Black Dynamite
03-28-2006, 10:50 PM
Pistons Rap
Jekyll & Hyde
Rasheed anything but nasty off court
Joanne C. Gerstner / The Detroit News
Advertisement
Click here to enter to win tickets to this month's movie
Clarence Tabb Jr./The Detroit News
Wallace joins his mother, Jackie (left), and his wife, Fatima, at the ribbon cutting for Kettering's resource center. go See full image
Rasheed Wallace doesn't care what you think.
On the court he's intense, focused and ready to scrap and argue about anything he thinks isn't going his or the Pistons' way. Fans in other cities see Wallace as a whiner, a technical foul magnet, a bad boy who came home to roost.
But there is another side to Wallace few see. Off the court he's easygoing, friendly, family oriented, funny, sensitive and generous.
"On the court, it's not my job to be nice," Wallace said. "People might see how intense I am and think I'm a bad, bad man. But off the court, I'm just a laid-back, everyday person. I just have never had a need to let people see that. I don't need to go around and make a big deal showing people that I'm not what they think I am.
"I'm at work (during games). People get mad at their co-workers or their boss or whatever. And people mostly see me at work, because it's on TV. But that doesn't mean that's only who I am."
Those closest to Wallace -- his wife Fatima and mother Jackie -- want him to come out of his shell a bit off the court. They see the real Rasheed every day and would love for the world to see him the way they do.
"It makes me mad when people assume that he's an angry or mean person," Fatima said. "That makes them look really, really stupid. It gets to him sometimes. There is so much hate in people. And jealousy.
"When people are hating on you, no matter what you do it's going to come at you, and that's the way the world goes. Because of that, I think Rasheed shuts down. He thinks, 'You can think what you want to think. The people who love me know me and that's all I need. I don't need any more. I'm not trying to make friends. I've got my family, I've got the ones who really care about me.' "
Changing roles
It's no secret Wallace, before coming to Detroit in a multiteam trade Feb. 19, 2004, carried a certain reputation.
Nobody disputed his talent: a rare mix of size, long-range shooting touch, defense and, when he wants, an inside game.
But uttering the name Rasheed Wallaceconjured up other images to NBA fans: a player who got in trouble for arguing with referees, hundreds of technical fouls, somebody who seemed angry all the time.
His former team, the Trail Blazers, was known as the "Jailblazers" for the degree of trouble the players encountered.
Fatima recalls those days with some anger and sadness, seeing a different side to the events that created her husband's reputation.
"In the West, it's different, the people are really different," said Fatima, who has been married to Wallace since 1998. "They don't want you to be you. It's like they told him, you're getting paid, you're an entertainer, so here's your role. That's the way they did him. They wanted him to be bad, so he was bad. They didn't want Rasheed Wallace to be nice."
Jackie Wallace understands her son. It's not only a mother-son thing, but a bit deeper. Jackie and Rasheed share personality traits, from stubborn determination to frank outspokenness.
She's also still stinging from the seven seasons in Portland.
"It was horrible, just horrible, and oh how I would love to say more," Jackie said, shaking her fists to show her frustration.
Fresh start
Coming to Detroit has been a fresh start for Wallace and his family. The slate was wiped clean. And a few months later, the Pistons won the NBA title and Wallace was positively woven into the city's sports history.
No longer was Wallace viewed simply as an obnoxious talent. Now he was a world champion.
"Everything has changed for us being in Detroit; the people here have opened their hearts," Fatima said. "It's been such a blessing for all of us because of how people are here. They're kind, they see Rasheed for who he his and they gave him a chance to be himself."
Fatima always has seen the potential in her husband, on and off the court. She's a pretty savvy judge of basketball, knowing full well what Wallace is capable of on the floor. And she's also a smart woman in terms of haircuts, encouraging Wallace to get a flattering close-crop last month.
Yes, hoops and haircuts do have a connection.
"I tell him I am not saying this because you are my husband. 'There are many good players in the NBA, but you are one of the best,' " Fatima said. " 'You are very, very gifted. Don't ever throw away your gift. You have got to make the most of what you have. Don't ever settle for less. Reach for it. Because you don't ever want to say I could have done this or that. Do it. You can't go back. Whatever it is you want to do, reach for it right now.'
" 'How many people can actually say they were the best, a champion? Not too many people, and you are one of them.' "
Fatima uses other methods to encourage Rasheed.
"I make him sign a contract, I write it before games, 'Rasheed has to score 20 or more points,' " Fatima said. "If not, there will be no dinner. (She laughs.)
"He needs a challenge to get that fire in his eyes. If he doesn't have that spark if he's not burning hot, it's too easy for him."
