The Crucifixion of Derek Fisher

Rollie_Fingaz

Rollie_Fingaz

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What I'm going to post in this thread are stories surrounding the Derek Fisher controversy. I thought it was interesting. If you don't want to read any of this, press the back button now.


Utah, Please Make Friends with Derek Fisher Again

May 9, 2008 5:43 PM

There have been several stories lately about Derek Fisher, his daughter Tatum's cancer treatments, and Fisher's unusual departure from the Jazz last summer.

And then ask yourself, as the Lakers play in Salt Lake City: Do you really want to boo this guy?

That's what happened to him last time he played in Utah, and he says that's what he expects will happen again.

BasketballJohn from the blog SLC Dunk bring some a sober Utah fan's perspective:

First, everyone can boo all they want. That's a fan's right. But I think fans were booing for the wrong reason. Part of it was because he's a Laker. I don't blame them a bit for that. But I think that the majority of booing fans thought that Fisher had an elaborate plot to use his daughter's disease for his ticket out of Utah and back to LA. That is completely ridiculous.

How could he have counted on the Jazz brass giving him his unconditional release? No buyout, no trade, nothing. The Jazz were just going to let him walk away? It had never been done before in the history of the league, ever. And that was the crucial part of his plan? Everyone was shocked that they were just going to let him walk and that he would give up that guaranteed money. There is no way that was his intent.

So now he has the freedom to sign wherever he wants. He had spoken about being closer to NY so that he would be closer to the doctors. Where exactly would he have gone though? The Knicks? There's so much wrong with that I won't comment. New Jersey had a PG. So did Philly. Nothing made sense.

So now, take off your cowboy boots, Gators, sneakers, or other footwear of choice and put on his family's shoes for just a minute. Forget about basketball, jobs, and everything. When you have crisis in the family, or any crisis, what does everyone seek out? Everyone seeks comfort. Experts will say that for emergency food kits that you should pack comfort foods that you like. The reason is that it gives you a sense of normalcy when things are in a whirlwind. That's what happened with the Fishers. The biggest clue to this is in the LA Times article:

This, even though he wanted to bring his family back to within driving distances of trusted doctors and his wife's family.

They simply wanted to be closer to family. And I don't think anyone else in the same situation wouldn't want to be closer to those that could help things be a bit more normal. And that's not even talking about how much additional work would be required of Fisher's wife. With Derek on the road for long periods of time, she would have an almost unbearable task of taking care of the rest of her kids, let alone the additional care that Tatum would require.

Tell me what other situation would have worked out better for them? When you factor in family, medical care, and a team for Fisher to play on, where else would have been a better choice?
 
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Some backstory.

A year later, Fisher reflects on longest day of his career

By J.A. Adande
ESPN.com

Updated: May 9, 2008

The shot Derek Fisher made with .4 seconds remaining in a 2004 playoff game in San Antonio still resonates, drawing huge cheers when it's shown at Lakers games, the wound to the Spurs so deeply embedded that coach Gregg Popovich referenced it a couple of weeks ago as a warning to his team of how games and series can turn.

To Fisher, it's only the second biggest shot of his career.

He'll tell you a shot he made a year ago Friday ranks above it. Perhaps the score and the time weren't as dramatic. The game log records it as going in with 1:06 remaining in overtime and putting the Jazz ahead by six points in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals.

It's everything that came before that shot that makes it so significant, the fact that it came at the end of a day Fisher and his family began in New York, trying to save his infant daughter's life. The shot came with no time to warm up, in a game he wasn't even sure he would play.

"That shot was bigger from the standpoint of just the ability to focus enough and have enough energy on that day to make a positive contribution to the team," Fisher said. "I think that was bigger than the shot I hit in San Antonio.

"I think that it really symbolized the power of prayer. When people are thinking of you and praying for you, that's how that works. I know for sure that's the only way I was able to kind of get through that day without breaking down. It was a very long day."

That day started in the 6 o'clock hour on a Wednesday morning in New York. Fisher's family had spent the previous two days there, seeking medical advice for the rare form of cancer in his 10-month-old daughter's eye. On Tuesday, their doctor recommended a surgical procedure, and they decided to do it the next day.

So the Fisher family arrived at the hospital at 7 a.m. to check in baby Tatum and get her prepared. Surgery was supposed to start about 10 a.m., but doctors had to respond to another emergency elsewhere in the hospital, causing an hour delay. Tatum didn't know what was happening, but she was uncomfortable and unhappy, and there was nothing her parents could do to appease her. They couldn't feed her because she wasn't allowed to eat before the surgery. Derek Fisher felt helpless, and that was before he finally had to leave Tatum on the surgery table, taking one last look at her as the gravity of the situation kicked in.

"I was just scared, man," Fisher said. "I had no idea what was going to happen after this. We were still learning about this. We were still learning about the cancer and the disease and what our lives were about to become. I think that was the first time I ever thought there's a possibility she might not be the same again."

The surgery lasted more than two hours.

"That seems like an eternity when you're there," Fisher said.

Even after the surgery was over and deemed successful, it was hours before they could leave the hospital. They had to make sure Tatum's heart rate and blood pressure were normal. She had to show she could eat food without throwing up. It was 4 p.m. on the East Coast when she was released.

