Just hours after being blasted by some after posting a video of himself golfing while still being ruled out of the the Los Angeles Lakers’ lineup because of a back injury, Steve Nash has penned a letter to the team’s fans.
“I definitely don’t want to be a distraction, but I felt it best everyone heard from me in my own words,” Nash wrote. “I have a ton of miles on my back. Three buldging disks (a tear in one), stenosis of the nerve route and spondylolisthesis. I suffer from sciatica and after games I often can’t sit in the car on the drive home, which has made for some interesting rides. Most nights I’m bothered by severe cramping in both calves while I sleep, a result of the same damn nerve routes, and the list goes on somewhat comically.”
Since the former two-time league MVP came to town in one of the franchise’s biggest deals in recent history, it’s been anything but good times for Lakers fans. A string of lingering injuries have keep the veteran point-guard from playing in all but a handful of games. This season the Lakers are winless over their first five games after suffering through the worse season in franchise history last year.
“By no means do I tell you this for sympathy – especially since I see these ailments as badges of honor – but maybe I can bring some clarity,” Nash added. “I’ve always been one of the hardest workers in the game and I say that at the risk of what it assumes. The past 2 years I’ve worked like a dog to not only overcome these setbacks but to find the form that could lift up and inspire the fans in LA as my last chapter. Obviously it’s been a disaster on both fronts but I’ve never worked harder, sacrificed more or faced such a difficult challenge mentally and emotionally.”
[Photo Credit: Keith Allison]