http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/sports/15035927.htm
Webber still feels unappreciated over flap at final home game
By PHIL JASNER
jasnerp@phillynews.com
Nearly 3 months after the fact, it turns out that Chris Webber appreciated the 76ers' Fan Appreciation Night even less than the fans did.
That was the night of the Sixers' final regular-season home game. Webber and Allen Iverson arrived at the Wachovia Center just as the ball was going up against the New Jersey Nets. Neither Webber nor Iverson made an appearance, either to sit on the bench or acknowledge the crowd.
They didn't play the following night in Charlotte, either, in the last game of the season.
"It's over, but if you want the truth, I was made to be a scapegoat," Webber said in an interview on Comcast SportsNet's "Daily News Live."
Webber was speaking from Lake Tahoe, Nev., and will be in Las Vegas from July 28-30 for his "Bada Bling" charity event, designed to raise funds for his foundation.
"I was there the whole game," Webber said. "If you wanted me to come out, I could've come out. I'm a professional if anything, and No. 1, I appreciate my fans more than anything... If I was there the whole game and if I was asked to do something, I very well could have done it.
"The last 5 years, I've probably been hurt two Fan Appreciation Nights, and in Sacramento there's never been a problem. To make it look like I didn't do that for the fans, that ticked me off."
Reached last night, Sixers president and general manager Billy King said in an e-mail response: "Chris was not made a scapegoat. It is unfortunate he feels that way. As an organization, we all have a responsibility to our fans."
Webber said the Sixers knew that neither he nor Iverson would play the final two games, because the team had already been eliminated from qualifying for the playoffs.
Webber, saying he wasn't up to date on the swirling Iverson trade rumors and what the organization was attempting to do, said, as a generalization, "When I was in that situation, that I felt that I had given everything above and beyond what I was called to do [for] an organization... when you hear rumors, any player, you really don't like that.
"So I can just imagine, being all that [Iverson] has done for the city of Philadelphia and the organization, for him to hear the rumors, I'm sure, feels like a slight."
Iverson has scheduled a 4 p.m. news conference today in Washington to promote his charity weekend in that area, including a celebrity softball game tomorrow night, but has indicated he also will address issues with the Sixers.
Webber said Iverson is the reason he agreed to be traded to the Sixers from the Kings a season-and-a-half ago.
"He's the one that called," Webber said. "He's the one that made the trade. I had a [no-]trade clause. I had to accept the trade; people really have to remember that. If I would have said no, the trade wouldn't have happened. He called me later and said his mother was going to cook for me...
"It was because of him, and him only. I'm loyal to a fault, as my mother would say. He's a great player; he brought me there, and hopefully he doesn't have to go."
Whatever might come next, Webber, 33, said: "I plan on playing 4 more years, and I don't have time to rebuild, I don't want to rebuild, I don't want to teach anybody, I don't want to bring anybody up. I want to win a championship. That's what I want to do. I want to win a championship."
Webber still feels unappreciated over flap at final home game
By PHIL JASNER
jasnerp@phillynews.com
Nearly 3 months after the fact, it turns out that Chris Webber appreciated the 76ers' Fan Appreciation Night even less than the fans did.
That was the night of the Sixers' final regular-season home game. Webber and Allen Iverson arrived at the Wachovia Center just as the ball was going up against the New Jersey Nets. Neither Webber nor Iverson made an appearance, either to sit on the bench or acknowledge the crowd.
They didn't play the following night in Charlotte, either, in the last game of the season.
"It's over, but if you want the truth, I was made to be a scapegoat," Webber said in an interview on Comcast SportsNet's "Daily News Live."
Webber was speaking from Lake Tahoe, Nev., and will be in Las Vegas from July 28-30 for his "Bada Bling" charity event, designed to raise funds for his foundation.
"I was there the whole game," Webber said. "If you wanted me to come out, I could've come out. I'm a professional if anything, and No. 1, I appreciate my fans more than anything... If I was there the whole game and if I was asked to do something, I very well could have done it.
"The last 5 years, I've probably been hurt two Fan Appreciation Nights, and in Sacramento there's never been a problem. To make it look like I didn't do that for the fans, that ticked me off."
Reached last night, Sixers president and general manager Billy King said in an e-mail response: "Chris was not made a scapegoat. It is unfortunate he feels that way. As an organization, we all have a responsibility to our fans."
Webber said the Sixers knew that neither he nor Iverson would play the final two games, because the team had already been eliminated from qualifying for the playoffs.
Webber, saying he wasn't up to date on the swirling Iverson trade rumors and what the organization was attempting to do, said, as a generalization, "When I was in that situation, that I felt that I had given everything above and beyond what I was called to do [for] an organization... when you hear rumors, any player, you really don't like that.
"So I can just imagine, being all that [Iverson] has done for the city of Philadelphia and the organization, for him to hear the rumors, I'm sure, feels like a slight."
Iverson has scheduled a 4 p.m. news conference today in Washington to promote his charity weekend in that area, including a celebrity softball game tomorrow night, but has indicated he also will address issues with the Sixers.
Webber said Iverson is the reason he agreed to be traded to the Sixers from the Kings a season-and-a-half ago.
"He's the one that called," Webber said. "He's the one that made the trade. I had a [no-]trade clause. I had to accept the trade; people really have to remember that. If I would have said no, the trade wouldn't have happened. He called me later and said his mother was going to cook for me...
"It was because of him, and him only. I'm loyal to a fault, as my mother would say. He's a great player; he brought me there, and hopefully he doesn't have to go."
Whatever might come next, Webber, 33, said: "I plan on playing 4 more years, and I don't have time to rebuild, I don't want to rebuild, I don't want to teach anybody, I don't want to bring anybody up. I want to win a championship. That's what I want to do. I want to win a championship."
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