The Fishers left the city and went across the Hudson River to New Jersey to catch their chartered plane back to Utah. Derek Fisher fell asleep on the flight, and when he woke up, he finally started turning his attention to the Jazz's game against Golden State and the possibility he would play.

"I tired to visualize being out there on the court," Fisher said. "Just trying to think about being out there on the floor, who I could match up against."

Right after the plane landed and he turned on his cell phone, he learned that one of his replacements, Dee Brown, had left the game with an injury. By the time Fisher got to the arena, changed into his uniform and stretched a little bit, the game was in the third quarter. Then he heard from an equipment manager that starting point guard Deron Williams had picked up his fourth personal foul.

"That's when I knew, 'OK, I have to get out there,'" Fisher said.

He went to the sideline, and coach Jerry Sloan immediately sent him into the game.

"I didn't even have a chance to sit down," Fisher said. "That was probably the best thing that could have happened. I didn't get to sit down and overanalyze the situation and think about what was going to take place."

He had his first effect defensively, sticking with Baron Davis on the sideline and forcing Davis to step out of bounds. Then, with just more than a minute left in overtime and the Jazz clinging to a three-point lead, Williams passed the ball to Fisher on the left side, behind the 3-point arc. Fisher immediately rose up and released, and the ball dropped through the net.

"It wasn't like I missed six of them and finally hit one," Fisher said. "That was the only shot that I took."

Twelve months later, Fisher doesn't measure the passage of time in days, but rather in his daughter's progress. This stage in a child's life is accelerated, like time-lapse photography, going from infancy to running around, saying words, trying to talk.

Fisher was granted a release from his contract by the Jazz so his family could live near specialists for Tatum, and he re-signed with the Lakers.

"A lot has changed in terms of me being on one team to another team; that's almost minute compared to a child from 10 months to 22, 23 months, and how much life has changed for them and their understanding of the world," Fisher said.

"And then, just the fact that she can see. We haven't seen any impact on her ability to be a little kid, go to the park and play on the swings and do all the things that the other little kids do. That's satisfying.

"What's crazy about life is when things happen, even what you perceive to be negative at a certain point, it's all preparation and practice for what's to come next."

Fisher wasn't happy initially when he was traded from Golden State to Utah in 2006. It was the first time he had been traded, and it bothered him that the Warriors never gave him a hint it was coming. But his season there marked the first time he was the oldest player on an NBA team, getting him ready for the important role he is playing on the Lakers this season.

"Aside from on the court and everything he provides with shooting and leadership, off the court, he's a good instructor for a lot of our young players in terms of how to take care of your body, how to prepare for the game, how to view the game," Kobe Bryant said.

Bryant didn't need to learn any of those lessons, yet he has been the biggest beneficiary of Fisher's presence.

"For myself, he's been a friend," Bryant said. "It's good to have somebody there. He and I have known each other for 12 years, came into the league together, have been through a lot together. It's great for me because I have a buddy."

In turn, the whole franchise has been saved from Bryant's desire to leave. When Bryant was on the verge of breaking free from the Lakers' gravitational pull, practically checking out as he envisioned his trade demands coming to fruition and sending him to Chicago, Fisher reeled him back in.

"There was a point where I felt like he didn't really want to be here," Fisher said. "It was that rough of a situation for him."

Fisher decided the two of them should sit down and talk. They went to lunch before the Lakers played in Phoenix, the second game of the season.

"I wanted info and background on the team," Fisher said.

Bryant, Luke Walton and Brian Cook (before he was traded) were the only players left from Fisher's previous stint with the Lakers, which ended in 2004.

"I'd only known these guys for three or four weeks. He gave me the rundown of this guy and that guy, their strengths and weaknesses, how we can make this work and put this together. From that day, we said, 'Look, I'll give you what you need from me as long as you give me what I need from you.' From that day on, we locked in."

Bryant started thinking in terms of the Lakers and his role with them again. It all turned into 57 victories and an MVP trophy for Kobe.

They won't be celebrating the anniversary of Fisher's shot in Salt Lake City on Friday night. Not with Fisher back in town wearing a purple Lakers uniform. Joining forces with the Western Conference rivals ended all good feelings among Utah fans, which they made HDTV-clear when they heavily booed Fisher in his first game back.

It hurt him at the time, but he's fine with it now. He doesn't need a hero's welcome to remind him of that moment a year ago. Besides, that's not what he took away from that memory. It isn't often a player can say the biggest shot of his career wasn't even the best thing that happened for his family that day.
 
From the Los Angeles Times:

Fisher's eyes on prize -- his family
Bill Plaschke
Last spring, in a whirlwind of events that captured the attention of a nation, a cancerous tumor was discovered in the left eye of his infant daughter.
May 4 2008

Her eyes are his eyes.

On the bad days, when little Tatum Fisher can't stop crying and can't begin to understand, Derek Fisher's clear eyes cloud.

"Sometimes in the morning, I want to call Phil and tell him I just can't make the shoot-around, I just need to be home," he says. "But as one of this team's leaders, that's not something I can do."

On the worse days, every eight weeks, when Tatum is laid on a gurney and a tiny gas mask is placed over her face and she undergoes a cancer-evaluation procedure, Derek Fisher's clear eyes grow red.