True colors
Wallace is laid-back at home, frequently playing video games with or without his four kids. Fatima likes to joke about having five children to raise, given Wallace's love for being goofy and loud.
Nazir, 8, thinks he's already a better basketball player than dad. Rashida, 2, the couple's only daughter, gets her daddy to sit down for tea parties. Fatima loves watching Wallace trying to delicately hold the tiny teacup by the handle with his big fingers.
Jackie and Fatima see the soft spot Rasheed has for kids as a way to get him to open up more.
The Rasheed Wallace Foundation has been funding basketball camps and literacy centers, and running coat drives and other events to help kids and families. Wallace's foundation has run these projects in Portland, his native Philadelphia, and Detroit.
He spent $16,000 on Sheed's Squad tickets for Pistons tickets in 2004, according to his foundation's tax return. He gave the tickets away to kids and families.
Wallace has been involved with Detroit Kettering High the past two years, challenging freshmen and sophomores to get good grades, read books and have strong citizenship. He recently helped renovate Kettering's library with new computers, books and furniture.
Kettering principal Willie Howard learned Wallace is different from what she frequently sees on TV. She wasn't sure what to expect when his foundation called to get involved in the school, but she took a chance on the relationship.
"Some people who are stars are very arrogant; they aren't real," Howard said. "Some stars just write a check, never come, but say they were involved. Rasheed is real to these kids. They can see and touch him."
"Last year, we went out to GameWorks and it was during the playoffs. He was so tired You could tell. But he still came out there to see the kids, took that commitment very seriously."
Public eye
Last week Wallace walked around the Kettering library with a big smile, delighting in the surprised reaction from the students.
"It's definitely a pleasure seeing all of this and hopefully the kids will get great use out of it," Wallace said. "It's more memorable to do things like this than winning basketball games, even though that's my job.
"We really do it from the heart -- my wife, my mother, my brothers, we do it from the heart."
Jackie and Fatima also enjoyed the moment at Kettering, but for different reasons. They loved seeing Wallace laugh, joke and be happy, in public, for the whole world to see.
"Look at him," Fatima said, gazing across the room. "He's smiled more in the last 10 minutes than he does in a whole game. And look at all the people around him. They're getting to talk to the real Rasheed."
You can reach Joanne C. Gerstner at joanne.gerstner@detnews.com.
More Pistons-NBA Headlines
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060328/SPORTS0102/603280352/1127
Jekyll & Hyde
Rasheed anything but nasty off court
Joanne C. Gerstner / The Detroit News
Advertisement
Click here to enter to win tickets to this month's movie
Clarence Tabb Jr./The Detroit News
Wallace joins his mother, Jackie (left), and his wife, Fatima, at the ribbon cutting for Kettering's resource center. go See full image
Rasheed Wallace doesn't care what you think.
On the court he's intense, focused and ready to scrap and argue about anything he thinks isn't going his or the Pistons' way. Fans in other cities see Wallace as a whiner, a technical foul magnet, a bad boy who came home to roost.
But there is another side to Wallace few see. Off the court he's easygoing, friendly, family oriented, funny, sensitive and generous.
"On the court, it's not my job to be nice," Wallace said. "People might see how intense I am and think I'm a bad, bad man. But off the court, I'm just a laid-back, everyday person. I just have never had a need to let people see that. I don't need to go around and make a big deal showing people that I'm not what they think I am.
"I'm at work (during games). People get mad at their co-workers or their boss or whatever. And people mostly see me at work, because it's on TV. But that doesn't mean that's only who I am."
Those closest to Wallace -- his wife Fatima and mother Jackie -- want him to come out of his shell a bit off the court. They see the real Rasheed every day and would love for the world to see him the way they do.
"It makes me mad when people assume that he's an angry or mean person," Fatima said. "That makes them look really, really stupid. It gets to him sometimes. There is so much hate in people. And jealousy.
"When people are hating on you, no matter what you do it's going to come at you, and that's the way the world goes. Because of that, I think Rasheed shuts down. He thinks, 'You can think what you want to think. The people who love me know me and that's all I need. I don't need any more. I'm not trying to make friends. I've got my family, I've got the ones who really care about me.' "
Changing roles
It's no secret Wallace, before coming to Detroit in a multiteam trade Feb. 19, 2004, carried a certain reputation.
Nobody disputed his talent: a rare mix of size, long-range shooting touch, defense and, when he wants, an inside game.
But uttering the name Rasheed Wallaceconjured up other images to NBA fans: a player who got in trouble for arguing with referees, hundreds of technical fouls, somebody who seemed angry all the time.
His former team, the Trail Blazers, was known as the "Jailblazers" for the degree of trouble the players encountered.
