Logue Down: Boomers veteran Aron Baynes’ mental toll of freak Tokyo Olympic fall, Shaq teams up with NBL owner, Josh Giddey speaks out over online abuse
Aussie NBA star Josh Giddey — revealing is own online abuse experiences — has backed his former NBL colleagues by standing against online trolls.
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Boomers veteran and NBA champion Aron Baynes has bravely detailed his mental health battles after his dramatic fall during the Tokyo Olympics.
Baynes’ life was turned upside down last July when he slipped in the bathroom during the fourth quarter of Australia’s pool game against Italy.
He was knocked unconscious and sustained a serious spinal cord injury that ended his Olympic campaign and left him hospitalised in Japan and Australia for three months.
Baynes feared he may never walk again while he was forced to watch the Boomers’ historic bronze medal victory from a Tokyo hospital.
The big man has made a successful recovery and comeback via the Brisbane Bullets in the NBL this season, but the scars from the incident remain.
Baynes opened up to Bullets and Boomers teammate Nathan Sobey about the mental struggles he has experienced since the freakish fall.
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“I can tell you right now that it was terrible,” Baynes said on the NBL23: Unrivalled documentary, which will air on ESPN and Kayo on Friday.
“I was in a bad place with where I was.
“It was really tough for a number of other reasons mentally.
“We’d gone through some ups and down and highs and lows and it is still a challenge every single day.
“But it’s something that we know if we can get through that, we can get through anything else.”
Baynes revealed the hardest part was being removed from his loved ones as he sat helplessly in hospital.
“I didn’t think it was that bad and I thought everything was good, but laying in hospital and I knew all I wanted was that I had to see my family,” he said.
“It took me four weeks to see them, and I broke down multiple times. I just remember seeing them from the (Brisbane) hospital window for the first time because they couldn’t come in because of Covid isolation.
“I couldn’t stop crying. I didn’t know that I’d ever get that low in my life, but I went to the point where I see what the most important thing in my life is (and that’s family).”
Baynes is now in a better place, and he is starting to feet his feet, and voice, in a talented Bullets side that has won three straight after starting the season 0-5.
“One of the keys for me that I learnt over the last 18 months is that I can’t not talk,” he said.
“That’s why coming into the (Brisbane) team, you just hear me talking constantly.
“Whether it is on the court or off the court.”
SHAQ LINKS WITH LARRY
NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal has joined forces with NBL owner Larry Kestelman via Reebok Australia, which could pave the way for ‘Shaq’ to link with the Australian league.
Kestelman recently secured the exclusive distribution rights for Reebok in Australia and New Zealand.
O’Neal is already a brand ambassador for Reebok in the US, so the NBL boss thought it was a no-brainer to secure the four-time NBA champion on a separate ambassador deal for Reebok Australia.
“Reebok is now the Official Shoe Partner of the NBL so there is now a direct link between the parties, which is great for Reebok and the league,” Kestelman said.
O’Neal already invests in global companies like Google, Apple and General Electric.
During his recent Australian tour he said he wouldn’t rule out adding the booming Australian league to his extensive list of investments.
The NBL has an impressive collection of former and current NBA stars investing in the league, including John Wall, Khris Middleton, Zach Randolph and Victor Oladipo.
Kestelman can see a path for O’Neal to become a part of the NBL in the future.
“If, through his ambassadorial role with Reebok, Shaq wants to know more about the NBL then we would of course welcome any interest or involvement he might want to have,” he said.
“Shaq will be in Australia more often now through this deal, and will no doubt have the opportunity to get closer to the NBL and see it for himself, should he have the desire.
“We already have a number of high-profile ex-NBA players involved in the league which is a testament to the quality of our competition and its standing globally.”
Watch out for the NBL to announce a competition for two people to meet O’Neal in the US.
Giddey backs solution to dark side of basketball
Aussie NBA star Josh Giddey — revealing is own online abuse experiences — has backed his former NBL colleagues by standing against online trolls.
GIDDEY STANDS AGAINST ONLINE ABUSE
Australian NBA star Josh Giddey has rallied around his former NBL colleagues battling with online abuse, revealing he has also experienced the dark side of the internet.
Giddey noticed News Corp’s investigation into the growing trend of NBL players copping personal attacks via social media.
The Oklahoma City Thunder guard received a bit of trolling during his rookie NBL season with Adelaide in 2020-21, but he says it is nothing compared to life in the global NBA spotlight.
“I’ve experienced it (online abuse) a lot,” said Giddey, who received personal taunts when he was drafted to the Thunder at No.6, which shocked some ignorant US fans.
“Not as much (in the NBL), but the American media system is a lot bigger and stronger and you are displayed to a world stage.
“As an NBA player, you are being watched by millions of people around the world, and there are always going to be people having their input and two cents worth and you take it with a grain of salt.
“There are some guys that the (abuse) gets to them, but I try and not read stuff as hard as it is.”
Special investigation: @NBL players reveal scourge of online abuse on the rise, with @MickRandallHS. ðŸ€https://t.co/KjpxVb94fT
— Matt Logue (@mattlogue7) November 5, 2022
Giddey read a call from Bullets guard Jason Cadee pleading for all profiles to be public and he agrees.
“Yeah, I did see that (comment) and it would definitely help if people had to have their real names and authenticate who they are,” he said.
“Then probably they would think twice about saying things.”
LIKE
A 21-year-old who works at his father’s racetrack and has never been overseas before stands to earn more than some NBL players after becoming the second Australian to make the NBA 2K Gaming League.
Harry ‘RealHvzn’ Spierings from Cranbourne in south east Melbourne has been selected as the first NBL Oz Gaming player.
Spierings dominated last weekend’s NBA 2K League Australia Invitational and will now relocate to the United States with all expenses covered, including accommodation.
He will earn a base salary of almost $60,000 to play online basketball with other competitors while a whopping US$2.5 million prizemoney is up for grabs throughout the season.
DISLIKE
The Adelaide 36ers had every chance to act sooner on troubled import guard Craig Randall II, but they rolled the dice based on talent. Culture is king and it’s proven.
SHOOSH
Which high-profile and in-form player is already being shopped around to rival clubs for next season as his market value continues to rise?
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Originally published as Logue Down: Boomers veteran Aron Baynes’ mental toll of freak Tokyo Olympic fall, Shaq teams up with NBL owner, Josh Giddey speaks out over online abuse
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