Kevin Garnett's caustic comments would've caused the hair on Charlie Villanueva's head to stand up -- if Villanueva had any. Villanueva, who is afflicted with alopecia areata, a skin disease that prevents hair from growing on any part of his body (not just his noggin), alleges that Garnett called him a "cancer patient" during a game in which their matchup went from physical to personal. Garnett denies it -- claiming that he said Villanueva was "cancerous" to his team-- and his coach and Celtics director of basketball ops (Doc River and Danny Ainge) have rushed to both defend Garnett and disparage Villanueva, respectively, proving that the Celtics are a classy organization, from top to bottom.
Garnett has a well-deserved reputation for running his mouth and his gums have been flapping far more frequently since he joined the Celtics. He talks more trash than a garrulous garbageman. And these days, his lips move much more than his legs. So all signs point to it being true that in the heat of the moment he went over the line and said something stupid to purposefully provoke his opponent. That doesn't excuse his remarks, which crass and cruel, especially since this is a future Hall of Famer picking on a role player.
We're inclined to trust Villanueva. Why would he make the story up? He doesn't have a history of lying, while Garnett does have a history of yapping. Furthermore, Garnett expects us to believe he has the concentration to ball while spouting poly-syllabic insults? That when he's not dunking he's perusing the dictionary for pernicious put-downs?*
Villanueva is angry enough that he challenged Garnett to a fight, albeit in the least macho way possible: via Tweet. If KG wants to make things right, agree to square off, with all the proceeds going to fund cancer research. Only then will he learn the valuable lesson that words hurt -- but not as much as fists.
*You better believe I consulted a dictionary to make sure I was using "pernicious" correctly.
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