"They let us stay in the room and hold her until she goes to sleep, but then they make us leave," he says. "It's always so hard to leave."

Her eyes are his eyes.

Last spring, in a whirlwind of events that captured the attention of a nation, a cancerous tumor was discovered in the left eye of Derek Fisher's infant daughter.

The story has departed the front page but become embedded in his life.

Quietly, typically, with neither fanfare nor complaint, he has spent the last year helping his 22-month-old child fight retinoblastoma while trying to help the Lakers fight for a championship.

The man known for his uncanny vision -- both on the court and in the locker room -- has exhausted himself trying to save his little girl's eye.

He has gone from practice floor to hospital room, from charter flight to computer web cam, from prayer to prayer, keeping one strong hand on his family while directing the Lakers with the other.

"Nothing can prepare you for a sick child, nothing," says his wife Candace.

Fisher shakes his head.

"Never been through a year like this," Fisher admits quietly. "Never."

You couldn't tell from his play. While Kobe Bryant has been the league MVP, Fisher has been the Lakers MVP, never missing a game or a loose ball or a chance to inspire.

"What he does for us, you don't see in a box score," assistant coach Frank Hamblen says. "In every way, he's a class act."

You also couldn't tell from his attitude. Until now, Fisher has refused to give detailed interviews about his personal situation for fear of attracting unnecessary sympathy.

"People everywhere have to deal with their troubles, whether it's medical or financial or whatever," he says. "I don't think my situation is anything special."

The only way you can tell anything is different is from Tatum herself.

As if she knows, she sometimes calls him, "Daddy-Daddy."

Twice the name.

Twice the man.

"She's my Tatey," he said. "She's my sweetie."

And now, it gets even harder.

Now, in the second round of the NBA playoffs beginning today at Staples Center, the Lakers face a team filled with Fisher's best memories and worst nightmares.

He was one of the leaders of the Utah Jazz last spring when Tatum was diagnosed with eye cancer.

He was a hero for the Jazz when he flew back from one of Tatum's cancer treatments in New York just in time to hit a three-pointer that clinched a playoff victory.

He became a former member of the Jazz when the team, in an unprecedented move at his request, terminated his contract so he could move to a place where he felt more stability and comfort with Tatum's cancer treatments.

He was then scorned by the Jazz last winter when its fans loudly accused one of basketball's character guys of being a charlatan.

Her eyes are his eyes.

When Fisher returned to Utah for his first game there as a reborn Laker at the end of November, his focused stare was wide with disbelief.

He was booed. He was booed as he'd never been booed before.

He was booed by fans who decided his request to take care of his daughter was a lie, that he left Utah only because he wanted to return to the Lakers.

This, even though he took about a $6.5-million pay cut to join the Lakers.

This, even though he wanted to bring his family back to within driving distances of trusted doctors and his wife's family.

"I honestly couldn't believe the reaction," Fisher says. "It was very hurtful. It threw me off."

A city that supposedly embraces family values booed like a legion of frauds.

"It was pretty sad," Candace says.

And it wasn't only the fans.

"It did look funny when we just released Derek outright . . . and like, three weeks later, he signed with the Lakers," Jazz owner Larry Miller told the Salt Lake Tribune.

Fisher was booed so much, the surprise stole his game.

"It was the first time in a long time when I felt I couldn't ground myself enough to contribute," he says.

He made only one of eight shots, his second-worst shooting game of the season. He scored three points, his second-worst total. The Lakers lost by 24 points, their worst defeat of the season.

But Fisher learned.

He received several apologies afterward, and some fans actually cheered him in the Lakers' second visit there, but, yeah, he learned.

"It was a great wake-up call for me," he says. "It made me realize, 'OK, you are no longer part of this team or this town.' "

Fisher didn't expect to be applauded. But goodness, does anyone who has known this man for even five seconds really think he would use his daughter's cancer as a bargaining chip?

Fisher thought, if only fans could see him and Candace sitting with Tatum on their drives to the hospital for the periodic procedures.

"Tatum is fine in the beginning, but we get to the hospital, she sees all those people, she knows what's coming, she gets a little upset," he said. "She has this certain cry, it's her scared cry. We always know that scared cry."

Fisher thought, if only they could see him and Candace sitting up with her for the next three nights while her body tries to regain its stability after the procedure's shock to her system.

"All the tubes that have been in her throat, sometimes she'll have trouble breathing, she always has to fight it," Fisher said.

It is these intense checkups -- every four weeks at Children's Hospital of Los Angeles, every two months at Memorial Sloane-Kettering Cancer Center in New York -- that is keeping them strong.

For now, the tumor in her eye is "dead," according to Candace, who runs her family of six with a quiet dignity and strength.

The tumor was put to sleep by three initial chemotherapy treatments, and has been monitored through the constant checkups.

Any decision to remove their daughter's eye -- a common option for those with retinoblastoma -- will wait until she is old enough to tell them how much she can see with that eye.

Initially, they thought her vision there was 10%. There are some signs that it has improved to 40%.

"As long as the tumor isn't getting any bigger, we'll just wait until she can tell us how it's affecting her," Fisher says. "We want to give her every possible chance to keep the eye."

In the meantime, the game is his refuge, the one thing he can control, one of the few 48-minute segments of his life that makes sense.

