Andrew Bynum Apologizes For Dirty Hit, Says It Doesn't Represent Him

Andrew Bynum apologized for his flagrant foul on J.J. Barea in the waning minutes of the Los Angeles Lakers' embarrassing loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday.

"My actions ... don't represent me, my upbringing, this franchise or any of the Laker fans out there that want to watch us and want us to succeed," Bynum said. "Furthermore, and more importantly, I want to actually apologize to J.J. Barea for doing that. I'm just glad that he wasn't seriously injured in the event and all I can say is, I've looked at [the replay], it's terrible and it definitely won't be happening again."

That's good. But the actions "don't represent me" ... oh, really?

Andrew Bynum vs. Gerald Wallace, January 2009.

Andrew Bynum vs. Michael Beasley, March 2011. (Yes, two months ago.)

Bynum earned two games off for that hit on Beasley, one which knocked the Timberwolf out of the game. Wallace ended up in the hospital after being crushed by Bynum in 2009. Barea managed to get back up and continue in the game, but could have been hurt much worse than either Wallace or Beasley, on a play almost identical to the Beasley hit, except executed in a decided game with reckless abandon.

But the dirty hits, they don't represent Bynum. Riiiiiiight.

C.A. Clark at Silver Screen And Roll has some really good thoughts on Bynum and these hits.

Andrew Bynum is different, because his frustration is unleashed with a dose of recklessness that is completely and totally unacceptable. A big part of this is Andrew's size. Drew's act of frustration is different than Jason Terry's, because Jason Terry is a rock, and Andrew Bynum is a mountain. It might seem unfair to you that Bynum must regulate his actions to a greater degree than those who are smaller than him, but with great size comes great responsibility. There's a damn good reason why the U.S. government has entire military units and bases guarding nuclear missiles while their handguns sit in lightly secured warehouses. Capability to do damage matters, and Drew has shown the capability to do a great deal of damage.