Fatima recalls those days with some anger and sadness, seeing a different side to the events that created her husband's reputation.
"In the West, it's different, the people are really different," said Fatima, who has been married to Wallace since 1998. "They don't want you to be you. It's like they told him, you're getting paid, you're an entertainer, so here's your role. That's the way they did him. They wanted him to be bad, so he was bad. They didn't want Rasheed Wallace to be nice."
Jackie Wallace understands her son. It's not only a mother-son thing, but a bit deeper. Jackie and Rasheed share personality traits, from stubborn determination to frank outspokenness.
She's also still stinging from the seven seasons in Portland.
"It was horrible, just horrible, and oh how I would love to say more," Jackie said, shaking her fists to show her frustration.
Fresh start
Coming to Detroit has been a fresh start for Wallace and his family. The slate was wiped clean. And a few months later, the Pistons won the NBA title and Wallace was positively woven into the city's sports history.
No longer was Wallace viewed simply as an obnoxious talent. Now he was a world champion.
"Everything has changed for us being in Detroit; the people here have opened their hearts," Fatima said. "It's been such a blessing for all of us because of how people are here. They're kind, they see Rasheed for who he his and they gave him a chance to be himself."
Fatima always has seen the potential in her husband, on and off the court. She's a pretty savvy judge of basketball, knowing full well what Wallace is capable of on the floor. And she's also a smart woman in terms of haircuts, encouraging Wallace to get a flattering close-crop last month.
Yes, hoops and haircuts do have a connection.
"I tell him I am not saying this because you are my husband. 'There are many good players in the NBA, but you are one of the best,' " Fatima said. " 'You are very, very gifted. Don't ever throw away your gift. You have got to make the most of what you have. Don't ever settle for less. Reach for it. Because you don't ever want to say I could have done this or that. Do it. You can't go back. Whatever it is you want to do, reach for it right now.'
" 'How many people can actually say they were the best, a champion? Not too many people, and you are one of them.' "
Fatima uses other methods to encourage Rasheed.
"I make him sign a contract, I write it before games, 'Rasheed has to score 20 or more points,' " Fatima said. "If not, there will be no dinner. (She laughs.)
"He needs a challenge to get that fire in his eyes. If he doesn't have that spark if he's not burning hot, it's too easy for him."
True colors
Wallace is laid-back at home, frequently playing video games with or without his four kids. Fatima likes to joke about having five children to raise, given Wallace's love for being goofy and loud.
Nazir, 8, thinks he's already a better basketball player than dad. Rashida, 2, the couple's only daughter, gets her daddy to sit down for tea parties. Fatima loves watching Wallace trying to delicately hold the tiny teacup by the handle with his big fingers.
Jackie and Fatima see the soft spot Rasheed has for kids as a way to get him to open up more.
The Rasheed Wallace Foundation has been funding basketball camps and literacy centers, and running coat drives and other events to help kids and families. Wallace's foundation has run these projects in Portland, his native Philadelphia, and Detroit.
He spent $16,000 on Sheed's Squad tickets for Pistons tickets in 2004, according to his foundation's tax return. He gave the tickets away to kids and families.
Wallace has been involved with Detroit Kettering High the past two years, challenging freshmen and sophomores to get good grades, read books and have strong citizenship. He recently helped renovate Kettering's library with new computers, books and furniture.
Kettering principal Willie Howard learned Wallace is different from what she frequently sees on TV. She wasn't sure what to expect when his foundation called to get involved in the school, but she took a chance on the relationship.
"Some people who are stars are very arrogant; they aren't real," Howard said. "Some stars just write a check, never come, but say they were involved. Rasheed is real to these kids. They can see and touch him."
"Last year, we went out to GameWorks and it was during the playoffs. He was so tired You could tell. But he still came out there to see the kids, took that commitment very seriously."
Public eye
Last week Wallace walked around the Kettering library with a big smile, delighting in the surprised reaction from the students.
"It's definitely a pleasure seeing all of this and hopefully the kids will get great use out of it," Wallace said. "It's more memorable to do things like this than winning basketball games, even though that's my job.
"We really do it from the heart -- my wife, my mother, my brothers, we do it from the heart."
Jackie and Fatima also enjoyed the moment at Kettering, but for different reasons. They loved seeing Wallace laugh, joke and be happy, in public, for the whole world to see.
"Look at him," Fatima said, gazing across the room. "He's smiled more in the last 10 minutes than he does in a whole game. And look at all the people around him. They're getting to talk to the real Rasheed."
You can reach Joanne C. Gerstner at joanne.gerstner@detnews.com.
More Pistons-NBA Headlines
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060328/SPORTS0102/603280352/1127