"I get scared sometimes," Fisher says. "Then I get around my teammates and, it's like, my sanctuary. For two or three hours, I have peace of mind."

Her eyes are his eyes.

It would be nice to say that he can use them to look up at Tatum in the stands during games.

But because she associates crowds with discomfort -- thanks to all the doctors and nurses who have surrounded her -- she's not happy at Staples Center, and has attended only two games.

It would also be nice to say that an NBA championship could make everything right, but it won't come close.

"We do what we have to do to keep Tatum first and foremost in our lives, she's our priority," Candace says. "What Derek is doing with the Lakers is very important, but [when] that's finished, we're waiting for the day when he can be home all the time."

He has thought about it. He'll keep thinking about it. But for now he's thinking about continuing to give his daughter the gift of the fight.

"Ten years from now, I want her to be able to see how she handled this, how she battled this, how special she is," he says, looking into the distance, faintly smiling. "Yeah, I want her to see it."
 
NBA Player’s Daughter Diagnosed With Retinoblastoma
Posted by admin in Health (Sunday May 13, 2007 at 6:00 pm)

retinoblastoma.JPG


Tatum Fisher, the 10-month old daughter of Utah Jazz’s Derek Fisher, is in a New York hospital with a rare but serious tumor in her eye.</p> <p>Tatum was diagnosed last week with retinoblastoma, a cancerous tumor in her left eye.Salt Lake City - Tatum Fisher, the 10-month old daughter of Utah Jazz’s Derek Fisher, is in a New York hospital with a rare but serious tumor in her eye.

Tatum was diagnosed last week with retinoblastoma, a cancerous tumor in her left eye.

Soon after discovering the tumor, Fisher flew with his family to see a specialist in New York.

Fisher and his wife must decide on a course of treatment for their daughter. Their options are removal of the eye or a combination of surgery and chemotherapy. Their most pressing goal is to save Tatum’s life. They also want to save her eye. And they think in her case, she should be able to keep her eye.

Tatum’s condition was first noticed by her mother who detected an odd reflection of light coming from her eye. The Fishers took her to a few doctors and then a pediatrician at the University of Utah who diagnosed the problem. Brother Drew has no signs of the condition.

Doctors at New York Presbyterian Hospital performed a procedure on the baby girl in which they injected chemotherapy drugs directly into the tumor hoping to shrink it. If three such surgeries do not shrink the tumor to the point where it can be removed, then the little girl will lose her eye altogether.

“My wife and I definitely plan to try and help as many people as we can,” Fisher said. “I don’t know how we’ll be able to at this point. If there’s a treatment out there, they should be able to get it. Some people can’t afford to get it. Some people don’t have the resources.

“They’ve done nine cases,” Fisher said. “(In) one case the child’s arterial structure wasn’t strong enough, but the other eight kids that had the treatment, all of their tumors have reduced in size.”

It is estimated that 1 in 15,000 to 1 in 30,000 infants in North America are born with retinoblastoma, making it the most common childhood eye cancer.
 
NBA star risks everything for daughter’s health
Derek Fisher walked away from $21-million contract, but is playing again

Today show
By Mike Celizic
TODAYShow.com contributor
updated 11:35 a.m. ET, Mon., July. 23, 2007

Not many people would risk leaving almost $21 million on the table in order to get their child a few hundred miles closer to medical care that she might not even need.

But that’s exactly what NBA star Derek Fisher did for his infant daughter, Tatum, who is battling a rare form of cancer in her left eye.

In an exclusive interview, Fisher told TODAY co-host Matt Lauer why he feels he made the only decision he could when he asked the Utah Jazz and the league to release him from his lucrative contract after his daughter was diagnosed with retinoblastoma this spring.
Story continues below ↓advertisement

“I think the decision was easier because it’s about Tatum, and it’s about my family,” the veteran guard told Lauer on Monday. “I think that the faith that I have in God, and the faith that I have in things always working out as they should, I felt confident that we’d be okay as a family."

A second opinion
Tatum's illness was discovered after Fisher’s wife, Candace, suspected something was wrong when she noticed that the baby’s left eye seemed to glow when looked at from certain angles.

In April, Tatum was diagnosed with retinoblastoma, a cancer so rare that only about 300 children in the United States are diagnosed with it each year.

The first advice the couple got was to have Tatum’s eye removed. The Fishers weren’t willing to do that.

A second doctor suggested a procedure so new that it was still in the clinical-trial stage of testing. Tatum was operated on at New York Presbyterian Hospital in May, with the Jazz in the semifinals of the NBA playoffs. Fisher missed Game 1 against the Golden State Warriors to be at Tatum’s bedside before and after the surgery.

He made it back barely in time to suit up for Game 2, revealing why he had been absent only after he had hit the game-winning basket for the Jazz (which ultimately lost the series).

After the surgery, Tatum had no vision in the eye, but Fisher has said that she should regain some vision — perhaps 15 percent. Fisher asked to be released from his contract so he could be closer to one of the hospitals that could best monitor Tatum’s progress.

Fisher’s decision to walk away from his contract might be a major one for many people, but he felt it was his duty as Tatum's dad to do whatever he had to do to make sure she got the best possible medical care. He did not consider it a gamble.

