I'm Sorry Frederic Weis

It all started on June 30, 1999, a day that will live in infamy. A short, bespectacled Jewish guy stepped up to a microphone somewhere and dropped the following: “With the 15^th pick in the 1999 NBA Draft the New York Knickerbockers select Frederic Weis, from France.”  Little did David Stern know that with those words he would put in motion such a series of unfortunate events that 16 years later still sting the heart of many a hoops fan. 

On that day in 1999 Frederic Weis was a 7’2” French dude that I am sure was pretty good at basketball.  But fickle New York sports fans had never heard of this French fella  and wanted someone else.  So they did what New Yorkers do when they are unhappy; they booed.  And booed, and booed.  And when the next pick by Indiana was Queens native Ron Artest/ Metta World Peace/ The Panda's Friend (it's basketball not rocket science), they went nuts.  Never mind that they missed out on NBA great Manu Ginobli who was picked later by the Spurs.  At that point Fred’s only hope was that he would turn into the reincarnation of Patrick Ewing.

Oh yeah and then this happened!  OUCH!

Yes ladies and gentleman you just watched probably the greatest dunk in the history of hoops (if you did not click on the link this is going to be tough sledding).  And who, pray tell, is Vince Carter posterizing in that year 2000 Olympic game?  Yes you guessed it, Mr Frederic!  No folks you do not need to set up an appointment with your optometrist; Carter did hurdle a seven footer, even if he did duck a little.  The French media dubbed that throw down “Le Dunk De La Mort “which around here translates to “The Dunk of Death.” Bad ass huh? What it did do besides making James Naismith roll over in his grave, was to kill Fred’s chances of an NBA career.  So Weis stayed in France and played 16 years in leagues there in what turned out to be a pretty respectable career, by French standards.  And we Knicks fans and everyone else kept watching Vince take his lunch money on YouTube and bemoaning the fact that the team drafted him in the first place.

Well this summer an article appeared on NYTimes.com ( nytimes.com-frederic-weis) that gave me pause.  In summary Fred is human, albeit a very large one.  He battled alcoholism and depression and ended up taking a whole bottle of sleeping pills one day at a rest stop.  His son was diagnosed with autism which was very tough on him and his wife.  Oh and he owns a cigarette store, no joke.  What, the “Dunk of Death” wasn’t enough suffering for one lifetime?

Maybe it’s the injustice collector in me but I am beginning to develop a soft spot for Mr. Weis. 

Infamy is a bitch!  And sixteen years of infamy is long enough for any man to endure. So today I want to offer a mea culpa of sorts for my behavior toward the big Frenchman.  After all they say that time heals all wounds (it doesn't) so why not give the guy a break?  It's time for me and the rest of  the Knicks Nation to move on.

Frederic, I am sorry for booing when you got drafted ahead of Crazy Ron. And for having a few pops and getting into arguments about the greatest dunks of all time; which always ended in endless replays of your schooling at the hands of Vince.  It sounds like your life has ended up OK in spite of your personal demons and family struggles.  I am glad for that and wish you luck!  You never would have turned out to be the next Ewing so maybe it was all for the best.  We Knicks fans have booed a lot of terrible drafts and sorry teams in the last 16 years since your day.  Maybe we are cursed by our anti-Fred hysteria.  After all, 1999 was the last year the Knickerbockers made it to the finals.  Frederic Weis 1- New York 0!