the future.