”I don’t feel that basketball is the only way to make a living,” he went on. “I feel like I’m capable of doing so many things to help people around the country and around the world. I felt confident I could make the decision not knowing what was to come.”

Everything is working out, so far. Tatum’s surgery was successful and she’s completed three rounds of chemotherapy. Now, the 1-year old will be monitored by doctors in case the cancer returns.

As for Fisher, who left the Jazz on July 2, he is now the newest member of the L.A. Lakers, who will pay him $14 million for the next three years of his services.

‘You just work it out’
The next three years are key for the Fisher family as a whole, as that is when the rare type of cancer Tatum developed typically appears in children. Tatum’s twin brother, Drew, has a greater chance of developing the disease because his sister had it, but so far he has tested negative for it, Fisher said.

The family’s two older children, Marshal and Chloe, are not in danger.

Lauer asked if perhaps the decision was easier for Fisher to make than it would have been for a player just starting his career and trying to achieve the financial security that Fisher has been able to provide for his family.

“Probably so,” Fisher replied. “I think that early in your career, when you’re trying to establish yourself, you’re trying to set up that financial security for you and your family, it’s more difficult.

“I think at this point in my career, and in my life, really, not just as a basketball player but as a man, more than anything — learning how to be a husband and learning how to be a father —those are the sacrifices you make for your family, and you just work it out.”
 
NBC News video
Derek Fisher's quest to help daughter
July 23: Interview with the basketball player who asked to be released from his $20.6 million dollar contract to care for his baby, who has cancer.

<iframe height="339" width="425" src="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22425001/vp/19912776#19912776" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>
 
For Fisher, Cheers, Tears And Boos
By Michael Wilbon
Friday, May 9, 2008; Page E01

LOS ANGELES

You wouldn't think the compassion extended so lovingly to Derek Fisher and his family that magical night a year ago could be conditionally tied to a jersey. You wouldn't think folks could choose basketball over a family's inspirational fight against its baby girl's cancer. But it came to that just six months later when thousands of Utah Jazz fans booed Fisher because he dared return as a Laker, because a search for the best medical care for his daughter led him from Salt Lake City back to Los Angeles.

One can only wonder what the reaction will be Friday night in Salt Lake City when Fisher takes the court for the Lakers in Game 3 of their playoff series against the Jazz. "I think it'll be as crazy and hostile an environment as I have ever played in . . . ever in my career," Fisher said. "And I don't know how much of it will be personal. . . . I think me coming back will have some impact on how they handle themselves. It'll be interesting to see. I was just told that Friday's Game 3 will be one year to the date of the game that I came back to play in last year. Talk about not being able to plan everything in life. . . . There's no way that's an accident. I'm sure there will be a lot of emotion in the building that night."

It was exactly a year ago that Fisher flew from New York to Salt Lake City following one of his daughter Tatum's treatments for a cancerous tumor of the retina, rushed to the arena and led a playoff victory over Golden State, complete with a dramatic three-point shot in overtime. People cried and hugged and pledged their support to the Fishers. But after seeking permission from the Jazz to examine relocating to a community closer to the best doctors and facilities for Tatum's continued treatment, Fisher chose Los Angeles, where he had been a member of three championship Lakers teams at the start of the decade. And this was a problem because they hate the Lakers in Utah.

So when the Lakers came to Salt Lake City on Nov. 30, Fisher was booed, as if May 9, 2007, had never happened.

So much for Fisher leading the critical victory that pushed the Jazz to the Western Conference finals or for Tatum's health. Kobe Bryant, close friends with Fisher throughout their careers, thought back to Fisher's determination to play that night after the long flight from New York on what had already been a draining day. Kobe text-messaged Fisher in New York. "I asked him," Bryant said, " 'Are you gonna play?' And he said, 'I'm gonna give it a go. I think I owe it to the people in Utah because when I arrived here they welcomed my family and me with open arms. I owe it to them to go out and perform.' And he made that huge, huge shot and he just played his heart out. And now the first time we go back there these people have the nerve to boo him. It just set me off."

In a conversation with ESPN, Fisher was his usual measured self, though clearly bothered by the reaction to his first return to Salt Lake City. "To think about it now, a year removed from what we experienced and what Tatum went through, how much stronger we are as a family, how much better she's doing, its amazing that that can happen in one year," he said.

"It was a difficult thing to grasp or understand, in terms of what was it that the fans didn't quite understand about our story as a family. There were plenty of articles and stories about what took place and why. When you hear about a family experiencing cancer or any serious illness there is no point to judge any professional move or personal decision that's made in terms of improving the quality of life."

Fisher isn't painting everybody in Utah with the same broad stroke.

"I got a letter from a lady who was our real estate agent in Salt Lake City," he said. "She and her husband treated us like family the year we were there. She attached a newspaper article from one of the local newspapers that basically said it was the wrong time for Jazz fans to boo. She wanted me to know from her husband as well as from the writer and other Jazz fans that those fans that were booing are not speaking for everyone in that community. So it was good to receive some of that feedback."

Still, we're not talking about a handful of boos. "It hurt," Fisher said. "It threw me off. I'm really tough mentally, resilient, in terms of road games and being able to deal with the crowd. [But] that particular night it was an out-of-body type experience, similar [and opposite] to the one I had before . . . I couldn't shake myself out of it. I felt really bad that I couldn't help us make a better effort in that game." (The Lakers lost by 24 with Fisher missing 7 of 8 shots.)

The central issue, while nothing excuses the insensitivity, is that a good many folks believe Fisher used his daughter's illness to orchestrate his way out of Utah and back to Los Angeles.

Never mind that Fisher was acting on the advice of his doctors in New York. Never mind that he wound up leaving "$6.5, 7 million on the table" to leave the Jazz. Reason took a back seat to a misguided civic pride, where a father somehow becomes a treasonous villain for using his every resource to care for his daughter.

"If we can agree that my daughter has a cancerous tumor in her eye. . . . at that point whatever I choose to do that's best for her, it doesn't really matter where I work, who I work for, what type of job I have," he said. "Those are personal and private matters or decisions . . . I guess because I have a public career . . . obviously people feel that they can speak out or have an opinion about it. . . . The Lakers were an afterthought . . . after the city of L.A. was chosen. Our doctors in New York gave us five cities that he felt comfortable with.

"So initially," he said, "there were calls made from the Jazz about doing a trade to one of these teams in these particular cities, and once that couldn't happen, I said, 'Look, give my family and I the chance to make this [decision] ourselves.' Even if [the Jazz had] traded me to Memphis or Miami, San Francisco, it doesn't necessarily mean that we are going to feel comfortable in that city with those doctors and those medical professionals, as great as they may be."

Once the decision was made to move to L.A., there was still no guarantee he would play for the Lakers. In fact, Fisher began talks with the Clippers. Forgotten in all this is that Fisher re-joined a Lakers team that was involved in talks to trade Bryant, a team that lost in the first round of the playoffs for the second straight season.

The Lakers were as likely to miss the playoffs as qualify, while the Jazz had a team that was coming off a trip to the conference finals, helped there by Fisher.

Fans usually aren't logical, but Fisher is. He's one of the most respected players in the league, one defined by his work ethic. Fisher has played in all 82 games five times in the last six seasons.

He is exactly what ought to be applauded in every NBA arena.

It is probably just as well Tatum is too young to know anything about this. Fisher said his daughter is, "doing great. She will be 2, as well as her twin brother, on June 29. And it's amazing to see her every day and see the things she's into, and having fun, and you can tell a little bit what she's been through, but she's doing great."

As usual, the children are way, way ahead of the adults.
 
Jazz Notes:
The Utah Jazz and NBA by Ross Siler and Steve Luhm

Boos for Fisher quite surprising
Like Derek Fisher, I was surprised at how boisterously he was booed during Friday night's Jazz-Laker game at EnergySolutions Arena.
Fisher politely declined to comment on the fans' reaction to his return to Utah, but the expression on his face and his tone spoke volumes.
Last summer, the Jazz released Fisher from his contract so he could find a team in a city where his young daughter could receive specialized treatment for a rare form of eye cancer, which was diagnosed during the playoffs.
Less than three weeks after becoming a free agent, Fisher signed with the Lakers, apparently creating some ill will among Jazz fans who believe he used his daughter's illness as a way of getting out of Utah.
They recall his initial lack of enthusiasm after learning of being traded to the Jazz, they point out that the Huntsman Cancer Institute is one of the world's outstanding medical facilities, and they wonder how happy Fisher was playing out of his natural position -- point guard -- while Deron Williams emerged as a franchise cornerstone.
Listening to Fisher after the Jazz's 120-95 win, however, I will pass along my impressions.
Fisher was genuinely hurt by the fans' booing. It was not the reaction of a player guilty of treasonous behavior toward a franchise, only one who did what he thought was best for his little girl.
I think Fisher expected a warm reception.
Instead, he was hit the face with an unexpected snowball.
I asked Fisher how his daughter, Tatum, is progressing.
Smiling for the only time during a 10-minute interview with the media, he said, "She's doing wonderful [and] I'm just thankful. When I think back to where we were when we first got the diagnosis and what we were faced with 17 months ago and where we are now ...
"[She is] just truly a bundle of joy that brings a smile to my face. And that's what life is about, you know? We get caught up in other things more than we should at times, when all that really matters at the end of the day is your family and your loved ones. She's just doing great."
I think that response was intended for those who booed.
 
Hey, Derek, those boos are personal
By Lee Benson
Deseret Morning News
Published: Wednesday, March 19, 2008 12:22 a.m. MDT

According to a report published Sunday in the Sacramento Bee, former Utah Jazz guard Derek Fisher, who will be in EnergySolutions Arena Thursday as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, is bothered by the boos he hears when he returns to Utah.

Fisher told Bee sports writer Scott Howard-Cooper that it is upsetting that people don't treat him personally:

"As much as you'd like to think as a player that people have a certain connection with you personally or have a certain feeling about who you are as a person, at the end of the day, when you don't play for that team anymore, they don't care about that for the most part."

It is difficult to overstate how far that statement is off the mark, but let's try.

If a good shooter like, say, Derek Fisher, were to stand on the beach and miss the ocean, that might be close.

The reason Jazz fans roundly booed Fisher on his first visit to Utah in November, and why they are expected to follow suit Thursday, is precisely because it is personal.

His statement that the fans don't relate to him personally is as deceptive as his departure last summer when he got the Jazz to release him outright because he needed to move to a place where his daughter's cancer could be treated — and then quickly signed with the Lakers.

You wonder why he didn't share that part of the story with Howard-Cooper.

Few athletes in this state's history have developed a more personal relationship with sports fans than Fisher last year during the playoffs when his infant daughter's cancer was revealed. The Jazz franchise bent over backward to accommodate his needs, and the fans did everything but wrap the Fishers in a warm blanket.

When Fisher returned from the hospital in New York just in time for the final few minutes of a playoff game with Golden State, checked into the game and hit a three, he could have run for mayor, governor and prophet and won at least two out of three.

Who cared if the three wasn't the game-winner? It was a shot, and a moment, locked away forever in Jazz lore.

Then two months later he was gone, ostensibly for all the right reasons, which is why Jazz owner Larry H. Miller, the man who cries at the start of a movie — maybe the most personable sports owner in history — agreed to Fisher's outright release.

It was only later that Miller, along with the rest of us, realized we were holding title to the Brooklyn Bridge.

Fisher doesn't get booed in L.A., and why should he? There, he's a key component on a team once again at the top of the NBA.

For the same reason, Carlos Boozer doesn't get booed in Utah. Only when Boozer returns to Cleveland, where he sucker-punched the Cavs, do the boos come out.

And at that, Boozer's fake-and-go was more honorable than Fisher's. Once he got Cleveland to release him, with the Cavs expecting Boozer to repay the favor by re-signing with them, he was completely above-board about going to the highest bidder.

At least he conducted his betrayal without deception in open daylight.

Unlike Fisher, who to this day continues to feign ignorance as to the real reason fans don't like him here.:eek:
 
A reaction to the comments above:

Jazz Fans Make Up False Reasons to Boo Derek Fisher

Brett EdwardsPosted Mar 19th 2008 1:50PM by Brett Edwards
Filed under: Lakers, NBA Gossip, NBA Media Watch, Jazz

There's this article in today's Deseret Morning News that I completely don't understand, so if you're a Jazz fan, go ahead and try to explain it to me. Basically, it starts off by quoting Derek Fisher as saying he's bothered by the boos he receives when he returns to play in Utah, even though he was the playoff poster boy for everything good about the Jazz (and largely, the NBA) last season.


Fisher, you may remember, left the Jazz during the playoffs to accompany his baby daughter during her treatment of a cancerous tumor. After the season, Fisher asked the team to release him so he could sign with a team in a city where there was a treatment center located. Seems fairly straightforward to me, though according to Lee Benson, there was something disingenuous about this, and thus Jazz fans are justified in booing Fisher. Huh?

The reason Jazz fans roundly booed Fisher on his first visit to Utah in November, and why they are expected to follow suit Thursday, is precisely because it is personal.

His statement that the fans don't relate to him personally is as deceptive as his departure last summer when he got the Jazz to release him outright because he needed to move to a place where his daughter's cancer could be treated - and then quickly signed with the Lakers.
Click to expand...

Laker-hating is one thing, but this is ridiculous. Because Fisher signed with the Lakers he somehow lied to the Jazz about his intentions? Logic apparently isn't a required course in Utah. After the jump, more quotes that have no basis in reality.


As if this (totally incorrect) assumption that Fisher wanted out just to screw the Jazz over by returning to the Lakers wasn't enough, Benson goes on to compare Fisher's situation with the circumstances that surrounded Carlos Boozer's departure from the Cavaliers.

Only when Boozer returns to Cleveland, where he sucker-punched the Cavs, do the boos come out.

And at that, Boozer's fake-and-go was more honorable than Fisher's. Once he got Cleveland to release him, with the Cavs expecting Boozer to repay the favor by re-signing with them, he was completely above-board about going to the highest bidder.

At least he conducted his betrayal without deception in open daylight.
Click to expand...

What? No he didn't. Boozer is booed in Cleveland because it's widely believed that he stabbed a blind man in the back (Cavs' owner Gordon Gund) by breaking his (secret, illegal) back room deal with the team after telling them he would resign with them if they released him from his contract. He did nothing "above board" here, yet he's practically canonized because he's a current member of the Jazz. Fisher, on the other hand, is cast as a villain for wanting to play in a non-hick town that can accommodate treating his daughter's serious and life threatening illness. Gee, what an A-hole Fisher is. BOO!


This article makes absolutely no sense. I urge you to read it all the way through, because only then will you see how truly convoluted the piece actually is.
 
From a Utah Jazz fan's Blog:

Derek Fisher. The man. The controversy.

What's up sports fans. I was sure that the Jazz were going to play with some intensity in Game 2 and come out with a split in LA. Then I woke up. Reality sucks. There is a topic looming out in cyberspace that I want to address.

Wow now that is some intense writing. Put me on the record as saying that Derek Fisher is an amazing father and person. He has played out his career almost without a flaw. Almost. As a soon to be father I can't imagine the sleepless nights and anxiety filled doctor visits that Fish has had to endure. It's something you wouldn't wish on your own enemy. Even a Laker.

Fish did some amazing things for the Jazz organization and matured one of the best young point guards in the league. His mentorship to Deron Williams was invaluable. He taught him how to deal with the media, how to deal with a tough coach, and how to become a leader. Jazz fans should be very grateful for what he turned D-Will into. He also provided us with a Jazz moment that will live in infamy. When I hear the replay of him entering the game after coming straight from the airport, the fans going nuts, there was electricity in the air. I still get goosebumps when he hits that three and the ESA erupts. One of the greatest Jazz moments...no...one of the greatest NBA moments in the past decade. He showed us that the NBA has a human side.

Thanks D.Fish for an amazing night.

That being said, Laker fans need to back off Jazz fans for the booing of Fish in SLC. I wasn't at the Staples Center when Golden State returned for the first time after Fisher left for the big contract. I am not sure how the crowd reacted. I'm told by Lakers fans that there was a tribute video and standing ovation. Good for you guys. He played there 8 seasons and deserved it. But you certainly weren't cheering for him. Because if you were, you were cheering for the opposing team.

You weren't booing the man who hit 0.4.

You weren't booing the man who helped bring rings to the City of Los Angeles. You were booing the man in the other jersey. The man who left to Oakland for a bigger paycheck and a chance to start. You were booing a Golden State Warrior.

Put yourselves in a Utah Jazz fans' shoes. Fisher had brought you to the highest of highs, only to leave to your rival. Utah embraced Derek Fisher. Fans adored him. He was the perfect fit into "the Jazz system". It was perfect.

Just weeks after the Jazz season ended against the Spurs, a press conference was held. Was Derek Fisher going to retire and commit all his time to his ailing daughter? That is what we all figured would happen. Instead, Larry Miller and the Jazz brass took the highest road you can in professional sports. They let a man who signed by the X on a contract walk away from his own signature. Without a second thought. He turned down 6.5 million dollars to do so. He needed to be closer to proper health care for his daughter Tatum who would require numerous visits to a cancer center in New York.

Where would he go? Knicks? Sixers? Nets? Lakers? Heat? Wait. Did you just say Lakers? Sounded fishy the moment you read it. Didn't it? It did to me and countless other Jazz fans. We knew Derek Fisher loved LA. It was his home for the majority of his career. What a slap in the face to have him choose his old town over his "new" town. It hurt. It hurt bad.

It's hurt like the girl who you took to the dance in high school, only to have her dance a few quick dances with you as she stared at the door waiting for the football stud to walk in the door. And when he did? Boom. She was gone.

So when you saw her at school on Monday and you give her the cold shoulder, she shouldn't be surprised. No matter what the relationship you had with her, the boiling blood running through your veins would take time to simmer down. But it would pass.

And so it was with Derek Fisher. The blood was still boiling in Jazz fans veins when Fisher returned for the first time. We booed him. And goodness, we booed him BAD. Like nothing he had ever seen. It felt good too. Let it all out Jazz fans.

And so it was. Lakers fans need to chill out. LA Times writers need to get over it. Don't expect Fisher to get booed the way he did on his initial return. Our blood has simmered down. Yes, we've grown up. But be warned that he will get booed, so will Kobe, Gasol, Phil and the rest of the dark side. The story in the LA Times was emotional and well written. But stop ragging on Jazz fans for booing. The guy is in a Lakers uniform for heavens sake. We don't like the Lakers. We didn't like Karl Malone as a Laker. Derek Fisher is no different. We loved what he did for us as a Jazz man, but his success as a Laker means nothing to us.

So bring out the Boo Birds on Friday and let's remind the Lakers that we are the most vicious crowd in the NBA. Let's remind them that this series will be tied 2-2 the next time they step foot on the shiny Staples Center floor. Let's remind them that the Utah Jazz are not done and will not go away without a fight.
 
Fisher has always been one of my favorite players. Honestly, I believe the Lakers would have been an 8th seed or not even make the playoffs if Fisher wasn't on the squad.
 
Jazz notes: Boozer, Williams defend former teammate Fisher's decision
By Ross Siler
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated: 05/10/2008 12:32:35 AM MDT

If he was upset when Derek Fisher asked to be released by Utah and signed with the Lakers last July, Jazz coach Jerry Sloan wasn't letting on Friday, the one-year anniversary of Fisher's heroics in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals.
"When he walked out the door, I have no control," Sloan said, adding, "We could have dropped down a great deal, but I thought we held in there and played pretty well because of guys wanting to try to make themselves better."
With Fisher having been booed in his return to EnergySolutions Arena on Nov. 30, Carlos Boozer and Deron Williams both defended their former teammate, saying he left for the right reasons to care for his infant daughter, stricken with a rare form of eye cancer.
"It's not like he just didn't want to be on this team," Williams said. "He had more important things to take care of. His family's more important, his daughter's more important. I think they're more booing him because he's a Laker than because of anything."
 
man fuck utah. bunch of BIOTCHES.

that mans daughter has a serious condition.

one look at her eye and its clear that this shit is beyond serious.

do you derek, fuck them bitches man, half them bitch ass niggas wouldnt even say that shit to his face.

i wish him and his family well, and i hope his daughter is ok.

and that fan.....that fan is the reason why i dont mind the detroit - indiana melee. fans like that deserve they asses whupped and castration with a rusty aids coated blade.
 
I can understand why some fans may be upset, but the asshole in the picture above has disgusted me to no end. Not only is booing not enough for him, but he has to taunt Fisher with sophomoric gestures like putting a hand over one eye. How pathetic.
 
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